A meal fit for a prophet

There is a well hidden secret deep in the heart of the colorful Tenderloin, a delicious secret, a mythical restaurant where superlative couscous could be had for merely a few dollars. It is but an ephemeral mirage: one must know exactly where it is, and when to visit, in order to partake in the feast.

I heard about this place from Malik, who in turn got the tip from an Tunisian cab driver in the city. A few months ago, we went off on a mini wild goose chase to find this mysterious place where the local North African cab drivers get their couscous fix on Friday night. I've been meaning to write about this place since then, but with my crazy living and eating schedule I just hadn't quite managed to do it.

Last night, I was there again for dinner, this time with fellow SF food bloggers Amy and Alder, and their respective significant others Lee and Ruth. All we expected was a deliciously simple meal of home cooked couscous, but what we stumbled upon was a fabulous break-fast Ramadan meal, a meal fit for a prophet. What a lovely high in this downer week of epic proportion!

The restaurant is a pizza joint called Green Pizza, a bright, clean, and cheery space in a somewhat funky block in the Tenderloin. Half the room is taken up by the kitchen, what little remaining space is occupied by a few tables and large signs on the wall detailing the regular Pizza menu. I’ve never tried the menu, my singular goal at Green Pizza is the secret pot of couscous steaming in the back every Friday night.

I asked our gracious host Hakim how his couscous Friday nights have been doing. He explained to us that for the remainder of Ramadan, there would be couscous every night. His mother –on loan from his family in Tunisia- was the one doing the cooking. She also cooks the evening Ramadan meals for the nearby mosque. That was all we needed to hear, and we happily told him to bring us whatever magic his mother was conjuring up in that little kitchen.

First to arrived was the Brique –or Brik. Traditionally these are blocks of crispy pastry wrapped around a variety of fillings. Those last night were in cute little triangles, with the filling of gooey egg, chicken, peppers, parsley, and flavored with homemade Harissa (a ubiquitous North African condiment of spiced and crushed chillies). They were perfect, crispy on the outside, contrasting with the gooey soft yolk in the center. We made such loud admiring noises about the Harissa that Hakim brought us a Styrofoam cup full of it for us, to our absolute delight.

After polishing off a number of Briques, Hakim brought us something he called Salade Méchui, or Barbeque Salad, a plate of roasted sweet peppers, olives, and some tuna. It was so simple but tangy, smoky and just delicious.

Then we were on to the real stuff, roasted chicken with vegetables and Couscous Maison. The chicken was roasted with plenty of rosemary, and served on top of braised vegetable. It was very nice, if a bit cold. But the Pièce de Resistance of the night was the fluffy couscous served atop fork-tender braised chicken thighs. The chatter at the table went decidedly mum after we began to eat this. The medium grain couscous was fluffy yet toothsome in texture. The deep, dark, red sauce was intensely flavorful. There was no need for embellishment really, but I added the smoky Harissa to mine anyway. It was even more heavenly.

When our chatter picked up again after a long pause to obliterate the couscous, we were brought yet another plate, this time with dates, halved and stuffed with cream cheese, and pistachio baklava arranged beautifully on it. Eating a date –the dried fruit, not the pretty one in the little black dress across the table from you- is the traditional way to begin a Ramadan meal.

Hakim explained that the Prophet did it first that way, then speculated that it was probably done because one needed something sweet to quickly rejuvenate oneself after a whole day of fasting. I agreed with him, I winced just thinking about spicy harissa landing on an empty stomach. Traditions –no matter how foreign to us- often contain hidden wisdom such as this, we only need to look carefully and we will see.

Hakim probably didn’t think that we –who have likely been stuffing our faces all day- would want something sweet to begin, so he brought them as dessert. He said that traditionally they also drank buttermilk with the dates, and insisted that we try by bringing us five glasses and a big carton of buttermilk. I wasn’t so convinced by the virtue of drinking buttermilk straight up –nor was Alder for that matter- but we tried anyway. I could not bear to refuse such generosity. It was actually really good, the tangy and creamy buttermilk provided a perfect foil for the sweet date.

