marrakech-trip: Restaurants

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dinsdag 3 oktober 2017

When Paris settles in Marrakech

La Cantine Parisienne, open since the end of November, it is slowly but surely making its name among the prestigious restaurants of the city of Marrakech; from the unique décor to the delicious cuisine, a few of many reasons why this place is popping in the map, and Made in Marrakech will give you the full tour.

La Cantine Parisienne, open since the end of November, it is slowly but surely making its name among the prestigious restaurants of the City of Marrakech; from the unique décor to the delicious cuisine, a few of many reasons why this place is popping in the map, and Made in Marrakech will give you the full tour.

Located in the middle of Gueliz and Hivernage, the two most chic districts in the city of Marrakech. Since the day it has opened, La Cantine Parisienne attracted many customers, and as they were pleased with the quality of the restaurant and the menus, the word spread, and since then the establishment has been on the rising. Open for lunch and dinner, this place is featuring French cuisine, inspired from Parisian breweries. All different dishes are available to please the different tastes, from sea food to classic sandwiches to delicious salads; all coming from fresh and organic produce.

If you want to eat something on the go, the establishment offers a delightful snacking menu, from Club-Sandwiches to homemade burgers. There is also a great combo at noon for only 135Dhs [Appetizers-Main dish / Main dish-Dessert with tea or coffee]. During January, we should expect new amazing things from the establishment, a change in the menu and after work specials.

The spirit of a youthful Parisian
Mike, originally from Paris, the owner of La Cantine Parisienne wanted to recreate and give birth to the traditional Parisian pubs right here in the gorgeous city of Marrakech. The décor, the metal, the high platforms, the chairs and the tables, the genuine Bistrot style is live and breathing in La Cantine Parisienne. The establishment is featuring 60 seats with a bar and a beautiful terrace. Moreover, the Pub is known to broadcast all the matches of PSG and also those of the Champions’ league.
Come now and discover the flabbergasting La Cantine Parisienne!

La Cantine Parisienne
Open Monday to Friday from 12h00 to 15h30 and from 19h00 to 23h30
Open all day on Saturday. Closed on Sundays.

zondag 9 november 2014

A Rustic Hideaway In Marrakech

Restaurants 08:04 0

So the name of the Beldi Country Clubis a giveaway: everything at the beguiling, 27-room hotel amidst fields of roses - from the earth-based pise walls to the sackcloth bags gardeners gather blooms in - is done as it was centuries ago.

The approach of Moroccan-born owner Jean-Dominique Leymarie, who retired from masterminding golf courses for a simpler way of life 15 years ago, is unorthodox: 'There's no architect, no landscape designer, just the earth.' His daughter harbourside hotel within a converted church.

It is in the old Portuguese city of El Jadida, 45 minutes' drive south of Casablanca, w/hich was once a working port but is now popular with holidaying Moroccans. There are 15 suites with 1940s furniture and terraces overlooking the ocean, as well as a fish restaurant 100 metres along the harbour and a local fisherman's boat for lunches and sunset drinks.

Kasbah Beldi is set within 15 hectares of grapefruit and olive trees on the banks of Lalla Takerkoust lake, an hour's drive south of Marrakech. At present Above, the Leymarie family at their property L'Iglesia. Top, the Beldi Country Club, their hotel in Marrakech and son, Geraldine and Alexandre, live with their young families on the Beldi estate and help to manage a growing empire that includes two new properties, both extensions of Beldi's Berber-chic aesthetic.

Opening this month is L'Iglesia, a there are two pools and a restaurant to enjoy along with the views; but you can't stay here yet. There are 20 lake-view suites to come. LEO BEAR 00 212 5 2438 3950; www.beldicountryclub.com: www.liglesia.com. Doubles from €165

donderdag 11 september 2014

The Restaurant At The End Of The World

Restaurants 09:04 0

IN 2008, PAULA WOLFERT’S BOOK, COUSCOUS AND OTHER GOOD FOOD FROM MOROCCO, WON THE COOKBOOK HALL OF FAME AWARD, TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER ITS PUBLICATION.

At the time, Moroccan cuisine would probably have seemed pretty exotic. These days fancy food trucks and posh catering carts may be blocking the highways in Europe and the US, but Morocco’s biggest street food heaven hasn’t moved in a thousand years.

Jmaa el Fna, The Place of the Dead, The Mosque at the End of the World, North Africa’s most vibrant and exotic square, the ancient heart of Marrakech, where snake charmers, storytellers and acrobats entertain the passing crowds.

By day the bustle of henna artists, potion sellers, fresh orange juice vendors and red-robed water sellers; by night the curling smoke of a hundred barbeques spirals over the largest open-air restaurant in the world. When dusk

falls, hand-carts are wheeled into Jmaa el Fna and unfolded to reveal portable grills, tables, benches, pots and pans. While the mounds of food are prepared young men in long white coats work the crowds trying to convince you that the succulent dishes served at their stall are the absolutely top-notch best; “Deliah Smith created our menu”, “All our fish comes fresh from Sainsbury’s”. And Sainsbury’s would probably be proud of the fish the stalls served, dipped in flour seasoned with salt and saffron before being deep-fried in bubbling oil until crisp and golden.

Something to suit every pocket

There are stalls to fit every taste and pocket; a bowl of harira, a traditional rich tomato and lentil soup with beef or chicken, seasoned with ginger, pepper, and cinnamon, or b’sarra, white bean soup with olive oil and garlic; add a sandwich served in a

khobz, a small, round flat loaf with the top nipped off to form a pocket, filled with freshly deep-fried slices of liver dribbled with a green chilli sauce, or a hand-full of mer-guez, thin spicy sausages, and you will be set up for a stroll around the souks. (Keep an eye open for the really esoteric mixture of merguez, hard-boiled egg and tuna fish.)

