Not Only for the Holy: Café Zitouna

By Sow Kobayashi
Food Editor

Cafe Zitouna (reviewed February 26, 2009)
1201 Sutter Street
TenderNob
4.5 out of 5 stars
$10 per person
www.sfcafezitouna.com
(415) 673-2622

It was the beginning of September and I was craving a b’stilla – “the pie from heaven.” Yet, the place I had in mind – Café Zituona – was closed the whole month of September for Ramadan.

There are not many businesses in this high-rent city that can afford to take a month off for a religious holiday and still survive unless they are either doing brisk business or choose to subordinate profit to their faith. With Café Zitouna, I believe the latter to be true, because their prices are reasonable and every time I’ve eaten there it has been full, but not crowded.

The menu here is halal and several times a day, the worshippers from the mosque a few doors down stop in after prayers. I’ve come to believe that food prepared by the faithful are analogous to home-cooked comfort food. The preparation of the meal involves a little something extra beyond the ingredients. Some might argue that if one is quite devoted in one aspect of their life it would not be surprising that it transfers to their cooking as well.

Having been denied for a whole month, my craving for the b’stilla intensified. Since they reopened at the beginning of October, I have eaten there several times. The object of my craving – the b’stilla – is a thing of beauty that epitomizes sweet and savory cuisine. Traditionally, it is a pie made with pigeon, and egg cooked in almonds, saffron, ginger, honey and spices such as cinnamon. The thin-sheaved pie dough – warka – is made by bouncing a ball of dough off a hot pan, leaving a thin layer of pastry behind which is then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Café Zitouna’s b’stilla has been regionalized to include chicken instead of pigeon.

Beyond the “pie from heaven,” their menu consists of Moroccan and Tunisian traditional tajines and couscous’. Tajines are aromatic, flavorful slow-cooked stews named for the heavy clay pots in which they are served. An example of one of their tajines is a chicken stew slow-cooked in a saffron sauce with olives and cinnamon. Any one of the varied couscous’ complements the stew taste-wise, visually and aromatically.

Another great aspect of Café Zitouna is that they have a solid lineup of kababs, shawarmas and sandwiches, which are convenient for take-out. In particular, their super falafel sandwich has a lot of depth for just a sandwich. It is composed of hummus, cucumber, lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, feta cheese, avocado and tahini sauce wrapped in a crispy bread. It’s thick, scrumptious, filling and one of the better deals in this city.

If you do go for a sit-down meal you are forewarned that the menu is halal, so there is no alcohol served or used in the preparation of the food. However, they do offer Moroccan mint tea which is simultaneously aromatic, soothing and satisfying. There has been a lot of buzz in forums and review sites about Café Zitouna, because it prepares flavorful food at such a great value. If sweet and savory dishes washed down with some mint tea sounds enticing, I encourage you to check it out before the lines starting forming here.