A Night in Tunisia!

Below, Mr. Taste of Thai has just finished showing his appreciation to the belly dancer:

The cares of the day seem to vanish
The ending of day brings release
Each wonderful night in Tunisia
Where the nights are filled with peace

A bunch of us got together for a wonderful night in Tunisia; ok, actually it was Moun of Tunis restaurant which has been a fixture on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood for over 30 years.

Before the feast began we were greeted with some wonderfully garlic heavy hummus and cumin scented olives. We opted for the Morrocan Feast which included Brik, salads, shrimp brochettes, Bastilla, lamb stew with artichokes, and vegetable couscous with "Boulettes" (lamb meatballs).

The Brik (which I guess is a variation on Borek [fried cheese or meat turnovers]) was quite interesting: it was stuffed with mashed potato, capers, and a runny egg (might this be a French influence?) Passport Dining Queen mentioned that the goal of eating Brik is to not spill out any of the contents within the fried shell. Ha! We all failed miserably.

The salads were wonderful. The big hit was the minced carrot flavored with orange blossom water. It had a very different flavor yet it was so refreshing. There was also a spicy carrot salad, a roasted bell pepper salad, and then a chopped onion, tomato, and bell pepper salad.

Below, the shrimp brochettes:

As we were eating this feast most of us agreed that the food was much better at Moun of Tunis than at Marrakesh where we ate back in July. The main dish, the lamb stew, was very flavorful plus the meat was served on the bone (a lot of us gourmets are bone people) and I don't see this happening in the Valley. At Marrakesh the couscous was really bland and watery but at Moun of Tunis it was wonderful and spiced very nicely. And of course the inclusion of the meatballs made a difference as well.

Lamb stew with artichokes:

Couscous with Boulettes:

Moun of Tunis
7445 Sunset Boulevard (at Gardner)
Hollywood, CA 90046
www.mounoftunisrestaurant.com