Tasting Journal

Roman’s Birthday Dinner at Marrakesh

Marrakesh
618 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202.393.9393
Fax: 202.737.3737
http://www.marrakesh.us

We decided to have dinner at Marrakesh for Roman’s birthday this year. The last time I was here was about a year ago with Nick… not too much has changed. The front door of Marrakesh reminds me of something out of a movie. We approached the thick wooden doors expecting to be greeted through a sliding peephole, asking us if we knew the password.

Inside the air smelled of incense and exotic spices. There is velvet curtain which separates the tiny lobby from the main dining area. Our group was actually seated in the party dining room where the bar is located. Brilliant colors and Middle Eastern décor adorned both rooms. We sat on low sofa-like seats which surrounded a low round table. Soon we were greeted by our waiter who was dressed in traditional attire. After he described the evening courses to us, he performed a hand washing ceremony, and told us that we would be eating the meal entirely with our hands.

The preset menu at Marrakesh is a standard seven course extravaganza, garnished with a belly dancing performance for extra enjoyment. The courses came out slowly allowing plenty of time for conversing and lots of drinking!! We ended up ordering two bottles of wine, and then getting a third one for free… I think Roman being Ethiopian had something to do with it. We also had multiple rounds of shots… I lost track of how many…

My favorite courses were the Three Salad Platter, which comes with cooked eggplants in tomato sauce, cucumbers and bell peppers in a Mediterranean seasoning, and carrots with coriander; the B’Stella, a layered pie with chicken, assorted nuts, almonds, eggs, parsley, and onions; and the marinated Berber Beef Shish Kebab. Some of the dishes were difficult to eat without silverware, but we managed… the bread they gave us was pretty useful for scooping…

Our dinner stretched out into the entire evening. Our reservations were at 8:15pm, and we didn’t leave till around midnight. I think they space the courses out according to the belly dancing performances, so that everybody gets to see the show. This is not the place to go if you are in a hurry. But if you want to try something fun and different, Marrakesh is awesome. Before the night ended, Roman took a couple more rounds of shots at the bar (on the house!!) and they even gave her a bottle of Moroccan wine to take home!! Talk about making your guests happy…!!

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