K e b a b shops appear on almost every street corner around

the globe
these days, but in Marrakech vendors snub the effete pressed meat served

elsewhere in

favour of slices of real lamb, glistening with dribbling fat, sprinkled with cumin and salt as the cook hands it over to you wrapped in a paper cone.

Chicken with
preserved lemons, delicately spiced with kas-bour (fresh green coriander) and

served with piquant olives; brochettes of lamb and liver, seasoned with red pepper and cumin, carefully grilled over charcoal, which spits and smokes as the luscious fats fall on to it; beef or lamb ta-jines, cooked with raisins, prunes and almonds, have their conical tops whisked off by the waiters, just as the lids of elegant silver salvers would be at the Savoy. (Although you may want to leave the tajine of sheep’s or calf’s feet and the sliced camel’s head to the lo-

cals to enjoy, and it would take a certain amount of culinary courage to sample a cooked sheep’s head or bowl of sheep’s testicles – cooked, of course.)

Steaming snails

On the west side of the square, a row of chefs steam mounds of snails in battered enamel bowls. The menu is simple, snails or snails,

but as the little gastropods served in a tantalizing broth are a gastronomic institution in Morocco, it isn’t always easy to get a seat at these stalls. Apparently wonderful for the digestion, locals drain the broth after having their fill of the snails. (They also often carry a safety pin to wheedle the little devils out, but a toothpick is usually provided.)

Vegetarians might not savour their best gastronomic experience, but it can delicious. Hard-boiled eggs are chopped and mashed with potatoes, with the inevitable

sprinkle of cumin, (served alongside salt and pepper on every stall). Bright vegetable salads, glistening piles of savoury chick peas spiked with fresh-ground black pepper or bowls of lentil stew cooked with finely chopped onion and garlic; fried aubergine with a hot green pepper served alongside a pile of fresh cut and fried potatoes, all washed down with a glaringly orange Fanta.

Delectable sweetmeats

Young boys man-handle small handcarts or struggle with large wooden trays laden with glistening sweetGmeats through the densely packed crowds. Delectable as the pastries may look, aren’t always that sweet. If your taste is for fruit for desert, try, carmose, prickly pear, and the vendor will carefully remove the skin for you.

For a simple wandering snack, strings of sfenj donuts are held together by a strip of leaf to make carrying easier. They are delicious

with a coffee, and come either sweet (with egg beaten into the batter) or savoury. Also useful for a back-up snack on long journeys.

If you haven’t washed your meal down with a drink at the stall, a glass of fresh orange juice will be squeezed before your eyes at one of the many carts around the edge of the square. You might also find raisin, pistachio and pomegranate

juice, which
have a mysterious flavour of their own. The Technicolor yogurts sold in big glasses look more off-putting that delectable, but raib, a home-made yoghurt with a milkshake consistency slides down the throat deliciously.

The beautiful chaos of the food stalls is entertainment in its own right, but when you have eaten your fill there is still the raucous street entertainment of Jmaa el Fna to keep you from your bed. •

zaterdag 7 september 2013

Where To Stay In Marrakech

Tours 04:07 0

Anyone who’s been back to Marrakech after a several year absence would have difficulty recognizing the place. The winding alleyways of the medina are still there, with atmospheric riads hidden behind nondescript doors and stall after stall of silks, slippers, brass on sale. And in the center of it all, Jemaa el Fna, the main square inhabited by snake charmers, acrobats, sizzling kebab grills, boulevarding locals and mobs of tourists.

What’s changed, however, is the hotel scene; it’s a veritable explosion with more coming on line all the time: Rocco Forte’s Assoufid, a Baglioni, a Mandarin Oriental, a W, a Park Hyatt, the Jawhar from Monaco’s Societie des Bains de Mer are all set to open over the next year.

Long gone are the days when La Mamounia, although still the most famous, was the only game in town. With all of this new construction, though, hoteliers fret about whether there will be enough visitors to fill all of these new rooms, plus the existing ones in longstanding hotels and ones that have opened over the last few years. For these visitors, it means that there is an embarrassment of riches and they need to decide which to pick. Here are a few choices: You can see the Atlas Mountains and the date palms of the Palmeraie from the top deck of the Royal Mansour riads. If you want to feel like a member of the royal family—and want privacy: Stay in the Royal Mansour, the hotel that the King of Morocco built. (Conversely, if you want a bustling bar scene and to be seen, stay at its neighbor and competitor, La Mamounia.)

The King spent untold millions, and thousands of artisans spent years creating the ceramic tilework, sculpted plasterwork , geometrically carved wood, inlaid marble and intricate leatherwork for which the country is known. The 53 triplex riads with plunge pools on the top deck have correspondingly lush décor along with courtyards and fountains; you never have to leave your room. But to do that would miss the clubby bar with its intricate, hand-tooled leather walls, the spa with its open white spiderweb décor and prodigious range of treatments and the exceptional Moroccan restaurant La Grande Table Marocaine, one of several under the supervision of Michelin three star chef Yannick Alleno.

Tagines are served all over Morocco but few as rich and delicious as the ones at Marrakech's Villa des Orangers. If you want the intimacy of a riad, a medina location but with more facilities: Villa des Orangers. You could easily pass the doorway of this Relais & Chateaux property on a busy street in the medina and have absolutely no clue about the grandeur inside: a large riad of Moorish architecture dating from the 1930’s housing 27 rooms and suites, three flowered patios, a large garden and a long pool,the latter not typical in medina riads. The décor is a mix of Moroccan, Colonial and African designs in the rooms and the lounges, creating a look that’s both stylish and cozy. The romantic, candlelit restaurant also turns out a superlative menu of mostly French specialities with some Moroccan dishes, a nice change if you’ve overloaded on tagines. But if you haven’t, their tagine was the best, most intensely flavored one that I had anywhere in Morocco. If you really like Arabian horses: The Selman which opened in 2012, has a location several miles outside of the city, a French interpretation of Moroccan décor by Jacques Garcia that looks just a little similar to his 2009 renovation of La Mamounia, and stables housing the owner’s Arabian horses that were also designed by Garcia. Lucky horses.

