Mourad

photo - Yelp, Tony L.

Mourad, Drinks, SOMA

P&J:
OLIVES  preserved lemon . marash 7
PECANS  harissa

P:
VERVE ‘STREET LEVEL’ ROAST small pour over

J:
COCONUT | LEMONGRASS tequila . lemon . coconut . lemongrass . egg white . maraschino . lemon tonic


Notes:
We walked over to Mourad with our friends after having dinner at The Cavalier.  A mutual friend works there, so we stopped in to have a drink and say hello before going our separate ways and heading home.

Shortly after taking seats at the large communal table in the bar area, we were treated to some warm, marinated olives and spiced pecans.  Patrick was in love with the pecans - we'll need to figure out how to make them.  He was equally happy with his coffee.  My drink was citrusy, coconutty, and very pretty, the ice to drink ratio was a little off, but I was happy nonetheless.

Why am I even mentioning this place when I have so little to say about it?  Well, because maybe it's something that should be on our list, but I'm not sure I can bear to put it there. It's yet another overpriced, fancy-pants dining experience in San Francisco.  Mourad is the eponymous restaurant by the same man who is responsible for Aziza, a once-favorite of mine.  Like Mourad (the restaraunt and the man), Aziza is Moroccan.  I've had some of the most delicious food I've ever known at this lovely gem of a restaurant, which just happened to be in my neighborhood (and still is).  But once the restaurant gained notice, and accolades along with it, it started to change.  The food got smaller, more contrived, less real.  The cozy, calm atmosphere was lost, traded for communal tables and the fevered glow of red lighting.  It just wasn't what I fell in love with.  And now, there's Mourad.  Take the modernity of Aziza, add a healthy dose of investment dollars and contemporary design, and voila, uber-expensive, plated-with-tweezers Moroccan food.  I just don't know if I can do it.  But if anyone could convince me otherwise, it would be Patrick.  He likes Aziza, even as it is now.  Maybe he'd like Mourad, too.