[SF] Aziza - Moroccan Fusion

[ludja]

For fans of Moroccan food and Mourad Lahlou's cuisine at Aziza you can read this article along with these recipes. (Free access disappears after a few weeks).

Recipes:

Moroccan Eggplant Soup with Za'atar Croutons

Smoky Eggplant Mousse with Paprika

Moroccan Spiced Tomato Jam

Grilled Pepper Salad with Preserved Lemons

Moroccan Stuffed Peppers

Here's a link through the SF Chron egullet index: click

[a geek]

I have just returned from what I hope is only an off night for Aziza. My previous visit was great but this one may prevent me from going again.

We had a reservation for 8:00p and wanted to come early, but everything was "booked"- upon arrival, 30-40% of the restaurant was empty. By the time we departed, 75% was empty.

After being seated it took 10 minutes or so for a server to appear. Drinks appeared in a relatively normal amount of time and we ordered with very little help from the waiter. Bread/olive service was good and on time.

The first courses were mixed. The spreads were most excellent. The giant lima beans (in a tomato ragu) were undercooked. Nobody enjoys woody beans.

We then waited and waited for our main course- around one hour in fact. Our waiter stopped by around 45 minutes through that hour to let us know he'd check in on the kitchen and finally took a second round of drink orders after our glasses had been empty a half hour or so.

The wild mushrooms in phyllo were unimpressive- felt like something one would find in the freezer section of a grocery store. The pastries were greasy and felt reheated rather than fresh.

The couscous aziza would have been perfect had it not been for the almost completely raw lamb sausage. I've never in my life seen sausage so undercooked (and I am happy to eat rare steak). The couscous, stewed lamb, and prawns were phoenominal.

As our server never stopped by again after delivering entrees, we ate what we could and flagged down a busboy to go find our waiter so we could get our check. We skipped dessert given the quality and length of meal to that point.

I can't imagine I'll go to Aziza again anytime soon. I'm sure this was an aberration, but there are too many great restaurants in this city to risk another night like this.

[Carolyn Tillie]

A Geek, I would hope you would write and address your issues with the restaurant directly. I know Mourad and, beyond being astonished, can only assume the indiscretions could possibly be due to a Monday-night crew (many chefs and managers do not work Monday evenings.) I would seriously doubt that chef/owner Mourad was there that evening, based on your experience.

Just a thought.

[Brioche57]

I would seriously doubt that chef/owner Mourad was there that evening, based on your experience.

It is distressing, to say the least, that his presence should matter.

[a geek]

A Geek, I would hope you would write and address your issues with the restaurant directly. I know Mourad and, beyond being astonished, can only assume the indiscretions could possibly be due to a Monday-night crew (many chefs and managers do not work Monday evenings.) I would seriously doubt that chef/owner Mourad was there that evening, based on your experience.

Just a thought.

←

Good idea Carolyn- I just found his email address on the Aziza website and dropped him a note. Thanks for the thought on this.

[melkor]

I would seriously doubt that chef/owner Mourad was there that evening, based on your experience.

It is distressing, to say the least, that his presence should matter.

←

Precisely. I always find it odd when 'the owner/chef/whoever must have been off that day' excuse comes up in response to someone having a bad experience at a restaurant. The thought that a single person being out of the building for one day would cause all hell to break loose suggests that the restaurant isn't in good shape to begin with.

[Brioche57]

a geek, I would fax that to the restaurant as well. Lord only knows who is reading those emails, that is if they don't end up in a spam folder first.

[a geek]

Agree with you both on the desire for no impact when the owner/chef is offsite. However, given Aziza is a new restaurant from a promising chef, I'll give them the feedback in the hopes that it helps them out and these kind of things don't happen in the future.

Brioche, I'll see if Mourad responds or not first- there was an email address for him which was separate from the main restaurant email address so I hope it'll go to him.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I have been lauding the praises of Aziza for several years now. It has been my go-to restaurants for anyone visiting from out of town and has never not impressed new comers and old friends alike.

