I liked the Grilled Merguez, Spicy Lamb Sausages with a poached egg and chickpeas. Some of the sausages were a little burnt but they were very flavorful. The poached egg in the center could’ve taken this dish up a notch if the yolk was runny but alas it was not, cooked to medium.

The Meze Plate was a generous portion of Matbucha, Babaghanough, and Hummus. Everyone seemed to favor the Matbucha, a cumin flavored spinach and chickpea mixture, reminiscent of Saag without being creamy. The Babaghanough was much more of a Moroccan version of caponata, with identifiable pieces of eggplant, rather than mashed, but it was still pretty good, and the hummus was average as well.

The pita was decent but necessary for the Meze Plate.

I loved that the tagine dishes were served in actual tagines. (I really want to buy one but they’re expensive and take up so much space.)

The Tagine Lamb Tfaya was very sweet, with tender meat and an enormous amount of raisins (the largest I’ve ever seen) and chickpeas. There was a very subtle heat that built up by the end of the dish.

The Chicken Tagine with preserved lemon, potatoes, and Moroccan olives was also impressively tender and well flavored.

The Mrouzia Beef Short Ribs were also pretty sweet. The meat fell right off the bone. All of these dishes were served with a bowl of plain cous cous.

The Chermoula Rubbed Wild Salmon was a bit over-cooked but the dryness is masked by the sauce and spinach mixture.

The Fig Ice Cream has nice chunks of fig in it but it’s a bit too sweet.

The Fruit Cup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is pretty bad. The ice cream is fine but the fruit is not so fresh.

Luckily, Angie brought two beautiful cakes with candles that spelled out “Happy Birthday”.

The Chocolate Cake, from Koryodang Koryodang, is very Asian bakery style, which is ultra light and fluffy, much less sweet (my preference) than American style cakes. The spongy texture with layers of cream was very nice but I often find that there isn’t enough chocolate flavor in these cakes.

The Red Velvet Cake, from Cafe Muse Cafe Muse, was a wonderful color, really moist, and the frosting was great. There wasn’t any chocolate flavor in this cake though which Red Velvet really should.

Zerza is really a good spot for groups/birthday parties. It’s affordable for everyone, large portions of good, not amazing food, and you do
n’t feel ultra cramped. They will refrigerate the cakes for you, set up the candles and light them, and serve them, with no plating charges. Keep them in mind if your sick of going to Chinatown of Koreatown for all your group parties.

Galil Moroccan Galil Moroccan is a glatt kosher restaurant in a prime neighborhood (read: Jewish). It was buzzing with patrons at 9:30 on a Thursday night. We grabbed a table for two and ordered the Small Combination Platter which includes Hummus, Tehina, Babaganoush, Eggplant, Moroccan Salad, Tabbouli, Carrots, and Beets, I might be forgetting something. They also delivered three piping hot pita to the table. The pita were soft, doughy, and delicious, and again, piping hot. While they don’t make them on site, they are fresh from the oven and are great. Each of the salads were more delicious than the other. The tehina was incredibly cream and rich. The babaganoush (which I felt there wasn’t enough of) was strong and aromatic. And the tabouli was herbally and crisp. We both really enjoyed it and commented on how it would make a great lunch in and of itself. And at $11.95 it is decent price for glatt kosher. The only downside was the quantity of pita, we really needed one or two more.

Afterwards, we both enjoyed some Moroccan Tea and shared Baklava. The baklava wasn’t the biggest or best I’ve had, but it was distinctive and tasted good, but not worth the $5 price tag.

Overall, Galil earned my respect for good food. Since it’s a few blocks from my sister Kasi who keeps kosher, maybe we’ll go back for a full meal.