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Archive for Moroccan Cuisine

Whacky Wednesday – Argana Tree

Aug03

Restaurant: Argana Tree Restaurant

Location: 620 Greenwood Ave, Jenkintown, PA 19046. (215) 887-7400

Date: November 24, 2021

Cuisine: Moroccan

Rating: Slow but good

_

After 2 years off for the pandemic the ThanksGavin was back on in its habitual Philadelphia. On Wed night before the holiday we always go out somewhere interesting, in this case just down the street to:

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It’s really down the street from my cousins’ place. We walked.
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The menu.
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The dining room.
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NV Henriot Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut.
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Bread.
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Olive oil.
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Assorted Moroccan Appetizers.
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Greek Salad. Feta cheese, Olives, Tomato, Cucumber, Boiled Egg and Red Wine Vinegar Dressing Over Mixed Greens.
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roasted beet salad. Crispy goat cheese, grapefruit, raspberries pistachio, arugula, mustard dressing.
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Falafel and yogurt.
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From my cellar: 1976 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots.
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From my cellar: 2012 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Anrecht.
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Kefta Kabob. Ground lamb in Moroccan spices.
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Spinach Briwats. filo filled savory pastry with Spinach, onion and feta.
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Vegetable Briwats. filo filled savory pastry with carrots, leeks, zucchini.
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From my cellar: 2000 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. VM 93+. Bright deep red. Exotic aromas of jammy red fruits, cinnamon and smoke. Juicy, tightly wound and powerful, with brooding flavors of black fruits, minerals and mint. Quite different in style from the basic bottling, with a structural underpinning that’s rare for the vintage. Finishes very long and firm, with strong flavors of dark berries and spices and somewhat austere but ripe tannins. Should prove to be long-lived in the context of the vintage. (Eric Solomon/European Cellars, Charlotte, NC)
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Seafood Pastilla. Baby Scallops, Shrimp, Calamari & White Fish. served over Rice Vermicelli with Moroccan Spices
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Lamb Shank.
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Paella Valencia. Saffron Rice, Shrimp, Calamari, Baby Scallops and Chicken. I guess it came south from Spain.
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Lamb Tagine w/ Caramelized Onions and Almonds.
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Chicken Tagine with Apricots.

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Seabass. Someone likes it plain.
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Halibut.
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Argana Tree was pretty tasty. I can’t say that it was fast, or that the plating was modern and slick, but the food was enjoyable and we had a great time. It was certainly great to see everyone again after 2 years hiatus!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
  2. Inotheke – Modern Greek
  3. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  4. Eating Jerusalem – Pergamon
  5. ThanksGavin 2017
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Moroccan Cuisine, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2021, thanksgiving, Wine

Better than Tangiers

Apr08

Restaurant: Tagine

Location: 132 N Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. (310) 360-7535

Date: June 20, 2014

Cuisine: Modern Moroccan

Rating: Tasty and on point

_

After a couple of weeks eating up Vietnam, Tagine makes my return to the LA dining scene for a “last minute” informal Hedonist gathering.


The restaurant takes traditional Moroccan cuisine, and instead of serving it up in a theatrical family style manner converts it to more modern plated dishes.


From my cellar: 2012 Comte Abbatucci Ajaccio Vieilles Vignes Faustine Blanc. agavin 90 points.  Very pale straw color, faint hint of green. Sweet citrus nose. Maybe some white flowers. Lots and lots of crisp acid with a slight stoney bitterness of the medium long finish. Drank with homemade pesto Genovese. At its best with the food.


A series of delicious amuses. Goat cheese and date on a spoon, a pastry with some meat filling and a lovely soup.


Bastilla. A light layer of phyllo with Cornish hen and scrambled eggs sprinkled with saffron and powdered sugar. This is one of the Moroccan classics, and the flavors in this modernist mille-feuille take on it were awesome. I still kinda like the crispy pastry texture of the original, but this was good.


Marie-Pierre Manciat Mâcon Les Morizottes. Bright bright acid. Not a bad wine, but also not really the level of Chard I usually drink.


Black tiger shrimp. Herb-crusted tiger shrimp, served with sautéed vegetables and shitake mushroom. Not the biggest shrimp in the world, but delicious!


Farmer’s market beet salad. Diced red beets and shallots, marinated in house vinaigrette. Is what it is. Good beets.


Tomato and cucumber tartar. Diced Israeli cucumbers, tomatoes, and shallots in house vinaigrette. Topped with a scoop of lemon sorbet and fresh raspberries. This was nice, a fancy version of the classic Middle Eastern salad. Still, it’s basically marinated cucumbers and tomatoes.


The bread. Lol. Shot glass bread.


2003 Martinelli Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. 89 points. Not bad at all for a new world pinot. Still pretty oaked.


Sea bass tagine. Roasted pan sea bass with fingerling potatoes and sauteed mixed peppers, topped with a lemon sauce.


Vegetarian cous cous. By all reports delicious.


Farm raised lemon chicken couscous. Marinated chicken with preserved lemon, served with couscous.


From my cellar: 1999 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva. 91 points. Fascinating, feral nose of wet fur and smokey dark Aglianico fruit. On the palate, brambly raspberry and earthy fruit with substantial tannins that soften after an hour or so. Virtually no sediment, and no sign that this is at all over the hill – still deep purple with a tiny trace of amber at the edge. Continually interesting, more rustic than refined, but not in a bad way. Delicious and well-matched with hearty food.


Lamb honey sauce tagine. Marinated lamb fore shank, finished with dates and prunes, served with couscous. Delicious, sweet and savory. Since I love sweet meat, this was great.


1992 Elderton Shiraz Single Vineyard Command. 92 points. Very nice. Still alot of fruit and oak, but turning earthy. Not a ton of spice, but drinking a bit more like a bordeaux, although alot more fruit and tasting younger than a similar age bordeaux. Best of the night (not that we had too many wines).


Colonial couscous. Quefta, lamb and chicken, served with mixed veggies and couscous.


Chocolate soup. Served with vanilla ice cream and baklava. Here the “soup” is being poured over the ice cream.


And a close up of the light crispy baklava.


The soup was delicious. It tasted like a great chocolate milkshake.


And we finished with some mint tea.

All in all, a fun evening and a tasty restaurant. They are a little pricey and “foo foo” for Moroccan, but it’s nice to try these flavors from a kitchen that is more on point. I’d be curious to see how the chef did at the same dishes in the traditional form factor.

(oh yeah, and the title refers not to a restaurant per se, but the fact that my one day in Morocco taught be that the city of Tangiers sucks — or at least their hostile “guides” do)

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Le Petit Restaurant
  2. Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka
  3. Upstairs 2 – Modern Tapas, Lots of Wine
  4. All Things Akbar
  5. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: couscous, Fish and Seafood, hedonists, Moroccan Cuisine, Salad, shrimp, Tagine, Tajine, Wine
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