Moroccan-Mexican on the menu
Despite initial plans to the contrary, Mourad Lahlou will not reopen his seminal Moroccan restaurant Aziza (5800 Geary Blvd.).
Instead, the Michelin-starred chef will open a new restaurant, to be named Amara, in the space. It will be a Moroccan-Mexican restaurant steeped in the same pioneering attitude as its predecessor. Think of it, as Lahlou puts it, as an evolution of Aziza.
Louis Maldonado, Lahlou’s close friend and longtime chef de cuisine at Aziza, will be leading the kitchen. If all goes as planned, says Lahlou, it will be the first restaurant of its kind in the country.
“There’s no blueprint for this type of restaurant. There’s nothing,” Maldonado adds. “So we’re just learning as we go. We have to ask ourselves all the time if we’re digging in enough, or (if ) we are just scratching the surface.”
The 15-year-old Outer Richmond destination closed its doors in May 2016 for what was originally supposed to be a remodel. It spent a year in limbo bouncing between renovation complications and permitting issues. Meanwhile, Lahlou concentrated on his downtown Moroccan restaurant, Mourad (140 New Montgomery St.).
So what might Mexican-Moroccan food look like?
Early Amara dishes in the works are starters like smoked lamb riblets with achiote, tabbouleh and serranos, or roasted and raw Little Gem lettuces with tahini, chipotle and sunflower seeds. Larger dishes, served with flatbread, might include marinated beef skewers with root vegetable escabeche, arugula, lime and harissa glaze. Dishes are expected to be priced between $10 and $30 with an emphasis on shareable plates.
Similar to Mourad, Lahlou and Maldonado are using familiar flavors as a springboard for innovation.
“The biggest thing for me is: Would my Mexican grandmother get it or would Mourad’s mom get it?” Maldonado says. “Would there be things they identify immediately from the flavor profiles? We don’t want anything to be traditional Moroccan or Mexican.”
Initially, Maldonado wasn’t sold on the concept, saying people might not understand it, or the crossover might be hard to pull off. Lahlou, on the other hand, already had a sense of the public’s interest. In 2016, he partnered with New York taco guru Alex Stupak on a dinner combining Moroccan and Mexican food.
The goal is to open between December 2017 and January 2018, but Lahlou says the team is anxious to get rolling.
“We’re still paying rent on the space. We need to get some money coming in,” he says with a laugh.
Aesthetically, the old Aziza arches have been removed to “open the space up,” says Lahlou, so the ceiling at Amara will be higher. There will also be a dedicated bar area, with more of a lounge-style experience.
Mourad bar manager J.P. Smith is putting together the cocktail list, which is expected to mirror the food menu with its use of spices and ingredients, anchored by mezcal and Tequila. Another Mourad vet, Tara Patrick, compiled a wine list of 80 selections ($40-$80 per bottle) from around the world.
“Whatever I do, I want it to have a story. Amara has a story,” Lahlou says.
In a sense, Amara is Lahlou’s way of closing a chapter on Aziza while metaphorically transferring its spirit into a new project.
“Aziza’s history was bigger than the food, bigger than the space. It was hard for me to say I was going to dress it up and open it and it’d be the same,” Lahlou says. “I’m excited about Amara. It’s going to be just as special.” Amara: Opening late 2017 or early 2018; 5800 Geary Blvd.; it will be open for dinner seven days a week and brunch on the weekends.