Over the weekend my client, Global Creditors Network, had a holiday party at a restaurant in Costa Mesa by the name of Marrakesh. Now I am not very cultured in the taste of foods from around the world, but I figured it was a good night to try something different. I am first going to describe the interior of the building… It had much of what I assume a Moroccan theme would be, plants, jewel encrusted objects, tables which were about 2 1/2 feet off the ground with chairs to match, and of course belly dancers.

I started out the night by trying out some Moroccan beer called “Casablanca”; it is a light lager with a taste that reminded me of Newcastle Brown Ale (my favorite beer thus far). Moving on from the beer, the host brought out a pan and “tea-pot” of warm water so we could all wash our hands at the tables. The first item that they brought out was the soup, called Harira, which contains lentils, tomatoes, garbonzo beans, and other miscellaneous items and oddly enough it reminded everyone at my table of campbell’s tomatoes soup. The second dish to be brought out was the “salad” which was basically diced tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, and carrots; nothing special but really not a salad in the American sense. The next item to come from the kitchen, my favorite part of the whole meal, was the Bastilla, which is made up of filo dough, stuffed with chicken, egg, and almonds topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon. I know that may not sound the most appetizing, but it was really good! The last two dishes that were brought out, the main courses… of course, Chicken with Lemon & Olives and Cous Cous with Lamb and Vegetables. These two dishes were pretty good, but I did not really like the Cous Cous, it was just to weird tasting for me…

Sometime after, or before the main course Cindy and I got up and danced with the belly dancer (the 3 beers helped quite a bit I believe) and when I was “trying to feed” one of the belly dancers by putting some money in her skirt (I was pressured by everyone to do it, I swear…)  my hand ended up… in her skirt… because she kept shaking her hips more and more every time I got closer… Can you believe that?

It was a good time, Cindy and I both had a fun time. If anyone reading this is interested in trying out that restaurant, I would say go for it, at least once. You definitely will not regret going there, it was a fun environment.