Sunday, September 7, 2008

Dish Review: Café Lalo's Moroccan Delight

I will probably never review Café Lalo as a whole in this blog. While the name might not immediately ring a bell with some people, it is as famous as it is because of its guest appearance in that delightful Upper West Side romantic comedy You've Got Mail. Lalo may shamelessly have stills of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks chatting it up in the café plastered over parts of its façade, but despite being an obvious tourist destination, it still maintains a chic, laid back feel and does not overcharge to the same extent as some other popular NYC tour guide favorites.

Because of its fame, there are enough full reviews of it out there. I am trying to remain original here at Architectural Appetite. AA: Blogging with integrity since...3 weeks ago?

Today I would like to focus on a Café Lalo brunch dish that may get shortchanged because of its appearance:

The Moroccan Delight

So some of you may be looking at this image now and are saying "ew" quietly to yourself. Others may be more sympathetic and just curious as to what it is. Is it chicken? Fish? Something that was scraped off the streets of New York and covered in tomato sauce and garnished with olives? Well, your made-up-by-me guesses are wrong.

The Moroccan Delight is an amazing egg dish. The eggs are are baked with a really delicious sauce made of "fresh tomatoes, tricolor bell peppers, garlic, jalapeno, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh mixed herbs," and served with two pieces of pita. The jalapeno and the herbs (I am still trying to figure out which ones they use) really make this dish quite the flavorful experience, and separate the the topping from being confused with a regular tomato sauce. It is extremely unique, and gets extra bonus points for that fact alone.

The Moroccan Delight is - yes, I'm going to say it - a "delight." Make sure to try it out the next time you dine at Lalo.

2 comments:

Emmi said...

delightful as always. I'm wondering as I'm trying to picture you at Cafe Lalo reviewing this dish, do you go with the intent of reviewing something (notepad in tow) or does it just pop into your head to write about it later?

Sarah said...

I'm too self-conscious to use a notepad in public. My mind is, fortunately and unfortunately, constantly streaming ideas and ways of wording things.