Morocco: Lunch at Galil via Upper East Side, Manhattan

Galil: Morrocan Restaurant in Upper East Side, Manhattan

Subway: 86th St. stop  

Location: 1252 Lexington Ave, New York (212) 439-9886

Short: Is there a more exotic crossroad of world culture than Morocco?

Bald: How about Broadway and 46th street?

Short: We really need to get out of this city for a while, Bald!

Morocco has a fascinating, turbulent history. Perched at the very top of Northern Africa, just twelve miles from the southern coast of Spain (people have actually swum between Spain and Morocco in around 36 hours), it has been influenced by most of the world’s greatest cultures, including indigenous Africa, ancient Greece and Rome, Islam, Portugal, Spain, and, of course, France.

At one time, Morocco also hosted the Barbary pirates –

Bald: Aren’t they a football team?

Short: You’re asking me? 

And its largest city has a name that just oozes mystique and intrigue, Casablanca!

Short: Of all the bars and all the gals and… all the places….what is it?

Bald: Humphrey Bogart never sounded so cute!

Morocco finally gained its independence from France on March 2nd, 1956.

Bald: We were attracted to Galil because of the red “Fez” hat on the sign. Fez hats came from the Ottoman empire. The Ottomans also created the Ottoman stool. Getting the stool and the hat confused can lead to very sore feet, or a terrible headache.

Short: We’ve never had Moroccan food before, and couldn’t wait to try it. Boy, were we in for a surprise!

Short: Beautiful blue drapes, ceramic tiled floors and middle-eastern fittings and furniture give Galil a really Moroccan flavor. But the big surprise was that Galil is Kosher! One of only two Kosher Moroccan restaurants in New York.

Bald: So, it has an extra layer of cultural influence. We have African, Arabic, French and Spanish flavors, overlaid with Jewish heritage.

Clean and breezy inside, Galil has operated on the upper east side of Manhattan for over 20 years. Our dear friend, Ms. Aperture, who joined us for lunch, has lived in this neighborhood for years, and remembers Galil as a local landmark of sorts.

Galil’s new owner took over just recently and he kindly came out to tell the restaurant’s story and to advise us on the menu. Galil is owned and run by a line of Sephardic Jews who hail from the Iberian peninsula, ie: Spain, Portugal and also, northern Africa.

Most of the American Jewish population is Ashkenazi. They originated in the Rhineland of Germany and spread out through Eastern Europe and Russia. So, Galil is unusual even among the Jewish community of New York.

Have a look at some of the cool bits and pieces adorning the walls.

Short: You can really see a subtle mixture of Jewish, African and Arabic cultures in the ornaments and decorations.

Bald: Among the African and Arabic looking oil lamps, beaten metal trinkets and ceramic jars, you find an occasional Israeli flag. It reminds you that Jewish and Arabic cultures have so much more in common than we might think. Just a pity that humans invented flags as well as useful things.

Really intricate metal work on these silver bellows.

Bald: The bellows look really Arabic to me.

Short: And the blue, ceramic jug is for water, I guess. Or oil? If you could open the top, it might make a nice handbag.

Bald: You and handbags! You see someone walking a poodle on a leash and say, “Hmm. If you could open the top, it might make a nice handbag.”

Bald: The diamond shaped pattern on the round clay jug there is exactly the same pattern that was on some woven baskets I once brought back from Papua New Guinea. It’s amazing seeing completely different cultures, with no possible early contact, coming up with the same patterns and designs.

Short: And that big, clay piece there is obviously some sort of portable stove. Actually, if you put a shoulder strap on it, it might make a nice…

Bald: Don’t even think of going there.

Short: Sure, it would be hard on your back, but you could fit a lot of makeup and stuff in there.

And now, finally – the food!

Our main courses came with complimentary Israeli salads.

Bald: Crisp and crunchy- like my wit!

Short: Like your underpants.

Bald: Zing!

Ingredients can vary, but Israeli salads usually have a mix of tomato, cucumber, parsley, and lettuce. Sometimes there’s onion, too, but not here. The green dressing is basil and garlic (not as strong as it sounds). The white is tehina (which was like runny tahini).

Short: The bread rolls were warm and toasty! Little doughy pillows.

There’s a great range of appetizers at Galil, so it’s hard to decide where to begin your Moroccan journey. They have Babaganoush, Hummus, Tabbouli salad, Tehina, Bourekas, Cigar plate (the edible version, not the Clinton variety), Felafel, Kibbeh, Mergez, Stuffed Grape Leaves plate, Cous Cous, etc…

We really didn’t know which way to jump, so our lovely Romanian waitress (don’t you love how small the world is now) suggested we order the Oriental Combo (small $12.95/large $15.95) to sample a little bit of everything. This was the small, and there was plenty for the three of us. From the top white yoghurt dish, clockwise, the dishes were: Fried Felafel, Cigar and Kibbeh plate.

