Tagine - Beverly Hills

Since I elected to spend my birthday at Uzbekistan - Los Angeles, I figured I might as well continue exploring new cuisines. I first came across Tagine in The Los Angeles Times' article, "Striking It Rich: Los Angeles' Top 25 Culinary Bargains." A 7-course Moroccan tasting menu for $42? In Beverly Hills? Co-owned by actor Ryan Gosling? OK! It's sooo SoCal. Yeah?


I roped fellow Biggest Menu-ers KevinEats and HC of LA & OC Foodventures into joining me. It was my first time meeting up with both of them. The restaurant was located on a very quiet street. HC, his friend, and I got there a little early but it was so quiet that we elected to go inside early since there just wasn't anything to walk around to see. Whoa! I'm all for candlelit restaurants but this was a bit extreme. We could barely see inside. It really was that dark.

Bissara (Moroccan Fava Bean Dip) and Fava and Garbanzo Bean Salad

I bought several pounds of fava beans at the farmers' market in Alhambra recently. They're only going to be in season for maybe another month. So if you haven't tried them before, hurry! Fava beans taste like a cross between lima beans and edamame. They're a bit of work since they have to be shelled twice - the hard outer layer and the inner covering over the bean has to be removed. One pound of beans will result in about 1 cup after shelling. After you remove the tough outer pods you'll see these beans.