Perhaps it was the moon, perhaps it was just the mood Donna and I were in. Thursday evening, both just off from work, tired and hungry. "Let's try out that new Moroccan cafˇ and, if we still have energy we'll check out the scene at Bentley's for open-mike night." Traffic was tight, fast and chaotic and by the time we found the restaurant we were both anxious to relax, a strange state for sure. As the sun slowly set it was still warm enough to sit on the patio, spacious and comfortable despite the noise of the traffic on Swan. Our waiter, Brandon, went over the menu with us, making some nice suggestions. As we sat back, sipping iced mint tea (the way I like it un-sweetened), we began to time warp, as it were, into a different land. Not quite Morocco (it was too clean and there were too many American touches for that), but pleasantly earthy and simple, far removed now from the hustle and din just a few feet from our table. Nestled into our private oasis, our day and its challenges began to melt away.Brandon returned with our appetizers. The Saharan Platter featured a variety of breads, including a coarse peasant bread and some black olive-breadsticks that Donna became addicted to; a smooth feta-like cheese (not at all salty like so many domestic fetas); marinated and grilled red and green bell peppers, eggplant and zucchini; all arranged around a plate of warm, herbed olive oil. It was wonderful and we leisurely savored the flavors and textures, feeding each other morsels of our favorites. Donna, a big olive fan, really enjoyed the breadsticks and I like anything soaked in the olive oil.
Nomads serves two vegetarian soups and I chose the Harira, a thick and slightly chunky tomato broth, with lentils, garbanzo beans and vegetables. Seasoned nicely with saffron, ginger and fresh coriander, the soup was superb! A few crispy croutons floated on top and added nicely to the texture. I could make a meal on the soup and bread alone. From several salads on the menu, Donna chose the Casablanca carrot salad: caramelized carrots with garlic, parsley and sweet paprika. A nice change from lettuce, the carrots were sweet and savory with herbs and oil, accompanied by a crunchy heart of endive. All the dishes were beautifully presented on colorful china, nicely garnished with fresh cilantro and paprika. Since Donna has been taking art classes she's really into composition and was quite impressed by the color and presentation of the dishes.
Donna followed up with grilled vegetable brochettes: three skewers of marinated, grilled onion, eggplant and red bell pepper served on a bed of cous cous. Though likely the same vegetables served with the appetizer, they were delightfully seasoned and grilled. I ordered the Lucky Seven vegetable cous cous. The vegetables were nestled on a huge mound of seasoned cous cous and garbanzo beans and were wonderfully crunchy-tender, though, actually, I only found five different vegetables: sweet potato, zucchini, yellow squash, carrot and onion. I especially liked the creamy, brightly flavored sweet potato. Most dinner entrees are served with a basket of fresh bread, as well.
Too sated to even think about dessert, we sipped hot mint tea (way too sweet) and enjoyed the enthusiastic young belly dancer, snaking her way from table to table. As Brandon poured our hot tea he explained that it is a Moroccan belief that the more bubbles you have in your tea, the luckier you will be. Both of our cups were fizzy with bubbles. While I could imagine that Brandon, perhaps, knew a secret to making the tea seem very bubbly for each diner, I still felt very lucky indeed to be sharing this enjoyable experience with Donna. They say, and I won't argue, that the simple pleasures are the best. Sharing these simple pleasures with someone you love increases the joy by quantum leaps. Donna and I sat and talked quietly, nibbling at the remnants of our meal, for some time. We never made it to Bentley's.
Though a majority of the dishes at Nomads do feature meat, there are still plenty of options on the menu for any discriminating vegetarian, especially soups, salads and cous cous dishes. Nomads is located at Plaza Palomino at Ft. Lowell and Swan and their phone number is 881-7383.
Robert Oser is a local chef, teacher and author of "Flavors of the Southwest" and an upcoming vegetarian chili cookbook. He currently works at the Food Conspiracy Co-op.