Taste of Morocco - View this location on map

'Moroccan cuisine with a side of belly-dancing.The belly dancer shakes her hips and beckons. No takers. She shrugs and gyrates around the room, happy to dance alone.

At this Moroccan restaurant with walls stenciled to look like native tiles, dancing is a nightly event and the flavors are true and bold. A sweet-spiced savory pastry, chicken bestilla, marries well with a pair of pickled salads, one crunchy with carrots, the other pungent with eggplant.

Stewlike tagines include chicken with olives and preserved lemons, lamb with prunes and sesame seeds, and, best of all, chicken with dates, saffron, and caramelized onions. Onions also give oomph to a meatless t faya couscous, though versions with lamb shank and vegetables work, too.

To finish, try a glass of hot, sweet mint tea, and maybe a turn with the belly ­dancer.


Open nightly for dinner.' Washingtonian
8661 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD

Budget, Restaurant