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Two good friends met me at the restaurant which is over by the Terrace Theatre on Maybank. We snuck in early on a Friday so we didn’t have to make a reservation. It’s a committment thing. The surroundings were nicely done, not overdone which could be so easy in a themed restaurant.

We decided on the Tagines,  slow cooked Morrocan stews served over couscous. A major flavor I’ve read about in Morrocan cuisine is preserved lemons, so I asked our server for a taste. She brought out delicately cut zest of lemon that had been salted and put away to “cure” for weeks. The result is a very tasty condiment.

This was good to learn because we have citrus trees and you know you’re in a tough spot trying to come up with a use for 300 softball sized Meyer lemons. We made banana lemon preserves that were divine one year, but that’s alot of jars.

We each had a different flavor stew. One friend had the chicken slow cooked with preserved lemons and green olives. The other chose the short ribs braised in red wine with raisins, tomatoes and cinnamon. I lucked out with the lamb that was cooked with apricots, figs, almonds and shallots. The lamb was very rich and savory, tender and quite good. The portions served in the traditional earthenware containers resembling the tin man’s hat were really filling. We were able to barely split a creme brulee afterwards. A little warm but very smooth and tasty.

These tagines aren’t the cheapest item on the menu at $21, but they are so representative of the country that it would be a shame to miss them.  I’d certainly go back.

Filed under: Lowcountry Lifestyle, The Chef's Table on May 20th, 2008