Moroccan food bounty in S.F.

[Amani]

Moroccan food bounty in S.F.
Lynne Char Bennett, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, October 27, 2011

Fans of Moroccan food have a scattering of places in which to indulge around the Bay Area, but a short five-block stretch of San Francisco's Polk Street lets them sample some regional variations by just walking down the street. The area boasts a Moroccan-Tunisian restaurant and two places that offer solely Moroccan food - each specializing in a different region of Morocco.

From Sutter to Clay streets, you can easily find harira, the traditional lentil soup, and b'stilla, a sweet-savory chicken and almond mixture encased in thin layers of phyllo, and dusted with confectioners' sugar. There are also various tajines - slow-cooked stews made and served in the conical clay vessels of the same name.

The dishes at Aicha Moroccan Cuisine reflect the nuances of the Fez region, according to Marouan Hajjoubi, who flew his mother in from Morocco to help him develop the menu and to learn her recipes. Hajjoubi did all the cooking the first year the 40-seat restaurant was open, but since then has turned over the stove to his business partner, Mustapha Elmountasir.

Hajjoubi is a technology consultant who had dreamed of opening a restaurant. "On a whim and at random, I walked into this restaurant, an Afghan place at the time, talked to the owner and made an offer," Hajjoubi says.

The nearby restaurant Tajine landed in the area after a series of moves. Chef-owner Mohamed Ghaleb originally opened the restaurant on Jones Street but now is just four blocks from Aicha.

Tajine serves food from the Casablanca region, "which incorporates more cutting techniques," says Ghaleb. "Fez uses more mashing than cutting."

That shows up in dishes such as zaalouk, a garlicky eggplant and tomato salad. The Casablanca style is chunky and served cold; the Fez style is smoother and served warm.

Around the corner, at Cafe Zitouna, many of the diners come from the Masjid Al-Tawheed mosque on the same block. The cafe offers an amalgam of Mediterranean and Arabic food as well as breakfast dishes, but because chef and co-owner Najib Rebia is from Tunisia and his wife is from Morocco, those countries are the mainstays of the menu.

The menu includes a Tunisian-inflected tajine made with house-made merguez and Tunisian spices as well as Moroccan couscous.

"Both cuisines are almost identical with the same dishes, but Tunisia is a little more spicy," Rebia explains. "Tunisia also uses tomatoes."

Rebia added that while savory Moroccan food like the lentil soup can contain hints of cinnamon, Tunisia uses it only in desserts.

Both Rebia and Hajjoubi acknowledge the contribution made by Mourad Lahlou, chef-owner of Aziza in the Richmond District, whose heritage drives his modern, Moroccan-inspired menu. (For a review of Lahlou's new cookbook, as well as the new book from Moroccan food expert Paula Wolfert, see Sunday's Food & Wine section.)

Increasingly, chefs are drawing upon the cuisine for inspiration, such as incorporating the spice blend ras el hanout in non-Moroccan dishes. But for a broad selection, with regional variations, a visit to Polk Street may be in order.


Moroccan dining

Here's a selection of Bay Area Moroccan restaurants.

Aicha Moroccan Cuisine: 1303 Polk St. (near Bush), San Francisco. [phone]. aichasf.com.

Aziza: 5800 Geary Blvd. (at 22nd Avenue), San Francisco. [phone]. aziza-sf.com.

Cafe Zitouna: 1201 Sutter St. (at Polk), San Francisco. [phone].

El Mansour: 3119 Clement St. (near 32nd Avenue), San Francisco. [phone]. elmansour.com.

El Morocco: 2203 Morello Ave. (at Odin Drive), Pleasant Hill. [phone]. elmorocco.net.

Morocco's Restaurant: 873 Castro St. (near High School Way), Mountain View. [phone]. Also 86 N. Market St., San Jose. [phone]. moroccosrestaurant.com.

Tanjia: 4905 Telegraph Ave. (near 49th Street), Oakland. [phone]. tanjiaoakland.com.

Tajine: 1653 Polk St. (near Clay), San Francisco; [phone]. tajinerestaurant.com.