Luckily, we still have Option 2: Go to Amanouz Café in Northampton.
Amanouz Café has been one of my favorites since my first year. The café makes fantastic Moroccan food at equally fantastic prices. Amanouz is contained in a small slot on Northampton's Main Street.
But the size of the café is no reflection of the menu. Amanouz's offerings extend from the traditional Moroccan plates of tabbouleh salad and couscous chicken to the brie omelette and the kiwi strawberry orange smoothie. The menu is based on typical Moroccan elements such as couscous, chicken, almonds, cinnamon, sugar and spices.
The Amanouz Royal Feast ($6.25) includes humos (often spelled "hummus"), falafel, tabbouleh salad, musaka (often spelled "moussaka") and pita bread … a great Mediterranean sampler, but not specifically Moroccan. The humos is delicious, creamy and smooth. The falafel is simply fantastic with a crispy firm crust and warm, creamy interior. The tabbouleh is refreshing and of a generous size considering the size of the platter.
The musaka, however, is very different from the musaka I've had mainly in Greek restaurants and in Greece. The dish often focuses on ground beef with zucchini and a creamy bechamel sauce. The Amanouz version includes sauteed tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, green peppers, parsley and tahini sauce. It is more of a salsa and comes in a small serving. Not bad, but go elsewhere if you're a musaka fan. Overall, the platter was very good.
The Couscous with Lentils and Chicken ($8.95) reminded me very much of dahl, for those of you who are familiar with Indian food. Perfectly cooked couscous serves as the base for soft lentils with a light but substantial gravy and a nicely tendered chicken with boiled carrots and potatoes. A very good dish-almost as good as the variations of it that I ate in Morocco. Highly recommended.
The Chicken Kebab on Salad ($7.25) is great. Thin slivers of moist chicken come on top of lettuce, corn, olives, cucumbers, tomato, shaved carrots, onions and green peppers. The salad comes with a great vinaigrette dressing. The only disappointments were that the thinner chicken slices were overcooked and it was difficult to detect the taste of the marinade.
Other dishes to try are the variety of fish platters (tuna, halibut, swordfish and salmon) charbroiled or as kababs, the Spinach & Feta Pie ($3.25), the Lamb Shish Kabab Sandwich ($6.95) and the Bastilla ($8.95).
Amanouz has a great selection of desserts. Rumor has it their baklava is a star. The Moroccan bread pudding was out of this world or, "an experience," as the cashier put it. Served warm and made from fresh croissants blended with raisins, cinnamon and sugar, the pudding is amazing. I bought it as take-out when we left the café, before heading out for ice cream, with the intent of saving it for much later that night or the next day. I ate it the second I got back to my room.
Amanouz also offers a thorough breakfast menu that I have yet to try. Mediterranean French Toast with cinnamon and honey ($4.95)? Sounds good to me. Served with a Portuguese (or "bolo") muffin? Now we're really talking. Also intriguing are the Mediterranean Eggs-steamed eggs with tomato herb sauce and cheese ($5.95).
Really, all you need to know is you should check out Amanouz Café for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Be adventurous. And in typical Moroccan fashion, order family style.
When Leigh isn't in North Africa, she's right here in Amherst sampling local delights. Ask her for recommendations at lfrivlin@amherst.edu.