On Friday night, a group of us gathered in Northwest Portland, at the Marrakesh Morrocan Restaurant, to celebrate Andrew's birthday. I loved it. The food and the atmosphere were fantastic.
We sat at low tables, perched on low, soft couches and stools. The lights were dim and the music loud (Arabian-flavored with a techno beat). It was pleasant to chat with Craig and Mac and Pam and Karen.
To begin the meal, the waiter brought each person a towel. He then brought a basin, over which we held our hands while he poured clean water so that we could wash.
Our first course was a Moroccan salad: a tray of eggplant and meat (lamb?), scooped with bread or our fingers. (Actually, all of the food was eaten with our hands; no utensils are offered. This was disconcerting for some people, I think. I loved it.) The second course comprised meat (lamb? chicken?) baked into a light pastry which was coated with a layer of cinnamon and sugar. Yum.
Then the Feast began.
The waiter brought us a variety of dishes, all of which we shared:
- Chicken Lemon and Olives Braised Cornish hen served with preserved lemon sauce and olives.
- Chicken Honey and Prunes Served with light honey sauce, almonds, prunes, and sesame seeds.
- Lamb with Eggplant Braised lamb in tomato sauce served with fried eggplant.
- Couscous T'Fava Steamed semolina grains topped with onions, raisins, chickpeas in ginger sauce
- Brochette Marrakesh Grilled, marinated tenderloin of leg of lamb.
- Beef and Vegetable Brochette Grilled, marinated morsels of beef.
While we ate, three belly dancers performed in front of us, walking from table to table, tapping finger cymbals, trilling their tongues, their stomachs undulating.
Ultimately, I ate too much, probably more than my share. I slumped back on the couch and moaned, my hand on my belly. I wanted to eat more, but doing so might have caused me to explode.
When we could eat no more, the waiter removed the leftovers and we repeated the hand-washing process. The meal concluded with a bowl of fresh fruit and a cup of hot sweet tea.
Not everyone in our party liked Marrakesh. Some thought it was overpriced; some didn't like the "eat with your hands" experience. I loved it, and I recommend it to any other adventurous Portland eaters.
On this day at foldedspace.org
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2002 — Happy Place I am in a happy place, the chief components of which include: reduced computer use, increased reading, intense research into British history in general and Shakespearean history and the history of the British monarchy in specific.