Restaurant Review - Baboush

Baboush Restaurant - Market - Bar

I have been visiting this restaurant in uptown for several weeks now, reveling in it's light and delightful offerings and meaning to do a nice write-up.  Imaging my consternation to see reviews published this week in both the Observer AND the Dallas Morning News.  Ego aside, my goal has always been to entice you to try new restaurants and hooray for Baboush that the two aforementioned publications agree with me on something.

Sweet Tomato

The gang has visited Medina, another eatery by the same owners in Victory Park, and quite enjoyed their offerings.  While the dishes there have been somewhat Americanized, the foods are still exotic enough to challenge the palate of a person who has never experience Moroccan cuisine.  Baboush treads this same fine line, but instead of Americanizing their Moroccan dishes, they Moraccanized traditional Mediterranean fare.  "Do what now?" you ask.  Please, let me 'splain Lucy.  Moroccan cuisine is quite unlike any other cuisine.  The flavors that they create are made from incredibly complex spice blends, with no one spice or flavor dominating a dish.  They may use 12 spices to create a flavor, but their goal is to blend the spices so perfectly that you cannot identify one over the others.  I hate to use this phrase, but the experience is sublime, the simple pure flavors of Mediterranean cuisine with the spice blends and pickled condiments of Morocco.

The restaurant fronts the construction site along Blackburn at Central.  You may have difficulty finding the non-descript front, and it may help you to know that it is located right next door to Grimaldi's.  The interior is tastefully done is a pseudo north african motif.  The staff is ...  ah ... still learning, unable to describe the dishes or even name the chef.  Let's hope that they improve considerably in the near future.  The owners describe the menu as being inspired by Moroccan street food.  If that is what street food tastes like in Morocco then I am out of here.  "The airfare is how much?"  Darn, it looks like this is as close as I will get in the near future.

Hummus

The Hummus, found under the Spreads and Olives section of the menu, is a typical Lebanese blend of chickpeas, fresh garlic and using tahini (a paste made from ground sesame seeds) instead of olive oil.  Not bad, but a bit too much tahini for my tastes.  Instead I heartily recommend the Moroccan Sweet Tomato.  Sweetened tomato, cinnamon, garlic, orange water, sesame seeds and almonds, served with pita.  Jiminy Cricket, this is a flavorful treat.  Next time I am just going to order a glass of it instead of the delicious mint tea.

Chiclen Shawerma

I dearly love Chicken Shawerma.  But the shawerma made by Baboush has made a simple adoration an addiction that I must address at least once a week.  "Pickled cucumber?  But what is the red stuff?  Pickled turnips you say?"  Mother Goose what a wonderful melange of flavors.  I cannot even tell you if there was really chicken in it.  French Fries on the side?  Yes, but again unique with Moroccan spices and lemon zest.  Lemon zest on fries .... I'll be damned.  I never would have thought of that but am sorry as hell that I never have tried it before.

Falafel

Falafel?  Why yes, I will have some.  Fava beans and chickpeas, mashed together and formed into small patties and then fried to be crispy on the outside and warm and wonderful on the inside, served wrapped in a thin pita.  A lovely version of Fatoosh (tomato and cucumber salad) is seved on the side.

I happily visit Babouch at least once a week and will continue to do so as long as they are open.  I fear that the food is a bit too sophisticated for the $30k millionaires living in the area and hope for the best.

Baboush Restaurant - Market - Bar
3636 Mckinney Ave, Suite 160
Dallas, Texas 75204
(Baboush is located on City Place Blvd)
http://www.baboushdallas.com/Home.htm