What a fabulous way to end our perfect meal! Hakim’s beautiful mother in her traditional hijaab reluctantly approached the table, beaming with pride, to ask –in her slow but perfectly good English- how we enjoyed her food. There was no need to answer -not in any spoken language at least- the satisfied smile on our faces said it all.

It’s a meal like this, in a place like this, that is what makes me happy to be living in San Francisco. Here, we do not treat Muslims as though they are closeted terrorists. Here, three Jews, a Buddhist, and a Christian can sit at table in a Hallal restaurant and be treated like family by observant Muslims, and generously fed the same meal served at their revered mosque. Here, we are all human beings. Here, we are all friends.

I know that many of my friends around the world are horrified by the seemingly incomprehensible choice that more than half our country have just made. The US is now seen everywhere as a fearsome giant bent on revenge and world domination. But here, in my beloved San Francisco, I am delighted to say, my America is alive and well.

-----------------

Green Pizza

219 Jones St., just south of Eddy

(serves couscous every Friday night, and every night from now until the end of Ramadan)

They don't serve alcohol, and -unlike Shalimar- do not allow BYO.
There is no sign in front of the restaurant, instead, look for a big sign at the Chinese place next door called Hung Phat.

PS. For those of you too squeamish to venture into the heart of the Tenderloin at night, you might take solace in the fact that just around the corner from the restaurant is a police station. Frankly I have always found the Tenderloin far more depressive than dangerous anyway. I’ve never felt threatened, only saddened by the decaying humanity in that neighborhood.

Comments

[Vanessa]

Briks are one of my favourite foods in the whole wide world and that one looks to die for. By the way, it's not a boiled egg but a whole raw egg that goes inside the pastry wrapper.

v

[Mariko]

Great post, as usual! Looks like you had much more than a good meal. Now I'm hungry for couscous ...

[savina]

this (literally) brought gushing tears, and it wasn't imagining the effect of harissa on my palate

[Sam (Sixy Beast)]

this looks yummy Pim
do they serve the "Brique" only on Fridays?

[jimmy]

Yes Pim the fact is we have a CHOICE. Much of thw world doesn't. Like the folks in Thailand for example....The majority in any situation is seldom wrong, if ever. We made the wrong choice. Me included. We lost. Get over it....The FOOD review was excellent!!! My mouth was watering! In Paris one of my Chefs at school was Algerian. He was huge man who liked to eat. He would scribble down addresses of places to eat in the Latin Quarter, and I would go. The cuisine is simply some of the best on the planet. So many peoples have been through Algeria and left there imprint. The food is so complex, yet so simple..hmmmm..a little French and Spanish maybe??...Just love your food writing. So glad you're back! Bravo. Thank you Pim........Jimmy-in-Seattle

[david]

thanks for sharing Pim. A wonderful post. The food looks wonderful.

[MrsTweety]

Wat a wonderful post..!! And yummy food... i'm drooling..!! I miss those breaking fast food. When i was younger .. my malay neighbours never fail to share their food with us during the month of ramadan.. but that was many, many years ago.. i don't even know where they are right now.

[Cooking with Amy]

Make that three Jews!

Great post Pim and thanks for sharing your secret couscous spot. Ramadan ends in another week so we should make plans to go back...and we also have to try Alder's not-so-secret Shanghai Dumpling House...

[adrian]

Are they Algerian? If so, I'd be interested to know if they are of Arab or Berber origins..

[Reid]

Hi Pim,

Yummy!

[Charlotte Freeman]

Gee Pim -- make me cry already.

The only thing I miss in Montana is good ethnic food. Well, that and living in a multi-ethnic society -- but to stick up a little for the red states, hospitality and generosity to one's neighbors is a pretty solid ethic out here. These are folks who will pitch in to, say, help a single chick clean out her dead brother's apartment on a moment's notice. It's not the people on the ground who scare me, it's the ones in Washington who cynically used them to grab power who scare me.

But, as I've said on my blog over and over, when it gets really dark, at least we can provide solace for one another by cooking and sharing a good meal ...

With that, I'm off to brunch ...

