Eats - Moroccan

Cities covered: San Jose

Menara
41 East Gish Road
San Jose, California 95112
408/453-1983
Mon-Fri from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
www.menara41.com or on CitySearch.com
I've eaten Moroccan food two times—once in LA at Dar Maghreb (7651 W. Sunset Boulevard) and once here at Menara in San Jose—but sometimes I get a craving for a nice tangine and mint tea.

The restaurant has blank white facade, so use the large orange hotel across the street as a landmark. The interior has a high ceiling and is dark, cool, and kitschy in a fun way. The largely empty entry/bar is almost half large as the restaurant and features a small sunken fountain and these fantastic pressed metal tables (that I've been looking for ever since).

Unlike my experience in LA, the portions are sized for the party. There were only two of us that night, so the five course meal ended up being just the right amount. There are five prix fixe dinners on the menu, so ordering is a snap. We chose the Dinner Menara. The moroccan salad was forgetable. The pastilla (or b'stilla, pigeon pie) was made with chicken and was about 5" in diameter. The next few courses were good, although not memorable. The main dishes of honey lamb (which I loved for some reason) and tangine chicken (which I think must have been a cornish game hen) were nicely done. The mint tea was a nice clean finish and offset the honey sweetness of the baklava.

The requisite belly dancer was, in fact, what made the evening. This seems...well, lame, but the dancer was talented and the show had the right balance of theater and "come dance with me, you clumsy obese Americans!" goofiness. Tipping the dancer during her perfomance is not encouraged. The dancer comes by afterwards to see how you are enjoying your dinner.

Basically, this is the only show in town for Moroccan food, but I truly loved the mix of costume-drama kitsch and unpretentious hospitality.06/15/02