La Maison Du Couscous – French for "The
House of Couscous" – in Bay Ridge, changes the usual all-show
Moroccan restaurant equation.
No belly dancers, here. In fact, no show at all. The house is
more of a walk-in closet with seven glass-topped tables.
The real razzle-dazzle comes from the cooking.
Opened one year ago by Abderrahim "Zachy" Ezzaki, this
diminutive cafe, ably serving both Moroccan clientele and neighborhood
locals, has garnered great word of mouth. While buzz can also
lead to a "What’s all the fuss about?" experience,
that wasn’t the case at La Maison Du Couscous. After a meal there,
I wondered why there wasn’t a line out the door.
Moroccan cooking borrows from its explorers and conquerors: the
French, Middle Easterners and Asians. The result is a cuisine
that employs hot and sweet peppers, cinnamon, light, refreshing
mint and deeply aromatic basil. Lusty, hot peppers and olives
mix with tart, preserved lemons; and essences of orange blossom
water and rosewater impart a floral note to drinks and dessert.
To turn out satisfying Moroccan food, spices need to be employed
judiciously so that each complements the other and one spice
doesn’t hog the show.
There’s no better example of this alchemy than the velvety zaalouk.
Soft and unctuous, the eggplant spread is deeply smoky, as if
the eggplants were slowly roasted over a wood fire. The mixture
tasted of cumin, and a bit of garlic, and last, the lingering
flavor of paprika. It was delicious scooped up with a spongy
disc of the warm, house-baked Moroccan semolina bread.
Cracked green olives liberally laced with red pepper began the
meal. Their fiery heat and briny, acidic flavor contrasted beautifully
with the zaalouk, and paired well with all the dishes I tried.
La Maison Du Couscous doesn’t have a liquor license. They offer
tea, coffee, soda, and in addition to orange and apple juices,
they serve the unusual avocado and almond juices.
Try the almond juice. It looks like a frothy glass of milk but
has a light, clean almond flavor. A few drops of orange blossom
water scented the drink with a delicate floral aroma, and the
ground almonds left a pleasingly rough texture on the tongue.
The juice worked like a balm on the palate. Sipped after popping
an olive into the mouth, it instantly calmed the fire of the
hot peppers.
Four little phyllo triangles called briwats were stuffed with
coarsely chopped shrimp, scallops and calamari. A squeeze of
lemon brought out the clean flavors of the seafood.
Skipping the couscous at La Maison Du Couscous is like passing
on the flapjacks at the International House of Pancakes. Couscous
is tiny grains of semolina pasta, steamed and served as a base
for meat, fish and vegetable stews, like an alternative to rice.
It’s the national dish of Morocco and the chefs at this House
of Couscous do it proud. The lamb couscous is one huge shank
served over a pile of fluffy couscous. The lamb was tender, and
its sauce thick and sweet with onions and plump sweet raisins.
As superb as the restaurant’s signature dish is, their tajines
are even better. A tajine is a deep earthenware dish with a tight-fitting
conical lid. A stew of meat, fish and vegetables slow cooks in
the tajine. Lift the top off and an aromatic cloud of steam settles
over the table. Magic happened under the lid that transformed
a chicken breast into something far better. The flesh of the
bird became dense and succulent. Like a sponge, it absorbed the
flavors of green olives and preserved lemon. When touched with
a fork, the tangy, rich juice of the meat oozed onto chunks of
creamy potatoes.
Then there’s the soft-spoken waitress with the teapot. Yes, it
was frightening to have an arc of scalding liquid so near my
face, but once poured, the tea was sweet and minty and as calming
as a dose of Prozac.
A display case of honey-sweetened pastries sat in the corner
of the restaurant. They’re usually too sweet for me, and I wanted
something cold to end the meal. The creme caramel was refreshing,
but also too sweet. Stick with the house-made biscotti – moist
and almondy – and a cup or two of the lovely tea.
The only thing that La Maison Du Couscous lacks is high drama.
That’s fine with me. If I want entertainment, I’ll go to Broadway.
When I want good conversation and a great meal, I’m hightailing
it to La Maison.
La Maison Du Couscous (484 77th St.
at Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge) accepts Visa, MasterCard, American
Express and Discover. Entrees: $7.95-$11.95. For information,
call (718) 921-2800.
