Colors - The Premier Diversity Resource

A.V. Crofts

The closest Thing to Casablanca

Ever since two of my friends returned from a trip to Morocco with a suitcase full of astonishing photographs that glowed with the rosy-hued landscape of sand and sun, I have added it to my ever-growing list of travel destinations. The trouble is that pesky airfare, which for the time being keeps my adventure out of reach. However, I’m happy to announce that visiting Kasbah Authentic Moroccan Restaurant in Ballard is the next best thing and a bargain compared to round-trip airfare. From the moment you enter Kasbah’s doors on 85th street in Seattle, you feel as if you’ve jetted around the world and arrived in Casablanca. Travel agents, be warned.

This transportive effect, explained to me by Kasbah owner Hassan Sbai while I was curled up in a cozy corner of the restaurant, is quite intentional. “From stepping in the door, I want our customers to appreciate the ambiance, the atmosphere, the smell, and the quality of the food,� he says. “My intention is that once you’re in the Kasbah, you’re not in the city anymore.� Inspired by the exposure to Moroccan restaurants his father provided him throughout his childhood, Sbai dreamed of establishing his own one day. Before opening the Kasbah in February 2005, Sbai shuttled between the Northwest and his native home of Morocco, custom-ordering each and every tapestry, table, tagine, and carpet for his restaurant in Seattle. From the main dining room to the private tent room tucked to the side, Sbai has not let an inch of the space go untouched, and the result is an impressive display of Moroccan interior design. Plush pillows beckon diners to sit and stay awhile, while the pleasant tinkle of the blue mosaic fountain in the center joins the Moroccan music piped through the establishment. Eating at the Kasbah is best enjoyed when one has an entire evening at one’s disposal, though if you must, takeout is an option.

Luckily for Seattle’s collective taste buds, Sbai takes as much care with the Kasbah menu as he does with the décor. He didn’t have to look far, given that he married the daughter of, in his words, “the greatest chef in Morocco.� (I’ll let other Seattle-based Moroccans dispute how Hassan’s mother-in-law’s food measures up to his or her own mother’s. As one Moroccan confided in me, “Every Moroccan thinks their mother’s cooking is the best.�) Hassan’s gift in creating a memorable dining environment is perfectly matched by the memorable dining experience created by the engaging and elegant Majida Sbai. The youngest of eight siblings, Sbai remembers growing up in her mother’s kitchen. “Food was everything,� she relates to me with a sparkle in her eye, “If you cook with love, it has a different taste.�

From the moment you are seated at the Kasbah you know the meal is going to be unlike others you have experienced. For the uninitiated, I hate to spoil all the rituals, and for the experts, please bear with me on the details that are familiar. After sinking down on a soft leather cushion or the carpeted benches with an abundance of pillows to buttress your body, a server will approach your table with a taas (a Moroccan kettle and basin) of rose water-infused warm water for the pre-meal ritual hand-washing. A large white towel is provided for drying your hands and will serve as your napkin throughout the meal. If you’re lucky, it will be Hamid who arrives at your table with the taas – he was my server at the Kasbah three times in a row. Hamid doesn’t forget a face and helps newcomers navigate the menu with a friendly demeanor that is representative of all servers at the Kasbah. He’ll also encourage you to use your fingers when eating at the Kasbah, so be adventurous! I think it makes the food taste better.

The Kasbah offers an a la carte option and a Kasbah D’yaffa Feast prix fixe five-course dinner ($25 a person, which includes soup, salad, appetizer and your choice of ten entrées, with mint tea and a chef selection for dessert). If you have the time, I encourage the curious diner to consider the five-course gastronomic journey through Morocco, because while the meal is one sumptuous dish after another, it leaves one delightfully content, and not stuffed to the gills, unable to waddle out the door.

