Moroccan Bites

Well, we did it! Pablo and I were able to drive up to San Antonio the after Christmas and it was the perfect opportunity to try out the famous Moroccan Bites from "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." As you may have remembered, the last time we went the restaurant was closed because it was a Tuesday. We were a little afraid it might be closed again for whatever reason: the day after Christmas, renovation, etc. With our bad luck on the last visit, we imagined any possibility, haha. But we arrived, hungry and hopeful, to a very open Moroccan Bites. 
The wall of the front entryway is filled with plaques and awards. The place is well decorated, with areas set apart to look like authentic seating complete with cushions and rugs. Music played in the background and paintings of various Moroccan scenes and people hung between decorated lamp fixtures. Everything was so colorful and interesting. 
We started out with the famous Arabic mint tea. Have you ever read Three Cups of Tea ? That kind of mint tea. Oh man was that stuff divine. Understanding how iconic and important to the culture the tea was enhanced that aspect of the experience too. 
Our waitress helped us pick out the best on the menu and she didn't disappoint us. I had a traditional lamb shank tagini (stew cooked in a traditional triangle-like oven) with Moroccan bread and for Pablo a meat combo with chicken, lamb, and Moroccan sausage on top of saffron rice. The tagini, we both decided, was the winner of the two. The lamb shank came with the bone in and was topped with almonds and prunes. For dessert, we ordered the almond cake. Our waitress's sister makes all the cakes and she swears by them, so we couldn't refuse. That cake was seriously the moistest cake we've ever had. It practically melted in your mouth, no joke. It was a great way to end a great meal.

 

 
 I still think the Jerusalem Grill was our favorite, with their hummus and grilled vegetables; but that tagini would bring us back again for sure. Next time we visit San Antonio, in about three weeks, we want to go Mexican. I know we live in Mexico, but sophisticated, culinary Mexican is different than the street Mexican we have all over where we live. It would be nice to taste some elevated form of tacos and beans sometime.