Marakesh Restaurant, Parsippany, NJ

We took some friends for a bit of a different dining experience, this time at Marakesh Restaurant in Parsippany. Marakesh is located in a small strip mall right on Route 46 eastbound next to a school uniform shop! Despite its weird location, once inside you would never imagine that you were located in a strip mall on a somewhat major roadway...or even in New Jersey.

Step inside and you feel instantly transported to Morocco via lush fabrics, dim lighting behind jeweled sconces, and waiters in traditional garb. Stay a little later, and around 9:00 p.m., the music changes and a belly dancer trapses out and shakes what her momma gave her. Audience participation is a must, so if you're shy, sit on the inside or else you'll find yourself shaking what YOUR momma gave YOU!

Lush couches with comfy pillows surround several ornate copper tables around the room. The feeling is romantic but family style. I instantly feel relaxed, like I could sit back and put my feet up. The waiter brought our menus and I took one look at the Sultan's Table and decided that I wanted to try the eight course meal. A friend agreed, and our significant others went in their own direction with their own entrees. Fine with us! For our shared entree, we went with the baby lamb tagine with couscous.

Each course was absolutely delectable. Before starting, a waiter comes over with a silver basin of sorts, and pours rose water over your hands to wash them before eating. Utensils are optional here since tradition in Morocco states that you eat with your right hand. We were down with that, but you definitely need your fork and spoon to eat the rest of your meal. Once our hands were cleansed, we were presented with the beginnings of our Sultan's table. First was the salad and the mixed cold appetizer, which included baba ganoush, hummus, and tabboule. Each was out of this world. The salad was heavy on the cilantro, with lettuce, tomato, and who knows what else! It was so enjoyable that I ate the other part of someone else's salad! The hummus, baba ganoush, and tabboule each were flavorful in their own right. One of the other diners got dolmas, which were also perfect. Next came the chicken bastilla; phyllo "pie" filled with spiced chicken topped with confectioner's sugar! It was like eating chicken stuffed french toast! After that came our soup with lentils and chickpeas...another hit. I don't know what the utensil was called that we were eating with, but it made the experience all the more fun.

By the time our entree came, I was feeling pretty full but didn't care. When that baby lamb tagine came out with the fragrant couscous, I was ready to dig in. The lamb was so tender it was falling off the bone...add some fruity couscous to the mixture and I was in h-e-a-v-e-n...my friend and I polished off half the dish together and took the rest home. The other diners raved about their meals...chicken shish kebab and baby lamb chops. I tried the chicken and veggies it came with and was equally impressed by the smoky spiced flavor...every now and then you get a hint of cinnamon which evens it all out.

Our meal was finished off with a flaky nutty pastry topped off with a dollop of creme fraise alongside cantaloupe and watermelon wedges. Add that to the jasmine/mint tea they served...it was all such a wonderful experience that I immediately began to think of all the people I could bring here to enjoy this with.

The Sultan's table is highly recommended if you're new to Moroccan cuisine and want to try a little bit of everything...it's a bit steep at $36/person but well worth it! Other a la carte entrees are reasonably priced and won't put too much of a dent in your wallet. For an instant transport to Morocco, it's much more reasonable than the airfare!

Ambience: *****
Service: *****
Food: *****
Overall: *****

Cuban Pete's, Montclair

What do you get when an Italian goes from Mexican to Cuban? Cuban Pete's, that's what! Dominick, who used to own Mexicali Rose, and whose mamma owns Leone's right around the corner, has tried a new venture with Cuban Pete's. I remember Dominick from when I used to live in downtown Montclair. He was nothing more than a chauvinist jerk who acted cordial to his guests, but treated everyone else like garbage. Luckily, I didn't have to see his mug the night I visited the restaurant. I was actually skeptical to go because of the memories I had of the food and his personality from the Mexicali Rose days, however, my friends wanted to go, and that's where we went.

I have to give kudos to Dominick (or whoever he hired to decorate) for the overall atmosphere and styling of the entire restaurant. It has a lot more room than you think when first approaching. Heavy wooden tables and plants seem to be everywhere. Overall it's a very inviting interior and feels like everyone's having a good time. Even the servers look like they're on siesta! And apparently some act like it with some of the reviews I've read about the service on other websites. But for us, tonight the service was just fine.

The menu seems to offer more Spanish inspired food than Cuban, although there were a couple of Cuban specialties on the menu. We ordered the Asia de Cuba punch, which was very lackluster and fell flat. I had only a couple of sips before deciding that it wasn't for me. I'm not sure about the punch idea...maybe if they were tasty and a little more original...and fresh...I might be more interested. For an appetizer, we ordered tostones, again lackluster. Just when I thought this might be a bust, our dinner came. I had the Carlito's Way Chicken...a grilled half chicken (a very very small chicken), with a white sauce on top, coconut rice, and a mango coconut yam on the side. The chicken was perfectly crispy...a little overcooked on one side which led to very dry meat, but overall a hit. The rice had great coconut flavor...I just wanted to keep eating it! It was sweet but not too sweet, and played well with the chicken and the yam. I didn't really taste any mango in the yam, and the coconut shreds on top of the yam didn't really do anything for me, but I do love yams so I can't complain. Yam yam yam.

Our friends seemed to enjoy their dishes. I tried the pork dish, which seemed a bit dry and tasted a little too much of lime. The plantains were out of this world though! There are three parts of the menu...each comes with different sides. This made it a bit difficult to order because I wanted one entree from one part of the menu with the sides from the other parts! There are also plenty of tapas to choose from, so if you're unsure or you want to try different sides, consider ordering them a la carte. The price isn't overwhelming and you can then have the best of both worlds.

Dessert was equally satisfying. We had the flan and tres leches cake. The flan was divine, and since this was my first time eating tres leches cake, I was pleased at what I got.

The only major drawback is when someone is celebrating their birthday. They bring out a bongo drum and cowbell and start singing something which I couldn't understand. It was overwhelmingly loud, so much so that you had to literally shout at your waiter to order. At first it completely startled me, then it just got annoying. It can't hurt to tone that down a little, can it?

I think you'll enjoy the atmosphere and food at Cuban Pete's...I might find myself dancing my way back there soon. And NOT on my birthday.

Ambiance: **** (would've been 5 if it hadn't been for the loud birthday bongo!)
Food: ****
Service: ****
Overall: ****