For starters, Sbai serves up a delicious Harira Soup ($3.50), a hearty tomato-based offering with hints of saffron and onions. Other ingredients include a dash of parsley, finely chopped celery, lentils and mashed garbanzo beans, giving the soup a welcome bulk that is especially enjoyable as winter approaches. Equally enticing and rewarding are the variety of salads offered at the Kasbah. The Zaalouk ($5.50) is composed of sautéed eggplant with a splash of olive oil and a healthy kick of garlic. Sbai cooks the eggplant to tender perfection with a hint of smoky goodness, then mixes in the garlic and the olive oil to create a perfect dip (All salads are served with freshly baked rounds of Moroccan bread, sliced in thin wedges for easy dipping. Think of the bread as your fork alternative for the evening). For the Falfa Mechouia ($4), Sbai grills green peppers and tomatoes to a soft consistency and then adds a pleasing spike of garlic cumin vinaigrette. The result is a spread with crisp acidic undertones, balanced by the bell pepper and amplified delightfully by the tangy vinaigrette. However, my personal favorite is the simply named Carrot Salad ($3.50), a pleasing plate of thin carrot coins lightly steamed then marinated and chilled in garlic, cilantro and lemon vinaigrette. The garlic does not stand center stage on this salad, allowing the sweetness of the carrots to mingle with the small pucker of lemon and cilantro. Perfect in its simplicity, the Carrot Salad has become a must-have at the Kasbah. Happily, all these salads mentioned above are also served in a colorful trio with the five-course meal.

The sole appetizer on the Kasbah menu almost defies categorization. Named B’stilla ($6.95), the traditional Moroccan pastry is arguably one of the jewels on the Kasbah menu. Sbai fills buttered layers of phyllo dough with shredded chicken, eggs, ground almonds and spices. This round pocket filled with uncommon pairings of ingredients is then baked golden-brown and arrives at your table topped with a generous dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon. The juxtaposition of the flaky lightness of the pastry against the dense and rich filling – savory and unexpectedly sweet simultaneously – is otherworldly. Served piping hot, expect some low-grade burns on your fingers if you plunge into the B’stilla before it’s cooled properly. I would categorize it as a dessert masquerading as an appetizer.

The Kasbah presents its entrees in traditional Moroccan tagines, conical painted ceramic steamers that slow-cook spiced meat and vegetables to mouth-watering tenderness. My first meal at the Kasbah saw the Chicken with Apricots ($16) and the Kefta Tagine ($16) arrive in unison to our table. Hamid removed the Chicken Tagine’s lid to reveal a steaming configuration of four chicken thighs and ready-to-burst cooked fresh nectarines nestled between them, covered with generous honey sauce and sprinkled with toasted almonds and sesame seeds. The delicious meat slid effortlessly off the bone and we quickly accepted a refill of bread to sop up the ambrosial honey sauce. The Kefta Tagine was equally wonderful: delicate sautéed beef meatballs (perfect for popping into your mouth with your fingers) lovingly spiced and served in a garlic tomato sauce. An unexpected poached egg rounded off the dish, and while some might view the egg as interloper, we welcomed it. On a repeat visit, the Vegetables Tagine ($13.50) was sampled, drawing our attention on the menu with the promise of preserved lemon (Sbai makes her own) and imported Moroccan olives. The simmered zucchini, carrots and onions in ginger sauce would be improved by more of the addictive and diminutive olives, and neither I nor my dining companion found the heralded lemon preserve, so I still await that pleasure. Other standouts include Lamb with Prunes ($15), again simmered to tenderness and paired with plump fruit and the accent of toasted almonds and sesame seeds, and Couscous T’Faya ($12.50), providing a fluffy bed of couscous heaped with a mountain of slow-cooked chicken, deliciously sticky caramelized onions, soft garbanzo beans and the sweet punctuation marks of raisins.

To end the meal, Mint Tea ($1.25 a glass or a pot for $5) is a must but there is also the choice of Almond Shake ($3.50) or Avocado Shake ($3.50). I’m partial to the almond, where happily the ground almonds create a magical taste and texture on your tongue. Or there’s a rose-water fruit cup, which provided the perfect light finale for a substantial meal one evening. With a post-dinner hand wash with the taas and a few splashes of rose water, the dining experience is complete. Given the care and attention that are clearly a part of every meal, you’d think that your own mother had prepared the meal. In a way, she did, for as Majida Sbai confides to me, “Every meal I serve, I feel like I am serving it to my family.�

Kasbah Restaurant
1471 NW 85th St., Seattle
206/788-0777
www.kasbahmoroccanrestaurant.com
Hours: Tues.-Sun., 5-10 p.m.
Belly dancers Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 and 9 p.m. seating
Cash and credit cards only

While you’re in the neighborhood…Ballard.

