Fat Ninja

I’ve always told Laura about how much I loved the five years that I spent living in Morocco. From the culture, the climate, the food and the people, it was a very important time in my life. It was just an entirely different way of life. Unfortunately, I’ve only been able to share the experience with Laura through words and recollection. That is until now.

For Valentine’s Day, I made reservations at the Marrakesh in downtown Portland for Dean, Christina, Laura and I. We arrived five minutes before our reservation to find a small throng of people waiting in the entry. I navigated my way through the crowd to speak to the maitre d’, thinking to myself, “Step aside, folks. I’ve got a reservation.” As I glanced about the restaraunt I couldn’t help but feel at home with the general ambience. From the beautiful inlayed tables, to the ottomans, to soft lighting, everything just felt right.

It was when I overheard every person standing in the entrance muttering about their six o’clock reservations that I knew I was in for an authentic Moroccan dining experience. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I managed to forget my agitation and let myself leave being seated to God’s will.

Five minutes after that, we were led to our table, winding our way through other diners, through to the back and down into the building’s basement. Intricate rugs covered the floor while stunning murals of muted North African sunsets adorned the walls.

Once seated, we looked over the menu. Before long our server, in traditional Moroccan garb, came over and offered us the Marrakesh’s Moroccan feast, which we quickly agreed to. Before the meal could begin, they brought out a silver basin and poured rose-water over our hands to prepare for a utensil-free meal.

With our hands washed, they brought us our first appetizer; a delicious lentil soup. Rich and flavorful, it was a great starter. From there, the food just got better and better. The next appetizer was a delicious salad of pureed eggplant served over shredded lettuce, surrounded by a nice mix of finely chopped tomatoes and onions. In place of utensils, we were given cut sections of Moroccan bread. Despite everyone’s reservations about eggplant, everyone sampled the dish and before long, it was gone.

Following the salad we had a delicious B’stellela Royale, which is a combination of chopped almonds, chicken and eggs wrapped in a flaky crust topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Once everyone figured out how to eat it without a fork and knife, it was devoured.

With the last appetizer served and eaten, we were served our five-dish main course. We had the Chicken Honey and Prunes, Lamb with Eggplant, Couscous Marrakesh, Chicken Apricot, and an Apple Celery chicken. Each dish was exquisite and absolutely authentic. In fact, I haven’t had Moroccan food so good since I lived there. All any of us could do was talk about how great each dish was.

As we sat and ate, we were entertained by a live belly-dancer. After the main dishes, the basin was brought back so that we could rinse our hands. Dessert was a light mix of fresh fruit and cinnamon accompanied by traditional Moroccan mint tea.

From start to finish, dinner at the Marrakesh was fantastic. It wasn’t just a meal. It was an experience. For Valentine’s Day I wanted to share an important part of me with Laura, and I think she caught a very real glimpse of what my time in Morocco was like.

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