But apart from the ability to observe these fine creatures—guests are not allowed to ride them—there doesn’t seem to be a reason to stay here instead of the others. Palais Namaskar, in the Palmeraie outside of Marrakech, has been designed for pure knockout drama. If you like sleek, international décor, and your own pool. The Oetker Collection’s Palais Namaskar also opened in 2012 out in the date palm shaded Palmeraie, 15 minutes from the medina. The design is pure drama—long, narrow walkways linking villas with Moorish arches punctuated by gardens and pools—there are 28 water features on the grounds, 27 of which are private pools. (Beware how narrow those walkways are, though, when walking back from the bar or you could easily fall into one of them.) In the bar, a chandelier that looks like something out of “The Phantom of the Opera” hangs low overhead.

You feel like you’re in a magazine layout, not necessarily in Morocco but it’s all so beautiful that ultimately you don’t care. And one advantage of staying here is the property’s jet, which can bring guests in from Casablanca, fly them to other Oetker properties (Nice for the Hotel du Cap, Paris for Le Bristol..) or in from other cities around the world. The design of the Taj in Marrakech's Palmeraie is India in Morocco but the bedrooms are beautiful. If you’re also fond of India: The Taj Palace Marrakech nearby in the Palmeraie which opened late in 2012, has another element of national confusion in that it stood in as a palace in Abu Dhabi in the movie “Sex and the City II.” Apparently, the Moroccan owner loves Indian design and both the imposing palace doors entry and the pool with cupola floating within it in the rear are reminiscent of a Rajasthan palace. The bedrooms are beautiful; the common rooms, kind of nuts and floridly shaded. If you don’t like color schemes of purple and jade green splashed on a huge scale, this probably isn’t the place for you.

If you want to meet interesting locals and artists: Staying at Jnane Tamsna in the Palmeraie is like being at an extended dinner/house party. Owner Meryanne Loum-Martin knows everyone in town—at a recent lunch, I met Vanessa Branson, sister of Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson, owner of the art filled Riad El-Fenn in the medina and the driving force behind the Marrakech Biennale—and international cultural types are always passing through. Loum-Martin is a designer and her style here is classic Moroccan shot through with contemporary touches and wit. The food is also top of the line, home cooked Moroccan. And the property has several pools surrounded by lush flower and vegetable gardens created by her botanist husband Gary Martin. It’s a very soothing place. Riad Fes in the heart of the Fes medina is a bastion of luxury in a UNESCO World Heritage site. The same can’t always be said for the main city, particularly as it goes through this development boom. But two other Moroccan cities that can be excursions from Marrakech remain peacefully unchanged. Fes is a UNESCO World Heritage site for its perfectly preserved walled medieval city and staying in the old city instantly transports you back. There are no tee shirt or souvenir shops, just bakers and food stalls supplying the locals who live in small stone houses tucked into the alleyways.

The subdivisions are by trade—the leather crafters, dyers, ceramicists settled in different sections and still work there; stalls sell their products. If you stay in the Relais & Chateaux Riad Fes, a former nobleman’s house in the center of the medina, you just walk out your door and into another age. Just remember to hug the walls if you hear someone scream “Balak! Balak!” meaning “Make Way!” It means a donkey cart, the still used means of transport, is heading down your way ferrying goods. Two hours west of Marrakech on the Atlantic coast is Essaouira, the haven of musicians such as Jimi Hendrix in the 60’s and it still retains its casual, drop out ease, a seaside town surrounded by fishing boats, encircled by seagulls. In its medina, stores sell artisan clothing designs and food stalls present just caught fish, mounds of spices, ripe olives. The best lunch plan is to go to the fish market in the medina (not the fish stalls on the waterfront) and have a simple place around the corner grill your fish. The best hotel in town is the 19th century mansion the Relais & Chateaux L’Heure Bleue Palais just inside the walls of the medina, with rooms decorated in Moorish, Portugese or British Empire styles. And the best view: from the roof, looking out at the old city with its crisp white buildings that through the years haven’t changed at all.

vrijdag 27 januari 2012

Marrakech Restaurants

Restaurants 02:12 0

Local Restaurants

My advice is to go to one of the local restaurants at least once, because it is a good way to discover the essence of the Moroccan food and to know what, and how, people eat in Marrakech.

Located everywhere, you will have no trouble finding one. You will see that many of them cook outside in the local vicinity, meat, fish, vegetables, etc., all cooked with amazing mixes of spices. These are called tagine dishes because they are cooked in a sort of cone-shaped ceramic pot or tub. Tagines are not to be missed!

Local restaurants also offer you lentil soup (very common in Marrakech), vegetable soup or some kind of tasty crepes. The advantage of these restaurants is undoubtedly the price. But beware! Sometimes as tourist some vendors will try to charge you more than a Moroccan (that happened to me). You can eat a plate of lentils, with a pancake and water for 2 or 3 euros. Watch out for water, always ask for a bottle, as most of us tourists have to drink mineral water, as our stomachs are not used to Morrocan water.

Tourist restaurants

If you dont like Moroccan food, or you feel like eating something more lWestern you have several choices of restaurants that offer pizzas, pastas, and salads. The only drawback is that, like tourism, the price changes and it is more likely to be akin to what we pay in the West for a pizza. Still not expensive, but more expensive than local restaurants. Another good reason for going local.

Eating in Jemaa el Fna

Another interesting option is eating at the same Jemaa el Fna, where the party starts at 6pm with kiosks grilled meats, vegetables and others till late night.