[Maxine]

Pim,
Thanks for this -- I'm so excited. I plan on going this week before Ramadan is over. Anyone from the area is welcome to join me, you too Pim unless you're burned out from it.

So,any of the "coalition of the interested" is welcome to email me and we can make feast plans. (I hope this isn't breaking any of your blog rules or blog etiquette.)

Pim, do you have any thoughts about best time to go -- don't want to edge out those who are breaking their fast, but still have all the menu options. Also, is this place large enough for a small "coalition"?

Thanks again for a great post and a new turn-on.

[charlene]

the briks look wonderful. i am going to get my Moro cookbook down tonight and look for a recipe for them. :)

[Vanessa]

Charlene

A piece of advice that will make your briks taste infinitely nicer: avoid the filo pastry from supermarkets like the devil! Instead, buy it from any Greek or Middle-Eastern shop - the flavour and texture will be much improved. Another tip: use small size eggs which you would probably never normally buy - they are much less likely to slide out of your precarious pastry envelope.

v

[charlene]

There is a lovely recipe in Moro for crab briks. Vannessa, I was thinking of using chinese spring roll wrappers - is this no good?

[Vanessa]

Why don't you try? My feeling is that they would give a chewier result than I would prefer but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be good. Certainly easier to manage than filo.

n.b. me one 'n' please :-)

v

[Raven Lee]

Wow, that looks yummy.

[Derek]

I've been having a similarly wonderful experience this month. My landlords are Syrian shopkeepers, and they have been inviting me down to their shop kitchen nightly during ramadan to share in their breakfast. Inevitably, it's a mix of arabs, italians, chinese, africans, and whoever else shows up, sharing a fabulous feast. Its usually somewhat less traditional and elaborate than what you describe (goat curry over rice, roast fish with potatoes), but amazingly tasty. There's nothing like sharing food with strangers to create a feeling of community.

[Pim]

Sam:I don't know, I think they only have Brique the day that they have couscous. But I don't know for sure, really.

Adrian: They are Tunisian actually.

Maxine: Oh no, not breaking etiquette at all. Please do gather a group and go. You'll have a great time. I'll try to get back there this week myself, but I'm not sure when yet.

Charlene: Funny I had a distintc suspicion that they used thin chinese spring wrappers for those Briques. It was quite similar in texture and crunch.

Everyone else: thanks for your lovely comments.

[Alder]

Pim you're either great at research or you've got a great memory -- I had no idea of the names of the things we were eating, but they were indeed amazing. That Brik was one of the best appetizers I've had in a long time, and the cous cous was divine.

Three Jews! A thai! and a Christian Chinese! The world is a marvelous place, and you were all marvelous dining companions!

[EmilyB]

Well, the "coalition for couscous" (Maxine, my husband, and myself) met at Green Pizza last night and had a wonderful meal. Everything was delicious and served in very generous portions. Serendipitously, Pim and another friend decided to eat there last night as well, so we got to chat when we weren't too busy eating.

Thanks for the recommendation, Pim! We had a lovely meal and a very pleasant evening. And I feel so special now, with the "secret couscous" proprietor's cell phone number, so I can call in future to ask whether couscous is on the menu for the evening.... :-)

[umami]

Thanks Pim for the most excellent recommendation.I read your post last Sunday and isn't it great timing my husband nd I happen to be in SF this week. We enjoyed the couscous for dinner this evening. It came with tender, lavourful lamb, and the couscous absorbed the wonderful gravy really well. We also got to know Hakim a little better and hope his business gets better.

[Julie]

Dear Pim,

I read this post because it was nominated for the Food Blog awards -- and I'm so glad that I didn't miss it! This is one of the loveliest posts I've ever read, on this or any other blog. Like MFK Fisher, you have the wonderful ability to fill me with the desire not only to taste the food that you write of, but to be there in the experience -- because for an instant, I am there; your writing has brought me inside the meal as well as the shared humanity of the moment. Thanks.

[mary]

thanks so much for sharing your wonderful post. i will definately make it a point to visit Green Pizza the next time i am in SF.