Anyone been to Aziza (SF)?

NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 02 Nov 2002 19:26:16 PST
Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu ba.food:96896

Yes, Me/Mine ate there, and we thought the fixed dinner  was very professional, authentic, relatively expensive, and ALOT OF FOOD.  We liked it. The pastilla was chicken, not pigeon, but was extremely fresh-from-the-oven and moist enough.

Service was outstanding - though I must say that we "dropped in" several weeks earlier and were turned down as we didn't have a reservation; this was at 6pm on a weekday and the place was empty. When we finally ate, we had made reservations.

Some of the main courses are on the extreme side of sweet - sweeter than I have had for similar dishes; I expect fruitiness where fruit is expected, and sweet when you expect it, but one dish in particular wasn't well balanced in this regard.

It is a romantic restaurant. Next time, and we *will* be going back, we will order á là carte as opposed to the fixed dinner.

larkin1734 wrote:

> I recall generally positive newspaper reviews of Aziza (5800 Geary, in the
> Richmond district of SF), but has anyone here actually eaten there?  Nothing
> in the archives...
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> To email directly, use l a r k i n 1 7 3 4 a t e a r t h l i n k d o t n e t

NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 20:10:23 PST
Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu ba.food:97414

larkin1734,

 Sorry for not getting back sooner, but I've been on the road.
 The sweet dish was lamb with  caramelized onions (emphasis on caramel!) which I suspect had other sweetening agents (dates, honey). The lamb was fabulous and the sweetness was appropriate FOR THE LAMB, but given the other elements, it was too much. I scooped the lamb onto my "others'" couscous, which we shared, and left a bunch of the caramelized onions and other sweet aspects.
 Upon further reflection, I think we'd order *a* tasting menu and then a few a la carte to augment for the two of us.

http://www.sfstation.com/restaurants/aziza/ has a review where it states: "...so definitely ask for a to-go box (Khalid's recommendation)."

larkin1734 wrote:

> Carlo M. wrote:
> : Yes, Me/Mine ate there, and we thought the fixed dinner  was very
> professional,
> : authentic, relatively expensive, and ALOT OF FOOD.  We liked it. The
> pastilla
> : was chicken, not pigeon, but was extremely fresh-from-the-oven and moist
> enough.
> :
> : Service was outstanding - though I must say that we "dropped in" several
> weeks
> : earlier and were turned down as we didn't have a reservation; this was at
> 6pm on
> : a weekday and the place was empty. When we finally ate, we had made
> : reservations.
> :
> : Some of the main courses are on the extreme side of sweet - sweeter than I
> have
> : had for similar dishes; I expect fruitiness where fruit is expected, and
> sweet
> : when you expect it, but one dish in particular wasn't well balanced in
> this
> : regard.
> :
> : It is a romantic restaurant. Next time, and we *will* be going back, we
> will
> : order á là carte as opposed to the fixed dinner.
> :
>
> Hmmm, I may reconsider the fixed price dinner.  The Chronicle's review at
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/10/04
> /DD205443.DTL&type=food  recommended the $39 tasting menu.  Cost and
> quantity of food may push us toward ordering a la carte.
>
> I'm also concerned about the sweet main courses.  Carlo, would you mind
> being more specific about the overly sweet dish?
>
> We're still going to go to Aziza.  It's for SWMBO's b-day, and she has made
> clear that she would like a restaurant with "atmosphere,"  a quality that I,
> as one who suffers from testosterone poisoning, fail to appreicate with
> appropriate enthusiasm.  I guess I can put up with 3 times a year (B-day,
> V-day, anniversary).
>
> --
> To email directly, use l a r k i n 1 7 3 4 a t e a r t h l i n k d o t n e t