This type of meal must be done at least once, it is interesting because you share tables more and will be next to other locals as well as meeting other tourists like yourself that are discovering Marrakech. In addition, the staff, like everywhere in Marrakech tend to be very nice and friendly and have a special ability to detect your home country, which is amazing! Don’t do what I and my girlfriend did. assume that locals will not speak any other language you may speak, – we discussed prices in Spanish and were rightly shown up when a local responded in kind!

Dining at the riad

And, whether you’re staying in a riad (traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard) or not, they can be an excellent choice to have dinner in amazing surroundings. They say that “Moroccan food is a cuisine for home and not to eat anywhere else”. So maybe in the riad or ryad can you can taste the best ever couscous and tagines in resplendent settings.

Final recommendations

In the local restaurants you may have to ask for silverware, because Morocco’s tradition is to eat with the fingers or a piece of bread (always in the right hand). Don’t feel ashamed to do the same!

The typical Moroccan dishes are couscous of seven vegetables and meat, fish or meat tagine or soup of chickpeas or lentils. We’d advise trying them all…

Remember to ask ALWAYS bottle mineral water, since most tourists are not accustomed to drink water from their taps (you’ve been warned). Finally, finally, you will rarely find beer or other kinds of alcohol in local restaurants, since Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.

woensdag 11 januari 2012

Marrakech Restaurants

Restaurants 02:12 0

At lunchtime, you have many choices in Marrakech. You can eat at local restaurants, frequented by locals, which we recommend, or you can eat at restaurants that are more “touristy”, where they make pizzas, pasta and other basics. For a Morrocan atmosphere go to eat among the bustle and noise of the Jemaa el Fna, where there are several bars and cafes that offer delicious cheap meals.

Local Restaurants
My advice is to go to one of the local restaurants at least once, because it is a good way to discover the essence of the Moroccan food and to know what, and how, people eat in Marrakech.

Located everywhere, you will have no trouble finding one. You will see that many of them cook outside in the local vicinity, meat, fish, vegetables, etc., all cooked with amazing mixes of spices. These are called tagine dishes because they are cooked in a sort of cone-shaped ceramic pot or tub. Tagines are not to be missed!
Local restaurants also offer you lentil soup (very common in Marrakech), vegetable soup or some kind of tasty crepes. The advantage of these restaurants is undoubtedly the price. But beware! Sometimes as tourist some vendors will try to charge you more than a Moroccan (that happened to me). You can eat a plate of lentils, with a pancake and water for 2 or 3 euros. Watch out for water, always ask for a bottle, as most of us tourists have to drink mineral water, as our stomachs are not used to Morrocan water.
Tourist restaurants
If you dont like Moroccan food, or you feel like eating something more lWestern you have several choices of restaurants that offer pizzas, pastas, and salads. The only drawback is that, like tourism, the price changes and it is more likely to be akin to what we pay in the West for a pizza. Still not expensive, but more expensive than local restaurants. Another good reason for going local.
Eating in Jemaa el Fna
Another interesting option is eating at the same Jemaa el Fna, where the party starts at 6pm with kiosks grilled meats, vegetables and others till late night.
This type of meal must be done at least once, it is interesting because you share tables more and will be next to other locals as well as meeting other tourists like yourself that are discovering Marrakech. In addition, the staff, like everywhere in Marrakech tend to be very nice and friendly and have a special ability to detect your home country, which is amazing! Don’t do what I and my girlfriend did. assume that locals will not speak any other language you may speak, – we discussed prices in Spanish and were rightly shown up when a local responded in kind!
Dining at the riad
And, whether you’re staying in a riad (traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard) or not, they can be an excellent choice to have dinner in amazing surroundings. They say that “Moroccan food is a cuisine for home and not to eat anywhere else”. So maybe in the riad or ryad can you can taste the best ever couscous and tagines in resplendent settings.
Final recommendations
In the local restaurants you may have to ask for silverware, because Morocco’s tradition is to eat with the fingers or a piece of bread (always in the right hand). Don’t feel ashamed to do the same!
The typical Moroccan dishes are couscous of seven vegetables and meat, fish or meat tagine or soup of chickpeas or lentils. We’d advise trying them all…
Remember to ask ALWAYS bottle mineral water, since most tourists are not accustomed to drink water from their taps (you’ve been warned).
Finally, finally, you will rarely find beer or other kinds of alcohol in local restaurants, since Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.

woensdag 7 december 2011

Marrakech Wallops The Senses Part 2

Things To Do 01:47 0

GRILLED MEATS GALORE
Once a popular hole-in-the-wall, (7) Plats Haj Boujema (65 Mohamed ElBeqal; 212-524/421-862; lunch for two MAD163) retains its cheap prices and populist spirit despite the (almost) spiffy new digs in Gucliz. Beauties with kohl-rimmed eyes tend to order panini and pizza, but you should opt for the smoky carnivorous offerings. Succulent minced lamb kofte precede perfect beef brochettes, then flash-charred lamb chops and, for the adventurous, skewers of plush liver or brains. No tasting, please, without the taktuka, a zesty, garlicky tomato-and-grccn-pcppcr relish.

