Taste of Morocco at Casablanca Cafe

4.21.2009

University City’s international flavor got a bit richer with the recent opening of Casablanca Café.
The restaurant in the Terraces at University Place features cooked-fresh dishes that will taste familiar to anyone who grew up near the Mediterranean Sea, says owner Sam Roussi.
And the prices – nearly all dishes including platters and daily specials cost less than $10 – were set by Roussi to appeal to University City’s many students and families on tight budgets.
Casablanca Café opened in February next door to Caribbean Café, in the space formerly occupied by Chaat ‘n’ Chai.
Customers of the previous Indian restaurant won’t notice any major physical changes other than the new food photos and menu board above the counter. And, of course, the food.
The daily specials feature popular dishes from Roussi’s native Morocco. For instance, Fridays are Couscous day, available with garden vegetables ($6.99), chicken ($8.99) and lamb ($9.99). Prices include salad. “And when we’re out, we’re out,” Roussi says, because he wants his food served fresh.
Other menu items include an assortment of kebab platters; sandwich platters ranging from gyros to brochette (marinated grilled chicken or beef with tomatoes, onion and salsa on hoagie bread); soups; salads; and appetizers such as feta cheese and olives in virgin olive oil, served with pita bread.
See the full menu and prices at www.casablancacafecharlotte.com.
Local foodies soon discovered Casablanca Café. The popular review site Yelp.com posted a visit by frequent Charlotte reviewer Tony C. just a couple weeks after Casablanca Café opened. He liked several items including the kafta (fresh ground beef with special seasoning) and grilled kabobs.
Creative Loafing writer Tricia Childress also had good things to say about the restaurant in her March 31 article. I won’t give it away (read it yourself at http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com) except to say that Childress fell in love with Roussi’s rghaif, a griddled flatbread served with honey and mint tea for just $2.59.
The restaurant also has attracted international residents and university students. Lunch traffic starts about 3 p.m., Roussi says, after students finish their last classes for the day.
Even though the restaurant serves no alcoholic beverages, it stays open until 11 on weekdays and 12:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Roussi says people stay late to talk, watch international sports on the restaurant TVs and, after 8:30 p.m., smoke hookahs – water pipes available with many flavors.

WANT TO GO?
Casablanca Café is at 9609 N. Tryon St. in the Terraces at University Place shopping center. Hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays. 704-503-4748. www.casablancacafecharlotte.com.


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