Tajine Tafraoute Project

Well, I have to say in advance I’m very picky with food generally..once I find something I really like (not happens that often) in a restaurant I stick with that choice without trying a new order… (that may be relevant background information).

So I ordered a chicken sandwich - tajine seemed t be too dangerous since I didn’t even understand the listed ingredients..I’m German so non/native speaker..) -..anyway, I thought that is a more ’safe choice’ and because there were also listed some crazy other ingredients (other than from ‘chicken’ and sandwich’), especially the ‘original spices’ I decided to go for it.

When my dish arrived I was very shocked (see picture)…I got fries…urg.. (well I like fries, but I didn’t expected fries at all in that original moroccan restaurant….)….about the sandwich I can say, it was better and more moroccan than expected: the spices we’re very delightful, the unknown taste was great and after I tried a real tajjine-bite from Anna, I have to say I found the basic taste in my sandwich too…

Summing up: If you’re in a moroccan restaurant, order no chicken sandwich but take the risk and try something you haven’t ate before… ( I will, promise for next time)

Dorit

The initial excitement turned into confusion when some of the tajines were not served in the clay pots. Apparently, a weird-looking clay pot is not a necessary feature of this delicious dish. But I wonder whether it makes it better.
In any case, all the tajines I tried that night were vegetarian (I am pretty sure), and they all were very tasty. However, I have no (Moroccan) baselines to compare this experience to, so I am not sure how informative this is.

Seduced by Moroccan cuisine though, I am planning a trip to Tangierino sometime soon. I will let you know how that compares with the SF place.

Often the vegetarian option is just as appealing as the alternative. Lasagne. Butternut squash ravioli. Eggplant parmesan. Other times I encounter a veggie version of a dish that is usually fine in its own right, but lacks the glorious splendor that graces the non-veg dish offers. This was true for the mighty Tajine in San Francisco. Mine was a fine blend of peas and artichoke hearts in a tasty green, creamy broth. But next to the meaty version, complete with clay hat and a multi-colored dream coat of vegetables, mine was, well, the color of envy.

Like Liane said, we didn’t get the special tagine hats at our end of the table. I’m not sure what dish feature earns the traditional tagine presentation, but regardless the dinner was delicious. While i can’t remember what we got by name, I can remember the 4 items (for Liane, Ev, Andrea, and I to split) all being clustered, as I pointed them out to our waitress with my palm instead of a finger.

Perhaps my favorite was the peas and artichoke, foreground in the picture of Liane. Couscous was good, but i tend to find it dry so i mixed it with the peas. In fact, i mixed most things with the pea dish since I liked it so much. I would recommend this place in particular to mixed crowds of vegetarians and meat-eaters, as the dishes are bound to please all palates alike.

Tajine in SF made for a delicious experience. As an aspiring vegetarian, I was particularly grateful for the three fully vegetarian tajines on the menu, in addition to the appetizers — (1) a tasty split pea soup with cayenne that, for lack of spoons, we quickly transformed into dip with the available bread, and (2) some sort of quiche-like pie (bastilla?), savory but with powdered sugar — this was so good that I considered ordering a second for my entree but ultimately opted for variety over certain deliciousness.

Tajine was out of one of the veg tajines, so we had, I believe, veg tajine with artichoke and peas, cous cous with veggies (usually not a fan of cous cous but enjoyed this for whatever reason — perhaps it was the turnips), and also a meat-based tajine with poached eggs and garlic. All of this was wonderful, though I don’t think anything I ate was served in a tajine. Not that I minded.