ULTIMATE COUSCOUS
Few restaurants in town bother with the proper raking, swelling and multiple steamings of Morocco's signature semolina grains. (8) Dar Moha (81 Rue Dar el Bacha, Medina; 212-524/386-264; MAD1J00) bills itself as nouvelle marocaine, but its charismatic celebrity chef-owner MohaFedal happily takes an ancien approach to couscous. Start with a mosaic of Moroccan salads at your candlelit poolside table on the patio of French designer Pierre Balmain's former riad. Midway through the degustation menu, a duo of couscous dishes invites you to compare earthier Berber-style barley pellets with the more familiar durum wheat, here as light and fluffy as snowflakes. And near the end of your meal don't forget, the dessert pastilla, made with apples and saffron, dcliciously contrasts cream and crunch. »
A MEAL FIT FOR A KING
The cliche "royal repast" reacquires its zing at the extravagant Royal Mansour Marrakcch hotel, owned by the king of Morocco. Need more pedigree? Parisian chef Yannick Allcno of Michclin three-starred Restaurant Lc Mcuricc oversees the hotel's trio of restaurants. At the lofty (9) La Grande Table Marocaine (RueAbou Abbas el Sebti, Medina; 212-529/808-080; dinner for two MAD3.018), chandeliers glitter onto filigrccd metal tables under a coffered ceiling. A waitress in a white caftan reveals a tagine pot's treasure: sweetly spiced duck meatballs stuffed into tender artichoke hearts. The regal highlight: seffa medfouna, a complex veal-and-apricot stew, buried in a mound of ethereal, thrice-steamed vermicelli ornamented with almonds and cinnamon.

FAMILY-STYLE DINING
Run by the female members of the Chab clan and specializing in the intricate flavors of Fez, (10) Al Fassia Aguedal (9 bis Rte. de I'Ourika, Zone Touristique de lAguedal; 212-524/381-138; dinner for two MAD530) is equally adored by tourists, opinionated French expats and local foodies. The newer Aguedal location is more sociable than the original branch, with celebrating families upstairs and couples on the low, cushy banquettes on the ground floor. Bilingual servers will chat you through the 15 appetizers: salad-y dishes featuring three sumptuous iterations of carrots, an orange-blossom-scented tomato jam and dainty, crisp briouat pastries. Don't miss the majestic whole lamb shoulder for two—slowly roasted, its brown, burnished glaze is punctuated by almonds. At meal's end.

UNLIKELIEST SPAGHETTI
Why schlep to Morocco for a bowl of spaghetti? Because Campania's ubcr-chef Alfonso Iaccarino is the genius behind (11) L'ltalien (Ave. BabJdid, Medina; 212-524/388-600; dinner for two MADl,223)t within the renovated La Mamounia hotel. While the Jacques Garcia design is all dark, vampy opulence, the spaghetti Don Alfonso is an essay in sunny simplicity: a vibrant sugo of baby tomatoes clings just so to the al dente pasta from Gragnano producer Gentile, a single fragrant basil leaf the only garnish. The other primi present an equally bclla figura. Begin with the gossamer lobster fritto and fade out with a luscious, boozy Sorrentine baba au rhum, a dream of Amalfi by way of the Sahara.

BEST PASTRIES
"Artistique!" cry sweet-toothed locals about the almond-y handiwork of Madame Alami, sugar diva of (12) Al Jawda pastry shop (11 Rue de la Liberte, Gueliz; 212-524/433-897; pastries for two MAD41). Feet aching? Claim a noir rattan chair on the terrace of her Parisian-looking (13) Al Jawda Plus tearoom (84 Ave. Mohammed V; 212-524/434-662; pastilla/or two MAD98) and order the definitive version of pasdlla, Morocco's baroque pigeon pie. Crunchy yet light without the usual excess dusting of sugar, the warqa pastry encloses a sweet-savory marvel offender, chunky braised pigeon in a plush ambience of ground almonds and beaten eggs. Tt arrives redolent of orange-flower water and a complex blend of spices. End with comes de gazelles pastry half-moons and ultra-crumbly ghriba cookies. On the other side of town, by the covered produce souk, the dollhousc displays of some six dozen syrup-glistening pastries and date sweetmeats at (14) Patisserie Anjar (121 Ave. Houmane El Fetouaki, Arset Lamadch; 212-524/378-983) entice even the most pastry-phobic. The white-chocolate-glazed almond-and-citron confection tastes like marzipan from heaven.

DRINK WITH A VIEW
The minimalist (15) Sky Bar (89 Angle Blvds. Zerkhtoimi and Mohammed V, Gueliz; 212-524/337-777; drinks for two MAD122), at the 1950's-stylc Hotel La Renaissance, is the highest perch in the city. Come before dusk for the snowcapped Atlas Mountains vista, an ice-cold Casablanca beer, and the incongruous sight of macho dudes in Ray-Bans enjoying drinks with fruit slices. Once the red rooftop RAR sign lights up, amble over to the lobby drinking den at the (16) BAB Hotel (Blvd. Mansour Eddahbi and Rue Mohamed El Beqal Gueliz; 212-524/435-250; cocktails for two MAD196), where drinks arc accompanied by Morocco-inspired tapas. The visuals here constitute another kind of tour de force, with a cool, camel-bone-tiled counter and lampshades of shaggy recycled plastic. The libations list is equally cheeky. How about a Jack Is Back—vodka zapped with kiwi, lemon and ginger?

TOP COOKING SCHOOL
Franco-Italian aristocrat Fabrizio Ruspoli has added 10 rooms to (17) La Maison Arabe (J DerbAssehbe, Bab Doukkala, Medina; 212-524/387-010; lamaisonarabe.com; doubles from MAD2.039; half-day cooking classes from MAD612 per person), his sybaritic riad on the medina's edge. The cooking school remains stellar, with small class sizes for a total immersion into the fragrant North African cuisine. Instructor Dada Fatiha learned from her mother, who cooked for a local pasha. Before rolling up their sleeves to make flaky briouat pastries and a chicken tagine accented with cinnamon and sesame seeds, students tour the spice market and cull tips from congenial university professor Mohammed Nahir. (A saffron secret? Pulverize it in a mortar with a touch of salt before using.) Lessons conclude with a DIY feast overlooking a dreamy pool flanked by olive trees.