Since the recent Michelin star, I went back last night with friends. It was one of the first times I haven't ordered the full tasting menu (which has gone from $55 to $62).

I started with a special starter of duck triangles with foie jus and moved into a seared mackeral with vadouvan, wilted greens, potatoes and octopus. I got to taste one of my compatriot's offerings; sardines (which are now cut up and not grilled whole) with fennel and brioche and Humboldt squid with fennel, tomato, and celery.

Besides the prices having gone up, the plating has become considerably more precious. I can see why this is now befitting a Michelin star for the perfect brunoise and stunning sauces. It is very elegant and precise and perfect. And I don't wonder if it hasn't lost a bit of its "chi" for me. It was all very good, yes. But I miss the great influx of Moroccan spices and influence. There are only two or three dishes on the menu that seem specifically Moroccan.

Is Aziza still all that and the bag of chips? Yes. Mourad is getting a lot of attention and will be getting that much more when his PBS show and cookbook comes out. It is just different from whence it came and I long for those days when Mourad was still discovering his path. It was great to be a part of the learning process and see how exceptional his skill has become.

I went back to my very first post on Aziza here almost five years ago (and am really sorry the pictures are gone!), but here is a description of the entrées:

• Hungarian Paprika-smothered Cloverdale Rabbit with Parsnip Purée, Organic Tomatoes, and Alfonso Olives:
  
• Saffron-infused Hoffman Ranch Cornish Hen capped with House-Preserved Meyer Lemons and Purple Potato Mash.
  
• Braised Paine Farm Squab with Wine Forest Black Trumpet and Hedgehog Mushrooms on a Thyme-Ras el Hanout Reduction:
  
• Stewed Lamb crowned with Charred Eggplant in a Ginger Saffron Broth, Sun-Dried Point Reyes Tomatoes, and Sudaniya Oil:
  

I can still remember every single one of these dishes and I really miss these flavors and concoctions. The platings were admittedly large and could be considered sloppy. I most remember the amazing cornish hen with purple mash; the plates were large and the food covered the whole bottom of the plate. Now the plates are large with smaller inserts and the platings are refined and deliberate.

I am just wistful, I guess. Aziza is still an incredibly outstanding restaurant. It is just a different one that I had grown to love and I will always long for some of those flavors I had grown to admire.

[Chris Hennes]

I had dinner at Aziza a few nights ago and on Carolyn's recommendation got the tasting menu, which lived up to its promise as an excellent value. I took a few notes when I got back to the hotel, but they are not terribly comprehensible. Overall it was a very good meal, however, and something I doubt you can get throughout most of the US (certainly not in Oklahoma!!).

My first impression was that the water tastes like cucumbers: presumably they have a few slices in there? Personally I prefer water to taste like water, but it was mild enough that I didn't ask about the availability of bottled. For food, first up we had Harissa pretzel rolls, which were pretty good. Next up, we were served two different soups (one to each of us): a lentil and a cranberry bean. I enjoyed them both, though I liked the lentil best of the two. Next was albacore with cucumber and black garlic. The plating was beautiful on this one, and the flavors excellent. After this was a very large course of chicken wrapped in a phyllo crust. I can't recall the other ingredients, but it was also delicious. The portion size was wholly inappropriate for a tasting menu, but I guess they are really intended for four? After that was a dish of cooked octopus and squid. The texture was fantastic, the best I've ever had octopus, but I found that the char on the squid overpowered its relatively delicate flavor and wound up dominating the dish. Next up was another gigantic course of lamb shank and faro. It was delicious, however. By this point it felt like they were trying to kill up via overindulgence. Fortunately, that was the last savory course. For dessert we had the pistachio dacquoise and the almond frangipane. Hard to really evaluate dessert at this point, so my opinion of them is that they were beautiful on the plate.