Kasbah a full Moroccan experience

By Lauren Carter
Daily Texan Staff

Owner Rachid Moussaid is determined to turn Cafe Kasbah into Austin’s one-stop Moroccan embassy. In addition to being a coffee shop and café, Moussaid’s new location on the Drag sells Moroccan antiques, offers Moroccan meals, houses a hookah lounge, hosts live international music acts and screens Moroccan movies on the weekend. This weekend, Kasbah plans to have an outdoor Moroccan marketplace, or Sook, on premise.

Courtney Dudley | Daily Texan Staff

Saman Kamal studies on one of the many comfortable couches at Kasbah Tuesday afternoon.

“If you’re doing anything pertaining to Morocco, you should come here,” Moussaid said. “If you’re planning a trip to Morocco, come by, and we’ll help you plan it.”

Although ethnically Moroccan, Moussaid hails from Norway where he owned a French restaurant and a bar for several years. After he moved to Austin, Moussaid opened the House of Morocco, a wholesale Moroccan antique store. He was also curator of the Neill-Cochran Museum for 12 years.

When Mojo’s closed earlier this year, Moussaid jumped at the chance to transform the former all-night coffee house into Austin’s lone Moroccan cafe. Armed with three friends, Moussaid set about painting, decorating and revitalizing the two-story Drag mainstay into an Arabian escape. But while Cafe Kasbah has turned into an entirely different animal from Mojo’s, it still maintains wi-fi access and trendy appeal.

Stepping into Cafe Kasbah is like stepping into a genie bottle. Bright, bold colors, weathered antiques, dangling metal lanterns, low cushions and intricately woven rugs all give Cafe Kasbah an other-worldly appearance. If everyone weren’t fully clothed and studying, the interior could easily be mistaken for a harem. International lounge music permeates throughout all of Kasbah’s rooms and the landscaped front patio. A back porch is currently under construction, and once completed, it will double as a hookah lounge.

Under the stairs, painted in Arabic, reads “Morocco and the U.S., unbroken relationship since 1787.” Moussaid adds that Morocco was the first country to acknowledge the United States’ independence after the American Revolution. He plans to hang a copy of the letter from the King of Morocco to George Washington recognizing the United States’ independence on his wall. But before you get too caught up in Kasbah’s Arabian nights atmosphere and comfy floor seating, get adventurous and sample some of their cuisine.

Note that because traditional Moroccan food is typically several courses long and involves a lot of preparation and presentation, Cafe Kasbah offers it by reservation only. If you do decide to preorder a Moroccan feast, for a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 guests, you may request any Moroccan dish your heart desires. Kasbah will whip up anything from lamb tagine and couscous to bastilla, a puff pastry stuffed with ground chicken or Cornish game hen, omelet, cinnamon, powdered sugar and nuts.
Because of Morocco’s unique location, food is made up of French, Spanish, Mediterranean, Berber and North African influences. Moroccan cuisine is heavily rooted in cooked vegetables, sweet meats, spices, grains and tangy fruits. If you’ve never tried Moroccan food before, I highly recommend the experience. I can say with full confidence and no hesitation that of all the cuisines I’ve sampled, Moroccan food is my favorite and has been for many years.

Courtney Dudley | Daily Texan Staff

Jessica Beavers and Jian Everett talk on the porch while Ben Bond plays the guitar.

Although the full Moroccan experience at Cafe Kasbah might be unattainable for most, Moussaid also offers customers drinks, vegan pastries and assorted muffalettas. He plans to add fresh Moroccan sandwiches, salads, snacks and, to my immense delight, miniature bastillas soon.

The vegan pastries offered aren’t made on the premises but are bought wholesale from a local Austin bakery. The problem with Kasbah’s pastries is that they are plagued by crumbly, bland dough. As a non-vegan, I prefer my pastries with milk and butter and eggs and all sorts of other ingredients that come from animals. The oat bar with blueberries ($2.25) was moister and consequently better than both the mango and strawberry scone ($3.25) and the rose and date bar ($2). Although the scone sounds tasty, neither mangos nor strawberries cook very well. Both are much better fresh and on baked goods rather than in them. The rose and date bar was dry and, for such an interesting combination, a little boring.

Courtney Dudley | Daily Texan Staff

Scones sit on the counter while owner Rachid Moussaid rings up customers.

The muffaletta sandwiches are better than the pastries but equally unoriginal. The veggie muffaletta ($5.75) was the unanimous favorite with spinach, peppers, tomatoes, olive salad and cheese wrapped inside plain white dough. The Mediterranean roll ($3.75) is similar to the veggie muffaletta but offers artichoke and garlic instead of peppers. Roasted turkey, provolone, veggies and olive salad dominate the Turkey muffaletta ($5.75). The sandwiches are all passable but nothing stood out or warranted praise.
Aside from the rose and date bar, none of the current sandwiches or pastries are terribly Moroccan. Moussaid however, promises more fresh Moroccan-themed sandwiches in the future. He also advertises Moroccan vegetable salads, including a cucumber, diced tomato and onion salad, cured carrot and tarragon salad and eggplant and pepper salad. A couscous salad with mango, onion, pine nuts, raisins, garbanzo beans and cranberries will also make an appearance on the menu.

In addition to Moroccan tapas, Kasbah serves Moroccan drinks alongside coffee, tea and smoothies. The Lait d’Amande, milk and honey blended with almonds, is tasty and slightly sweet. However, patrons’ taste buds may not be prepared to handle textured milk. In the future Moussaid will offer Moroccan mint tea served in the traditional teapot and glasses, which when done right, is fantastic.

Although right now food offerings aren’t much, Cafe Kasbah is still growing and hasn’t completed its menu. Hopefully the addition of salads, bastilla and prepared-on-premise sandwiches will elevate Kasbah to the level I’ve come to expect from Moroccan restaurants.

Either way, Kasbah’s atmosphere more than compensates for the current satisfactory food options. Although not yet a place to go to for the food, as a coffee shop Cafe Kasbah has a better ambiance than many other Drag locales. I have high hopes for their future and encourage anyone intrigued by Moroccan cuisine to give it a try after it’s fleshed out the menu.

from the editor | page two | music | arts | film & theater | food & spirits | so you wanna...

entertainment extra | comics | gallery | archives