BRING IT BACK
Savvy shoppers head to the venerable Mellah souk (near Place des Fcrblanticrs, in the city's old Jewish ghetto), where donkeys ferry huge loads along narrow passageways, striped-robed vendors tend conical piles of turmeric and paprika, and sacks bulge with dried rosebuds and sandalwood. Take in the scene over a sage tea or anise-spiked Arabic coffee on the balcony cafe of the
(18) Art de Vivre Oriental complex (88 Rue de Commerce Hay Salam, Mellah; 212-524/389-791; tea for two MAD16). Stock up on saffron, spice blends and medicinal tisanes at
(19) Herboristerie Ibnou Nafiss (52 Rue Dar Daou, Arset Lamadch; 212-655/560-822). Those looking for chic hand-painted tea glasses and earth-toned artisanal linen place mats and tablecloths should visit (20) Scenes de Lin (70 Rue de la Liberte, Gueliz; 212-524/436-108). For argan oil-both cosmetic and culinary—and vibrant essences from organic ingredients grown on the owner's farm, get Nectarome-brand products at (21) Essence des Sens (52 Rue Mouassin
e, Medina; 212-6/7696-3107): the orange-flower water will perfume desserts or fruit salads, and a dash of black sesame oil can transform a stew. Dizzy from endless patterns? The tea sets, candlesticks and mini tagine pots at (22) Jamade (1 Place DouarGraoua, Rue Riad Zitoun ./'did, Medina; 212-524/429-042), produced by artisans and women's collectives, feature fluid, modern shapes, smooth glazing and eye-popping monochrome hues. +

zondag 4 december 2011

Marrakech wallops the senses

Things To Do 04:02 0

FEW PLACES ON THE PLANET OFFER SUCH A DIZZYING MOST FRAGRANT COUSCOUS, THE ULTIMATE TAGINE AND OTHER SPICY SECRETS OF MOROCCO'S CULINARY CAPITAL. MARRAKECH WALLOPS THE SENSES.

A riot of colors (mosaic tiles; woven textiles), sounds (the drone of drums from the central square. Jamaa El Fna), and, of course, tastes. Whether in the souks of the walled Medina or the hourgeois district of Gueliz, there is no hettcr place to savor the diversity of North African cuisine—lamb, couscous, eggplant all redolent of cumin, saffron and the crimson pepper sauce harissa—than this ancient crossroads.

BREAKFAST FEST

Cult morning favorite (1) Espace Fruits Outmane (40 Ave. Mouldy Rachid, Gueliz; no phone; breakfast for two MAD82) might be miniature, but it's mirrored, tiled and festooned with soccer ball-scale papayas and grapefruits. At the rickety plastic tables outside, bearded gentlemen aerate their mint teas and pretty young moms ply kids with the thick, tart house yogurt. While awaiting your omelette with dusky shreds of khelea (dried preserved beef)* slather aromatic flat cornbreads with honey and amloiu a nutty-rich almond-and-argan-oil spread that will ruin peanut butter for you forever. Finish with the Panache Outmane—a frothy kiwi, strawberry and orange juice potion.

EAT LIKE A LOCAL

The meal of your life... at a gas station? Indeed. A 20-minutc hop from town along the old Fez route brings you to (2) Al Baraka (RP24 Commune Annakhil Sidi YousefBen Ali; 212-524/329-267; luneh for two MAD245), its cheery outdoor tables an agreeable distance from the pumps. Here's the drill: flat bread—as blistered and chewy as Rome's best pizza bianca—at a window where Berber ladies slap dough into a wood-fueled oven. Next, grilled lamb from the butcher shop in the middle. Finish at the tagine station, where coals smolder beneath the blackened conical pots. Good luck choosing between a whole country chicken, pungent with preserved lemons and olives, and a tender beef shank fragrant with cloves and sweet, smoky prunes.

SOUK STANDOUTS

An orange sunset floods the tiny windows of the Kutublyah minaret in the distance, smoke drifts up from myriad food stalls, the giiawa drums throb, and children swarm around snake charmers and monkey trainers. The roof-terrace tables at (3) Cafe de France (Jamaa El Fna square; 212-524/442-319; tea for two MAD57) offer the best vantage point for this great Jamaa El Fna square spectacle, but arrive well before twilight to snag a chair with a view. Tasting your way through the square itself can be challenging: the tablecloth stalls arc filled with tourists, while the authentic ones can require a stomach of steel. vSo follow our lead to (4) Hassan (Stall No. 32; snacks for two MAD41) for juicy merguez sausages served at a tin counter thronged by big families.

FOR ROAST LAMB

As humble street stalls open branches in upscale Gueliz, Haj Mostapha N'Guyer, the local mechoui (roasted lamb) emperor, has joined the wave. Find him first, in robe and skullcap, at his (5) Haj Mostapha stand in a mcdina alley (Souk Quessabine, off the northeastern end of Jamaa El Fna; no phone; lunch for two MAD98). Then seek out his alter ego at (6) Chez Lamine (19 Angle Ibn Aicha and Mohamed El Beqal, Residence Yasmine; 212-524/431-164; lunch for two MAD130), speaking French and sporting a European-style suit. At both locations the lamb is spectacular: roasted in an underground clay pit until mcltingly tender, sold by weight (request the moist neck and rib meat) and served on butcher paper with cumin salt. Your flatbread roll serves as plate, utensil, napkin and absorber of the rich, fatty goodness

maandag 5 september 2011

Eat And Shop In Marrakech

Shopping 11:16 0

Where to Shop In Marrakech:

Beldi 9—11 Souikat Laksour; 212-44/441-076. Jean-Paul Gaultier is a regular at Taoufiq Baroudi's boutique, for glamorous caftans, babouches (slippers), silk quilts, and pillows.

Ministero del Gusto 22 Derb Azzouz el-Mouassine; 212-44/426-455. This Italian-run gallery with a pool in the middle specializes in contemporary art and furniture.

