#Morocstars: Our quick and mind-blowing Marrakech food tour
Full and happy, in the middle of the Jemaa el-Fnaa
After our seven hour flight from New York to Casablanca, Megan slept on a couch in the lounge with her head in my lap, as I balanced my laptop on one leg and looked up the pronunciation of “Djemaa el-Fna.” Then we took a quick flight to Marrakech.
For those curious, neither of us slept much on our flights, but now we can relax a bit in our hotel, before Megan gets dental work at Djemaa el-Fna square!! Time to look up how to pronounce “can that monkey drill a cavity out?”
I’ll tell you about our amazing hotel (the El Fenn) at some other point – but here’s a pic of our room…
If you look hard enough you can see Megan working on the patio.
And one of the six baby tortoises that walk around the reception area. (I may or may not have kicked one by accident (he did an excellent impression of a hockey puck))…
I will quickly mention that we’ve been completely safe – almost everyone has been super nice – and our stomachs are totally fine so far. Speaking of stomachs…
Drinks on a rooftop in Marrakech.
Our amazing Marrakech food tour…
Megan and Youssef
We went to a guided tour called “Taste the Real Marrakech.” Our guide Youssef took us on a 12 course meal of food stands in and around the central square Jemaa el-Fna, which was mind-blowing and delicious…
From wikipedia: “Baghrir is an ancient Berber pancake, originating in North Africa. They are small, spongy and made with semolina or flour; when cooked correctly, they are riddled with tiny holes.”
3. Sampled all kinds of local olives
We bought some of those pink and orange ones.
4. Had some sort of tasty local beef sandwich (khlii)
From Wikipedia: “Khlea (also called khlii) is a type of Moroccan preserved meat, usually made from beef. The meat is cut into strips, marinated with cumin, coriander and garlic, and then dried in the sun before it’s cooked in a mixture of animal fat, oil and water. The meat, once cooled, will keep for up to two years at room temperature when packed in the cooking fat.”
5. Sampled various nuts and dried fruit (almonds and dates are amazing here)
Mike and his date — the first thing he bought in Morocco, of course.
Apparently the families of Marrakech bring their lamb to one of these stands, where they’re lowered into one of these pits, and slow-roasted for six hours, until they taste so good you can’t stop laughing while you eat. Even if you are sitting across from the dead and skinned bodies of their brethren.
While Mike looks like handsome incarnate with his snail, Megan eating snails does not look as pretty…
12. Finished the meal off with a sample of local pastries – the almond ones are amazing
Stuffed, we went back to our hotel and laid on the rooftop patio, drank mint tea, and listened to the call to prayer echoing through the city…
Up next…
We head to Ouarzazate to film the sixth season of Prison Break, and find all the best restaurants (that are still in business).
Author: Mike Horowitz
Mike writes, eats, and travels like the fate of the world depends on it. He's also a Writer/Producer on Prison Break, Burn Notice, and The Gifted.
View all posts by Mike Horowitz
One thought on “#Morocstars: Our quick and mind-blowing Marrakech food tour”
One thought on “#Morocstars: Our quick and mind-blowing Marrakech food tour”