Fusion isn’t a new trend in Morocco, where the cuisine is a blend of Mediterranean, Arabic, Jewish, Persian, West African and Berber influences. Meals range from the
diffa, an elaborate multi-course feast featuring elegantly presented cous cous and grilled meats, to quick bites of Merguez sausages and
shwarma (spit-roasted lamb sandwich) at a curbside
snak, or casual restaurant. Produce is seasonal, grown locally and typically without chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Local specialties are often grown in small quantities, so the fresh cherries you may enjoy in Sefrou
might be impossible to find in Agadir. Although some sit-down Moroccan restaurants now offer à la carte menus, a three-course fixed-price menu is still common at dinner. Restaurants offer a good selection of food, including typical Moroccan fare, plus French, Italian, Spanish and fusion dishes. Many souk stalls sell kebabs (
brochettes), often served with
harissa (hot pepper sauce). Laws on alcohol are fairly liberal (for non-Muslim visitors) and bars in most tourist areas stay open late. Wines, beers and spirits are widely available, although drinking alcohol in view of a mosque or during Ramadan is discouraged. Locally produced wines, beers and mineral waters are a fair value, but imported drinks tend to be expensive.
National specialties:
•
Harira (a tomato-based soup).
•
Pastilla (a pigeon-meat pie layered with flaky dough and dusted with cinnamon and sugar).
•
Couscous (a savoury semolina dish cooked with local vegetables and/or meat).
•
Tajine (a rich, fragrant stew, with some combination of lamb, chicken or fish with onions, olives, almonds, tomato, herbs or dried fruit).
•
Mechoui (slow-roasted, stuffed lamb or beef).
National drinks:• Mint tea (aka ‘Berber whiskey’) is strong green ‘gunpowder’ tea mixed with fresh mint and heavily laced with sugar.
• Coffee is French press, espresso or Turkish style.
Tipping: Tips range from a few Dirhams for cleaning service to 5-10% of total meal cost.
NightlifeMorocco offers a variety of diversions nightly, including
bars,
discos and
restaurants, often with
live music or
belly dancing as part of the evening’s entertainment. The party usually gets started around midnight, when dining tables are shoved out of the way to accommodate serious hip-shaking, and the fashionable make their entrance in
nightclubs. There are also casinos in Marrakech, Mohammedia, Tangier and Agadir. But high-stakes entertainment can’t compare to the cheap, fantastic thrills of
halqa, the street theater performances by acrobats, musicians and cross-dressing belly dancers who perform for spare change in city squares across Morocco, especially Tangier and the Djemaa el-Fna in Marrakech (UNESCO’s World Heritage site for oral history).
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