Ryad Tamsna 23 Derb Zanka Deika, off Rue Riad Zitoun Jdid; 212-44/385-272. Meryanne Loum-Martin's restored medina town house has an excellent bookstore, an art gallery, and a boutique offering one-of-a-kind fabrics, scarves, bags, and jewelry.

La Porte d'Orient 9 Blvd. Mansour Eddahbi; 212-44/438-967. This vast emporium of North African antiques specializes in wood, including ornate doors, chests, and entire carved ceilings (they can be shipped anywhere).

Cooperatim Ave. Mohamed V, just beyond Place Djemaa el-Fna; 212-44/440-503. A well-edited collection of the usual souk stuff—carpets, pottery, jewelry—at fair, fixed prices.

Where to Eat In Marrakech:

In addition to the city's riad revolution, Marrakesh is stirring up interest on the food front. Here, some of the town's top tables:

Alizia Rue Chouhada-chawki, Hivernage; 212-44/438-360; dinner for two $30. Excellent Italian, French, and fish dishes; on mild evenings, Alizia's bougainvillea-shaded front garden is the place to be.

Amanjena Rte. de Ouarzazate, km 12; 212-44/403-353; dinner for two $94. For a change of scene and cuisine, the Thai dining room of the stunning Aman resort is worth a trek to the outskirts of Marrakesh.

Dar Moha Almadina 81 Rue Dar el Bacha; 212-44/386-400; dinner for two $72. The former mansion of designer Pierre Balmain provides the sumptuous setting for chef Moha Fedal's nouvelle cuisine marocaine.

La Maison Arabe 1 Derb Assehbé, Bab Doukkala; 212-44/387-010; dinner for two $50. One of the city's best small hotels now has a romantic new dining room, its blue ceiling inspired by a Persian mosque.

Le Tobsil 22 Derb Abdellah Ben Hessaien, R'mila Bab Ksour; 212-44/444-052; dinner for two $94. Innovative Moroccan cooking—lamb tagine with quince, moist pastilla (pigeon pie)—served in the courtyard of a lovely riad.

zaterdag 3 september 2011

Discover Marrakch in 36 Hours

Things To Do 01:14 0

IN 1939, George Orwell wrote of Westerners flocking to Marrakech in search of “camels, castles, palm-trees, Foreign Legionnaires, brass trays and bandits.” Ever since, the city has been ravishing visitors with its teeming souks, ornate palaces and sybaritic night life. In recent years, a succession of high-end openings and restorations — most notably, the lavish reopening of the hotel La Mamounia — has transformed the city into an obligatory stop for jet-setters. Yet despite Marrakesh’s new cachet, the true treasures of the enigmatic city still hide down dusty side streets and behind sagging storefronts.

Friday

5 p.m.
1) MEDINA, REFINED

For sheer energy and intrigue, few places rival the labyrinthine souks of Marrakesh’s fortified old city. Skullcapped artisans sweat over ancient lathes while overdressed French tourists haggle over inlaid cedar boxes and silver lamps. In recent years, up-and-coming designers have opened fashionable boutiques in the Souk Cherifia that put a contemporary twist on Arab-Andalusian motifs. Lalla (Souk Cherifia, First Floor, Sidi Abdelaziz; 212-661-477-228; lalla.fr) opened in 2008 and carries slouchy Mauritanian leather handbags that are carried in stylish London stores like Paul & Joe and Coco Ribbon. The designer Marion Theard recently opened La Maison Bahira (Souk Cherifia, First Floor, Sidi Abdelaziz; 212-524-386-365; maison-bahira.com), which sells her signature handwoven textiles, hammam towels and embroidered pillows. For a break from the haggling, stop by Le Jardin (32 Sidi Abdelaziz, Souk Jeld; 212-524-378-295), a cafe that opened its doors last month and is owned by Kamal Laftimi, a young Moroccan also behind the popular Café des Épices and Terrace des Épices.

7 p.m.
2) SQUARE PLATES

Djemaa el Fna, the main square of the Medina, is a motley tapestry of life, where shoppers wade through a chaos of fortune tellers, snake charmers and pushy henna painters. But it’s also one of the best places to get acquainted with the rich flavors and textures of Moroccan cuisine. Go at sundown to the square’s myriad food stalls, when hundreds of gas lanterns light up billows of steam. Ignore the men trying to divert traffic to their particular stall, and grab yourself a seat where there are plenty of locals. A good starter is a bowl of snails in saffron broth, from one of the snail stands on the eastern end of the square (10 dirhams, about $1.23 at 8.2 dirhams to the dollar). Follow that with a lamb couscous doused in harissa at one of the stalls on the north end (30 dirhams). Adventurous eaters should try one of the mutton stalls near the square’s center, where everything from sheep’s brain to skewered heart is sold.

9 p.m.
3) BOOZING à LA CHURCHILL

Le Bar Churchill, in the resplendently renovated La Mamounia (Avenue Bab Jdid; 212-524-388-600; mamounia.com), is a perfect spot for rubbing shoulders with the well-heeled set. Named for its most famous patron, Le Bar Churchill escaped the hotel’s face-lift largely unscathed, and still drips in supple black leather, leopard skin and polished chrome. If you’re seeking belly dancers, Le Comptoir Darna (Avenue Echouhada; 212-524-437-702; comptoirdarna.com), a French-Moroccan brasserie in the up-and-coming Hivernage quarter, offers one of the city’s best floor shows, a hip-shaking affair that spills down the central staircase and into the dining room.

Saturday

10 a.m.
4) SOUK CHEF

Can’t get enough tagine? Learn to make it yourself at Souk Cuisine (Zniquat Rahba, Derb Tahtah 5; 212-673-804-955; soukcuisine.com), one of several Moroccan cooking workshops that have cropped up in recent years. Run by Gemma van de Burgt, a Dutch expatriate, the half-day workshop (10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) starts with a visit to the Rahba Kedima market to forage for quince, argan oil and other Moroccan ingredients. Classes convene in the courtyard of an old riad, where budding chefs learn how to make dishes like lamb tagine and raisin couscous, culminating in a four-course lunch on the terrace, served with mint tea and wine (40 euros).

