Moroccan born chef
Mourad Lahlou earned a Michelin star at his outer Richmond restaurant Aziza.
His new restaurant represents recipes from his Moroccan roots and a modern
decor. In fact when you enter the restaurant, there is a replica of a
large root representing his Moroccan connection.
Linda knew of Mourad
when she attended the cooking classes that were presented by the Embarcadero Center
on Saturday mornings last fall. She and
a friend attended a class where Mourad was the guest chef of the day. He talked about his Moroccan roots and how he
came to San Francisco after being one of the first to graduate from college in
his family. He got a job in the finance
business and worked day and night but found time to cook for his friends in his
small kitchen at home. His food was so
great that his friends told him he should open a restaurant. He shrugged it off lightly, but then brought
his Mama to San Francisco to teach him all the secrets of her recipes. After that his first restaurant Aziza was
born.
The day of the cooking
class Mourad taught the audience how to make a dish called Basteeya. It is a
meat pie topped with sweetened and spiced ground almonds covered in a phyllo
dough. Mourad makes his version of the Basteeya with confited duck legs cured
overnight in a blend of North African spices and then mixes it with caramelized
onions and raisins and wraps it in phyllo.
Mourad says "it's savory, moist, tender and it has a crunch." It is a divine selection with a surprise in
every bite.
We had an opportunity
to meet Mourad and he proudly recommended some of his foodie creations. Our
server Marcus was also very knowledgeable and attentive. The bar has an
extensive wine list and a variety of specialty cocktails.
We began with the
deviled eggs with cumin, pickles and chicken crackling that were fantastic. I
ordered the Harira lentil soup with dates and celery that was seasoned to
perfection and served steamy hot.
For the entree, Linda
ordered the Basteeya. I ordered the salmon with persimmon, lentil,
citron and curry that tasted like it just came out of the sea.
For dessert we shared
the Paris-Brest with honey, almond and beeswax that was like a delicacy served
for Moroccan royalty. Paris-Brest is a French Dessert made of choux pastry and
a praline flavored cream. It resembles
a bicycle wheel and it was named after a bicycle race in 1891 that ran from
Paris to Brest and back again as the precursor for the Tour de France.
We concluded with some
peppermint tea served in shot glasses that was hot and soothing.
After this great
lunch, we walked to the Golden Gate Theater and saw the vibrant and fun play
Dirty Dancing made famous by Patrick Swaze in 1987.
Mourad has only been
open a year but word is traveling fast among San Francisco foodies and will
soon be rated very high like his other 1 star Michelin rated restaurant Aziza.
We look forward to going back soon.
For more information
and to make reservations go to:
