This little bistro at Clayton and Woods Mill roads occupies a scenic storefront overlooking an attractive pond with fountain. Owned by Mikki Jones, it has been around for several years, initially serving French fare and now moving to an interesting Moroccan-Mediterranean menu.
There is definitely room in town for something like this, since we have so few North African restaurants. Bistro 1130 goes way beyond kebabs with several tagine offerings (one-pot entrees served in the traditional Moroccan earthenware), couscous entrees, paella, and several lamb dishes, including meatballs, chops and stews.
A starter of Calamari ($7) was very good. It included a generous serving of squid fried in crunchy cornmeal batter, liberally salted, and accompanied by garlic aioli and ‘sharmola’ (chermoula), a tangy Morrocan red sauce heavily flavored with green pepper. Also very good was the tabbouleh ($7), made here with quinoa, which imparted a wonderful crunchy texture to the cold grain salad. The blend of lemon juice, scallion, parsley, slivered tomato and yellow squash exuded refreshing flavors.
Evoking the exotic is the Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Soup ($5), heavily flavored with saffron. Not thick like most lentil soups, this one had plenty of broth, too, and was excellent. The Hummus ($7) here is creamy and cumin-laced and is attractively served with feta cheese, pepperade and warm pita.
For a real taste of Marrakech, order a tagine, the covered conical casserole filled with stewed meat and veggies. The chicken version ($14) was delicious, a colorful assortment of white meat, carrots, peas, garbanzo beans, sliced potatoes, cauliflower in three colors and shredded cabbage. The allure of stewed meat is its moist texture and the way it absorbs the flavors of its broth: salty, sweet and a little bit sour.
The Paella entree ($22) was a hefty serving of saffron-laced rice dotted with the classic seafood— clams, shrimp, mussels, fish—and sausage. It could have used more flavor and less time in the oven, as the seafood began to toughen. Same for the pork entree ($18), which caught my eye thanks to its stuffing of figs and pine nuts. While it was deliciously sweet and savory at the same time, it was a bit dry. The accompanying slivers of squash, however, were perfectly salted and peppered.
There is a featured crème brulee each night, and we lucked into one with cherries and Chambord ($9). Besides having terrific flavor, the presentation was impressive: on the plate next to the custard were caramelized banana slices on a pool of high-quality chocolate syrup—not Hershey’s.
[amuse bouche]
THE SCENE | Intimate bistro with dramatic Moroccan-style decor
THE CHEF | Karim Bouzammour
THE PRICES | $6 to $10 starters, $14 to $29 entrees
THE FAVORITES |Calamari appetizer, Tabbouleh Quinoa Salad, Chicken Tagine, Cherry Crème Brulee with Chambord, Lentil Soup
[ chef chat] >>karim bouzammour
PEDIGREE | Culinary School – Tourism and Management, Tangier, Morocco
FAVORITE INGREDIENT | Fresh herbs, citrus, Moroccan spices
FAVORITE LOCAL RESTAURANT | Annie Gunn’s
FAVORITE COOKBOOK | Recipes of my mother and grandmother
MOST MEMORABLE DINING EXPERIENCE | Bergamo in Greenville, S.C. with my wife.
GUILTY PLEASURE FOOD | Beignets
Photo by Bill Barrett