3 p.m.
5) MANICURED JUNGLE

French colonialism still informs facets of the city, and the melding of French and Moroccan sensibilities is perhaps most beautifully expressed in the Majorelle Gardens (212-524-313-047; JardinMajorelle.com), a 12-acre botanical garden in the French district of Gueliz. The cobalt-blue gardens were designed in the 1920s by the painter Jacques Majorelle and are filled with palms, yucca, lily ponds and a huge variety of tropical flowers and cactuses. They later became the backyard of Yves Saint Laurent, whose deep love for Marrakesh is evident in his personal collection of Moroccan crafts and textiles on display in the adjoining Islamic Art Museum.

5 p.m.
6) A FOCUS ON BERBERS

After being marginalized for centuries, Berber culture is now a cause célèbre for Moroccan gallerists and historians. The Maison de la Photographie (46 Ahal Fès; 212-524-385-721; maison-delaphotographie.com) opened last year in a restored fondouk, or traditional inn, and is devoted to documenting Berber life in the Medina. A 4,500-photograph collection includes rare glimpses of Jewish Berbers and a fascinating assemblage of glass plates dating from 1862. The museum is crowned with a roof cafe, which offers stellar views of the Medina. The 40-dirham ticket also gets you into Ecomusée Berbere de l’Ourika (Vilage de Tafza, Route de l’Ourika, Km. 37; 212-524-385-721; ecomuseeberbere.com), a new museum 23 miles outside the city that captures life in a traditional Berber village.

8 p.m.
7) FROM BEIRUT, WITH LOVE

If the city’s hotels have gone upscale, the dining scene has gone through the roof. Marcel Chiche, a restaurateur and local night-life titan, recently opened Azar (Rue de Yougoslavie, near Boulevard Hassan II; 212-524-430-920; azarmarrakech.com), a splashy Lebanese restaurant that draws a party-ready crowd. The shimmering design of the dining room is the work of Younes Duret, a rising French-Moroccan designer. The modern Lebanese dishes include eggplant caviar with sesame crème (40 dirhams) and a rotisserie chicken (140). After dinner, take the Astroturf-carpeted elevator to the downstairs bar, where the city’s beautiful people dance to live Arabic pop music.

11 p.m.
8) NORTH AFRICAN NIGHTS

Though Gueliz still buzzes with bars and clubs, the newer action is clustered in the industrial Hivernage district. One of the most fashionable spots is Lotus Club (Rue Ahmed Chawki; 212-524-431-537; riadslotus.com), a laid-back restaurant and nightclub styled as an urban retreat. On the weekends, 20- and 30-somethings mingle under floral-kitsch white lamps as D.J.’s mix electronic beats with Bollywood pop.

Sunday

10 a.m.
9) SWEAT ROYALLY

In the land of a thousand hammams, mega-spas seem to get larger by the day. It doesn’t get more lavish than the Royal Mansour (Rue Abou Abbas el Sebti; 212-529-808-080; royalmansour.com), a fortressed pleasure palace consisting of 53 riads connected by tunnels that is owned by King Mohammed VI. Women in elaborately embroidered caftans lead visitors through a palatial foyer into private chambers where treatments include an aromatic massage with argan oil, from 1,200 dirhams.

Noon
10) BOUTIQUE SHOPPING

Tired of haggling? Head to the fashionable boutiques that have opened recently along Rue de la Liberté in Gueliz. Moor (7 Rue des Anciens Marrakchis; 212-524-458-274; akbardelights.com) sells leather floor pillows and stylish tunics under a ceiling covered in giant white lanterns. Though the name of this children’s shop is unwieldy even for French-speakers, La Manufacture de Vêtements Pour Enfants Sages (44 Rue des Anciens Marrakchis; 212-524-446-704) carries everything from handmade Moroccan pajamas to colorful stuffed camels. A common complaint among Marrakesh art collectors is that all the good young artists decamp to Europe. But new galleries like David Bloch Gallery (8 bis Rue des Vieux Marrakchis; 212-524-457-595; davidblochgallery.com), which specializes in street art, have become a platform for up-and-coming French and Moroccan artists. The gallery, housed in a stark concrete block covered with colorful graffiti, creates yet another level of contrast in the ever-evolving city.

IF YOU GO

The boho-chic Peacock Pavilions (Kilometer 13, Route de Ourzazate; peacockpavilions.com), opened this year, sits on an 8.5-acre grove just outside the city. It’s made up of two stunning pavilions. The smaller, 1,300-square-foot double-room pavilion costs 350 euros a night, $460 at $1.31 to the euro; one of the rooms can also be rented for 150 euros.

After a three-year renovation by the Parisian architect Jacques Garcia, La Mamounia (Avenue Bab Jdid; 212-524-388-600; mamounia.com), originally opened in 1923, has never been grander. It now has indoor and outdoor pools and Michelin-starred chefs, not to mention helicopter rides over the Atlas Mountains. Rooms from 665 euros.

In a renovated traditional riad well-situated within the Medina, the welcoming and affordable Riad Dar Khmissa (166 Derb Jamaa; Arset Moussa Lakbira; 212-524-443-707; dar-khmissa-marrakech.com) offers seven comfortable rooms and a lovely roof terrace. From 50 euros, including a delicious home-cooked Moroccan breakfast.

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woensdag 7 december 2011

Marrakech Wallops The Senses Part 2

zondag 4 december 2011

Marrakech wallops the senses

maandag 5 september 2011

Eat And Shop In Marrakech

zaterdag 3 september 2011

Discover Marrakch in 36 Hours

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