Tanjines and Bluberry Mojito's

A few nights ago, I went out for dinner with my ex-boss and a co worker to 'Cafe Mogador', a Moroccan/Mediterranean eatery in the East Village. I'd never had Moroccan food, and was quite the excited gimp! But, other than the cool blueberry mojito, the food here was just way too expensive and not that great. The resto was bustly and had nice atmosphere, but the waiters were rushed and inattentive. The decor was also just your standard 'small table cloth-covered tables with a candle in the middle' type deal, with no interesting or even ethnic touches.

The menu was the usual mediterranean food offerings, like hummus and grilled kebab. I had heard good things about 'Tanjine' so decided to order the vegetables with couscous. Tanjines are moroccan foods cooked in a clay like vessel (also called a tanjine). They basically work by trapping steam and all the evaporated liquid in the pot, so that the meat or veggies cook in their own condensation. Kind of like a pressure cooker. So the vegetables I got with my couscous(carrot, pumpkin, potato) were very soft and tender - but also quite bland, despite adding tons of the provided red chilli sauce. And even though I was starving, and demolished everything on my plate, I was still left quite hungry! So all in all, i will probably never go back.

But - back to the blueberry mojito! Now, these mojito's don't actually taste all that different from a standard mojito, but the heaps of colorful berries in the drink look and taste beyond awesome! Imagine the possibilities: blackberries, strawberries, or even raspberries ! Quite cool. Its like bubble tea, but a bajillion times better.

Unfortunately, I lack a hi-tech cell phone and own a broken camera, so for now this post must subsist without pictures.