Bald: Love felafel. Savory, spicy, minced chickpea, vegetarian, fried goodness!

Short: Not a big felafel fan. Too salty for me.

Bald: Let me guess. A felafel makes you feel awful?

The cigar and smoky mergez lamb roll (kibbeh) were delicious, as was the zesty tabouli salad and the sweet, syrupy carrot dish.

Bald: Ms. Aperture and Short can’t eat eggplant, so I had the droobly (“droobly” is a Short & Bald copyrighted word. It means, “droobly”), cool, lightly spicy babaganoush to myself.

Short: We all agreed our favorite dish was the sweet, deep red beets. Cold, dense, blood red and yummy!

Here’s our first main course: Moroccan Fish Balls ($14.95). The list of main dishes at Galil is even longer than the list of appetizers! There’s a huge variety of platters including lamb, beef, chicken, turkey and vegetarian shish kabobs, ground lamb, Shawarma, and a variety of fish dishes grilled and baked.

Our server recommended two, baked, house specialties; Moroccan Fish Balls and Chicken Tajin. These Moroccan Fish balls are made of white fish seasoned with Moroccan spices and baked in tomatoes. As you can see, they’re served with baked sweet potato.

Short: The fish balls were only mildly spicy and not too “fishy”. Considering how red hot and rich the dish looks, it was quite gently flavored.

Short: I liked these big balls. They were moist and quite tasty.

Bald: Not sayin’ a word, folks. Not sayin’ a single word.

Short: The sweet potato was…s-w-e-e-e-e-e-t!

Our lovely server offered to deliver our second main, Chicken Tajin ($15.95), in a traditional, Moroccan serving dish. Isn’t it beautiful! So earthy and hand-made looking.

Short: When I think of Morocco, I always think of natural clay colors, contrasted with bright blues, reds and yellows.

Bald: I see that Matisse painting. Is it Matisse? With the open French doors?

Short: You mean the one hanging above your golf-clubs?

Bald: No, that’s the Van Gogh. I mean the one hanging over your tiara collection.

Short: Oh, that’s Matisse is it? I forget. By the way, the black truffle oil stains won’t come out of the Chagall hanging over the stove.

Bald: Well, we’ll just have to learn to live with it, won’t we, love.

Now, back to the food. Here it is with the lid off. Ta-dah!

This dish was absolutely sensational! One of the best combination of flavors we’ve experienced since starting our blog. We were told the chicken is baked very slowly for hours so that it really absorbs the flavors of the spices it’s marinated with. And the black “droobly” bits you can see clinging to the chicken skin are apricots, raisins, and prunes.

Bald: That’s right – prunes.

Which give the dish a rare, dark, sweetness that blends perfectly with the other spices and chicken flavor.

Bald: Moist, rich and well worth taking your time over.

Short: And the cous-cous was wonderful for soaking up the left over juices that dripped out of the chicken. Luckily we had some left-over bread to really sop up every last little drop. Even the

little dribbly bits on Bald’s chin.

Bald: That’s gross.

Short: You are. Look out below. It’s dessert!

There was no humming and hah-ing over the dessert menu. Our server offered us baklava, and we said, “Bring it on!”

Bald: At first, I thought she said, Balaclava, so I stupidly said, “Take it off!” Luckily, Short was there to help clear up the confusion with the manager. And the cops. Anyway…

Baklava is a dense, sweet dessert that has its origins in the Ottoman empire.

Bald: Yes, the same people who brought us the Fez and the footstool. Don’t know who brought us the balaclava…

Baklava is basically many layers of phyllo pastry interspersed with crushed nuts and droozled with honey or syrup. It’s delicious!

Bald: This baklava was sweet and dense.

Short: Just like my Bald.

Bald: Love you too, doll features.

Short: Give me a babaganoushy, chickeny, pruney, baklava kiss!

Bald: It’s the best kind there is!

Our Overall Opinion of Galil.

1. Great atmosphere. From the ceramic tiles on the floor, to the evocative ornaments on the walls, step inside Galil and you’ll really feel like you’ve left Manhattan for some exotic hybrid of the Arab, African, Jewish, French world – and that, as far as we can tell, is exactly what Morocco is. 

2. The food is delicious and very authentic. The chef here is Moroccan and there’s a huge variety of dishes, all of which capture the taste, aroma and appearance of this wonderful, North African country. 

3. The prices are reasonable. You can get a good-sized meal from 10-20 bucks. 

4.The staff are lovely and very happy to explain the menu.

So, that’s our stopover in Morocco. We have another fantastic, fun-filled gastronomic adventure planned even as we speak (or type/read/ruminate, etc.) Got your metrocard/passport? They’re calling our flight!