43975 Tue Feb 28 15:55:58 -0800 2006 5 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 215799 I have been wanting to check this place out (552 Jones at Geary) and now I plan to be a permanent fixture. We sat at one of the booths by the window with cushions against the wall and first enjoyed the sharing (two spoons, how cute)harira soup that was rich ad intriguing with a nice spice that got more interesting as we ate it. The bread was warm and sesame flecked. Then a pillow shaped Chicken Bastilla-crispy, sweet and savory- we ate every last bite although I knew we had a lot more food on the way. We shared lamb tagine with prunes- The lamb was succulent and fell from the bone, there were just enough prunes to enjoy with each bite of lamb. There were almonds scatted over the taste which added a lovely crunch. We greedily had a side of couscous with it to sop up the sauce. Last but certainly not least we had the Brochette Royale, which was three kabobs (chicken, lamb and kofta-ground beef and spices), or brochette, on top of a wonderful salad that was a mix of the Chermoula (green pepper & tomato) and the eggplant salad. The salad was a cool and delicious complement to the chargrilled kebabs, rich with eggplant. The kebabs (my favorites were a toss-up between the chicken and the lamb)tasted like a summer barbecue, they were so good. Amazingly, we ate everything and washed it down wwith wine that we brought. We had a small pot of the lovely sweetened mint tea afterwards (next time I'd rather just have tea throughout the meal!)which was beautifully presented in a silver pot on a silver tray. We had the tea with some honey drenched fried biscuits that were reminiscent of sesame and wheat. Did I even mention the best part? The owner, Mohammed, is a very gracious host and we talked to him at length about soccer. This is what I want out of a restaurant-a tiny, wonderful restaurant. Hey! everything we had came out to $31, which sweetened the pot all the more! Tue Feb 28 15:55:58 -0800 2006 0 Isabella 1 215889 hey, thanks for the write up. i was very curious about this place when we walked past it on the way from hung ky to the eura tea house. i'd be delighted if it can provide a worthy low budget bookend to complement aziza. any thoughts on how tajine compares stylistically to aziza? (the couscous, the bastilla, the bread, the lamb shank, the mint tea?) and what, may i ask, was the corkage? the t'loin is getting more and more tempting... Wed Mar 01 01:46:52 -0800 2006 215799 0 ed 2 215910 Here's a link to a few more reports on Tajine. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/41510#200256 Image: http://home.earthlink.net/~melanista/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/tajine.jpg Wed Mar 01 04:45:57 -0800 2006 215889 0 Melanie Wong 2 216072 I haven't been to Aziza yet, though I have been dying to! I think stylistically from what I know these are very different restaurants, though a lot of care is put into everything, as you can see from the photo of the bastilla and tea! There was no corkage (though the tea is so good as I mentioned that wine pales next to it!) Wed Mar 01 19:56:49 -0800 2006 215889 0 Isabella 2 216073 I haven't been to Aziza yet, though I have been dying to! I think stylistically from what I know these are very different restaurants, though a lot of care is put into everything, as you can see from the photo of the bastilla and tea! There was no corkage (though the tea is so good as I mentioned that wine pales next to it!) Wed Mar 01 19:57:00 -0800 2006 215889 0 Isabella 1 215899 Thanks for the report! Have been hearing good things and now you have made me even more eager to try it. Wed Mar 01 02:22:18 -0800 2006 215799 0 CH Addict