Ron Bechtol
Golden Meals makes a speciality of conventional Moroccan tagines together with a wide array of Japanese-Mediterranean dishes.
The North African cooking vessel referred to as the tagine is a culinary marvel.
Historically made from decoratively glazed clay with a round base and conical prime, it could actually go from oven to desk with aplomb. Its form encourages moist and even cooking, and the various dishes that emerge tackle the identical identify because the system itself: tagine. Moroccan delicacies would not be the identical with out it.
At Golden Meals Moroccan & Mediterranean Grill, 5 tagines — together with one with couscous, one other North African staple — anchor a menu that is in any other case much like that of just about every other Japanese Mediterranean or Aegean restaurant: shawarmas, gyros, kofta kababs abound. We’d be blissful to return for these one other time.
Nevertheless, for functions of this assessment, it is about being mas Moroccan and menos all-purpose Mediterranean.
An excellent place to start out in relation to Golden Meals’ Moroccan choices is zaalouk, also known as a “cooked salad” much like baba gannouj. On this case, the important eggplant is grilled, giving the dip-like dish with tomato, ample garlic and parsley an interesting charred edge. Pliant flatbread for scooping will maintain coming should you ask for it — and perhaps even should you do not. An unbidden, but in addition welcome, Saudi salsa of garlic, lemon and jalapeño additionally made an look.
Slightly thematic dishonest adopted with an order of chickpea falafel — simply to how the Center Japanese normal differed from that out there in different native eateries. Shaped into diminutive donuts and deep fried, Golden Meals’ model packed sufficient parsley to present the inside a recent, inexperienced distinction to the crunchy crust. Although it comes accompanied by an precise salad’s price of tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, the zaalouk and the garlic sauce made even higher bedfellows.
Then it was tagine time. From a variety that additionally included rooster and shrimp parts, lamb shank and Moroccan beef meatballs appeared an excellent pairing. Each dishes arrived on the desk nonetheless capped, the tops to be eliminated with a flourish that allowed the trapped aromas to flee and solid their spell.
The dramatic ritual offers a rush sensory stimulation. The compact and delicately flavored meat balls, for his or her half, floated in a country, crimson tomato sauce that was simply spicy sufficient — and positively price sopping up with the spongy “French” bread we have been instructed was a stand-in for the normal Moroccan model.
The sauce within the lamb shank tagine wasn’t of the sopping kind. For this, deliver on extra flat bread. Spectacular, entire, and slip-from-the-bone tender because it was, the shank did not mingle with its companions as a lot because the lamb would in recipes calling for chunks of the meat. But, who’s complaining? There have been sugary prunes, buttery fried almonds, silky onions and extra to maintain the palate occupied. Aromatic mint tea, ceremoniously poured from excessive above the glass, appeared good as a accomplice.
Harira, one other traditional Moroccan dish gracing the menu, is a thick and hearty soup historically used to interrupt the quick of Ramadan. The soup additionally serves as a bridge between Golden Meals’ two mom-and-pop operations — mother’s brick and mortar restaurant, situated simply off of Wurzbach Highway behind Tommy’s Restaurant, and pop’s meals truck subsequent to a Texaco on Broadway at Mahncke Park.
Whereas the tagines are solely served at mother’s outpost, harira — together with a lot of the gyro, shawarma, kebab menu — is offered at each places. I picked mine up on the truck the place it would not include dates and lemon, however is full of al-dente chickpeas, lentil and slivers of beef, to not point out bits of vermicelli that act as a thickener. Suppose fideo loco, and provides it a attempt whereas winter’s nonetheless with us.
On the truck, I had needed to attempt one other dish that appeared distinctive to Golden, specifically hummus with a topping of sautéed floor beef. Since beef was lacking in motion that day, I took the supplied substitute of strips of lamby gyro meat. Although the sleek hummus and gentle meat have been each good in their very own proper, the combo did not do a lot for me — even tucked into the accompanying flat bread.
A slice of harissa, nevertheless, will ship you out with a bang — although not fairly the bang it might if the North African sizzling sauce of the identical identify have been part of the preparation. As made with variations everywhere in the Japanese Mediterranean Basin, this can be a moist and cornbread-like cake of semolina flour that is soaked in syrup and topped with pristine, entire almonds. There was only a trace of one thing floral — perhaps orange blossom water, if I am not attempting too arduous to make one thing delightfully easy extra sophisticated. It would not be the primary time.
Golden Meals Moroccan & Mediterranean Grill
4326 Gardendale, Suite 102, (210) 507-22024
Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Value vary: $8.99-$20./99
The lowdown: Golden Meals makes a speciality of conventional Moroccan tagines together with a wide array of Japanese-Mediterranean dishes resembling schawarmas, gyros and kababs. Burgers are additionally out there.
Golden Meals Meals Truck
3500 Broadway, (210) 350-4717
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Sunday
The lowdown: The enterprise’ meals truck gives lots of the identical Japanese-Mediterranean specialties — schawarmas, gyros and kababs — as its brick-and-mortar counterpart however minus the Moroccan tagines. Prolonged hours make it a good selection for evening owls.
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