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A new meat restaurant, Casablan, opened up in Ramat HaHayal a few months ago. It is run by a family of new immigrants, fresh arrivals from Casablanca in Morocco (and not obsessive fans of the well known film as some people – not us – might assume). We wrapped ourselves in good coats and braved the cold to see if it was true. So indeed, Yehoram Gaon wasn’t standing outside in bell bottoms, but the Moroccan touch was definitely there; we were welcomed by Haim Moshe, who was thankful for everything and by the aroma of meat on the grill.
The restaurant is designed in burgundy and gold, integrated with dark wood, emitting a warm and pleasant ambience. Warm enough to make us peel off our coats and begin stimulating our taste buds. For openers, mini appetizers are placed on the table – tahini, an assortment of pickles, Turkish salad, beets and eggplants. Not anything we haven’t seen before, but like the good Israelis that we are, we automatically dug in.
The menu (kosher, by the way) is opened with appetizers like Humus with chickpeas, humus with lamb or peas, French fries, chopped liver, liver pâté and more. We went for the humus with lamb and, I must say that despite my great love for lamb, I haven’t encountered this original combination yet. Tasting findings: indeed, an interesting combination – not good enough for a Catholic wedding but indeed appropriate for a fling.
The restaurant operates a small soup bar, cooked in heavy steel pots that add an aroma to the homey atmosphere and provide another option for defrosting our throats before eating. At lunchtime, the soups are part of the business meals and at dinnertime, for 24 NIS per diner; you’re welcome to have all the soup you can eat.
Once we came to, it was time to make a big decision: should we go for the authentic Morrocan dishes that I personally love, or should we stay with the grilled meats, seeing that for carnivores like us there’s nothing like a juicy piece of meat, peaking at you from the plate, to bring joy to your eyes. We thought long and hard and finally decided that there’s no need for contemplation – at these prices, we can order everything.
The Moroccan dishes, cooked by the family mamas, change every day and each mama has her day: meatballs in tomato sauce (“Cuari di Mama”) on Sunday, couscous Bidawi on Tuesday and complete Skhena on Friday (all house meals cost 48 NIS). We came to eat on Monday, allowing us to eat “Dzaza Bzeitoun” – soft and melting chicken in spicy olive and tomato sauce – very spicy, as worthy of traditional Moroccan cuisine.
So far, we exhausted the Moroccan part of each one of us and went on to the animal part because if anyone who risks eating Morrocan cooking should know that he’s risking not having much room for anything else – we ordered entrecote skewers. Listen, it is indeed a new restaurant, but it seems like the person behind the meat here has been in the business for a while. The meat was well done and we savored every bite.
For people who don’t subsist on beef like we do, there are other options to try, including fish, chicken steak and pullet. To hermetically seal in the oxygen remaining in your body, you can look over at the very sweet desserts – chocolate soufflé, malabi or pecan pie in coffee sauce, guaranteeing that you won’t be able to get out of the chair without rinsing with a glass of hot mint tea.
The prices are reasonable, ranging between 15-24 NIS for the appetizers, 24-30 NIS per skewer and 65-70 NIS for the fish.
*The writer was a guest at the restaurant
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