The Kasbah isn’t the only Ballard cafe with a talented Moroccan chef. The Neighborhood Cafe, tucked in a residential stretch on Northwest 70th street, is home to a Moroccan culinary magician with such a devoted following that like one-name wonders Madonna or Cher, I’ll refer to her, as everyone does, by her first name only: Khadija.

Khadija’s Neighborhood Cafe (now in its fifth year, she purchased it outright from the original owners in 2002) is a crossroads for the neighborhood, providing local artists a rotating gallery to hang their art, hosting cocktail receptions when authors or performers are in town, mounting children’s puppet shows (on my first visit, I witnessed Khadija gleefully pluck a baby from his high chair and whisk him into the kitchen to give his grateful parents some quiet time with their food), and through it all, serving traditional fresh and delicious breakfast and lunch fare with some subtle Moroccan twists. But as much as the food, it’s the community around the food the Khadija cultivates with equal passion and talent. “I love the people. I know everyone that eats here,� she explains to me as we nosh on olive oil pressed by her father back in her home village in Morocco. “It’s nice for me because I don’t have any family here.�

However, The Neighborhood Cafe is intimate without being clubbish – which is a testament to how Khadija welcomes everyone who crosses the threshold. Khadija’s soups are legendary (always a daily special: a cup for $2.75 or a bowl for $4.25) and not a single written recipe is known to exist as a guide for how one might recreate one. You’ll just have to invite yourself into her kitchen (Go ahead, she’ll be happy to give you the grand tour!) For breakfast, you cannot go wrong with the generous three-egg Spinach Feta Omelette ($7.95) served with potatoes and toast. While I love the fresh bread Khadija serves and her potatoes often hit the spot, it’s never a bad idea to swap out the toast for an additional $1.25 and add a homemade slab of light coffeecake (or $3 on its own) or, swap out the potatoes for arguably the best Cup of Fresh Fruit in all of Seattle, for an additional $1 (or $3 on its own). Not content to serve up the uninspired medley of bananas and anemic melons, Khadija’s fruit cup dazzles like its creator, with a burst of color and tartness in the fresh pomegranates, and zing from star fruit, to name just two recent seasonal additions I’ve had the pleasure of eating.

Amidst the omelettes and sandwiches, Khadijah has introduced Moroccan touches: couscous for lunch with roasted vegetables ($7.95, add chicken for $2.95 and for $3.95 add merguez, a Moroccan spiced lamb sausage) and for breakfast, Treed with Eggs & Sausage ($8.50), a tantalizing combination of vegetables, beans and diced flatbread served with eggs on top. Khadijah also hosts lively prix fixe Moroccan dinners every two months or so, pushing all the tables together into one long social seating arrangement. They are not to be missed for both their menus and their sociability.

“If I had named the cafe I would call it baraka,� Khadija tells me as we sip coffee at a corner table, “It’s a classical Arabic word that means ‘To generate a feeling of ease.’ It’s about being content and complete.� Even without the name, Khadija has succeeded in creating exactly that feeling for her customers.

The Neighborhood Cafe
1418 NW 70th St., Seattle
206/784-9404
www.neighborhoodcafe.org
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. -3 p.m.
Check and Cash only

Tags: A.V. Crofts, chicken, ColorsNW, cuisine, dining, diversity, ethnic, ethnicity, food, garlic, kasbah, khadija, Magazine, meal, menu, moroccan, morocco, multicultural, neighborhood, Nibbles, race, Restaurant, review, sbai, Seattle, served, table, taste, Taste Buds, thing

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 1st, 2005 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Taste Buds | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.