My initial visit on a Saturday night had two specials, lamb or fish served in a tagine dish where the meat was served in sauce that resembled a stew. The one I chose was the Cobia Fish Fillet Tagine with a white, distinctly non-fishy tasting, mild fish (a great find for an inland city!). Cobia is popular in Morocco, and I think the tagine dish must be a traditional recipe. The sauce was made with prune, apricot, and honey, but was not as sweet as this may sound. Instead, this was one of the most well balanced, flavorful sauces I have ever tried, and paired with an excellent fish, made one of the all time best Mediterranean style dinners I have experienced.

There was no salad served with the meal, but with vegetables such as carrots and tomato cooked in the tagine, the dinner covered just about all of the food groups.

Vegetable tagine

Since my initial visit I have yet to go to Cous Cous when the Vegetable Tagine was not listed on the "tagines" board. This dish provides an even larger quantity of vegetables than other tagine dishes which include vegetables (and not all of them do). When I first ordered the vegetable tagine for dinner it was not enough to fill me up, but on subsequent visits it has turned out to be sufficient (meaning that first time visitors might want to stick with the meat dishes if their hunger level is on the normal to high side).

Lamb special

On another visit I was able to try the Lamb, a dish consisting of a very tender "fall off the bone" leg of lamb with a sweet sauce on a bed of rice. It was listed as a daily special, but is one of the tagine dishes that seems to be served on a regular basis (along with chicken, beef, and vegetable tagines). I think it was just called the "lamb special," but it had the same type of sweet sauce as the tagines (but did not have the carrots and other vegetables served in the fish and vegetable tagines). In any case, this was one of the better dishes I have tried at Cous Cous.

Chicken tagine

Still not having exhausted the tagine choices, I ordered Chicken Tagine on a subsequent visit. This was another good choice, with a flavorful dark meat and the same sweet and complex sauce served on the other tagine dishes. The only thing is that the chicken comes on the bone so it can be somewhat messy to eat (while the fish was served as a fillet).

Vegetarian combo with falafel, hummus, and Moroccan salad

Cous Cous offers a few dishes that I think originated in countries other than Morocco, and which are served in most Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants. Some examples are the various items available on the Vegetarian Combo plates, which include a choice of three items and pita.

The Falafel was one of the best I have tried in the city, with a very good flavor and texture (and an emphasis on freshness).

The Hummus was very good with quite a bit of olive oil, and I thought was of equal quality as several other very good ones in the city.

The Moroccan Salad was small but fresh and flavorful.

Even though Pita has now replaced the very good French bread that used to be served with meals, I cannot complain about the pita at all and I found it to be fresh with a good flavor.

Chicken bastilla (frrom the specials board).

Chicken Bastilla was a dish listed with the specials that as yet I have seen only one time. In fact, I almost missed it because I did not know what it was (and the specials board does not give a description of the dishes). It turned out to be chicken served in a very good phillo dough with enough cinnamon and sugar on top to almost make this a dessert (it was sort of like a chicken pot pie made sweet). What I have learned is that whenever possible it is good to order from the specials board, because they are not only very good but also I don't know when I will be able to order them again (but usually there is something else available that is just as good).

Special Ramadan buffet served at sunset

Something definitely considered a special is the buffet served at sundown during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that takes place during summer. In fact, the chicken bastilla was also served during the Ramadan menu, and I think this is a dish traditionally served all year but at Cous Cous they seem to have a larger menu of traditional dishes during the Ramadan celebration.

Food counter with desserts and other treats

Dessert items are many times too tempting to pass up, and all are freshly baked from the kitchen. I usually go to the counter where the cash register is located to pick out a dessert or something to take home. Baklava is always available, but other items seem to served be on a rotating basis (and there is a greater variety of items each time I go).

Home made lemon cake

One items that is not to be overlooked is the Lemon Cake which is made in house, and which the owners say (and I agree) is one of the restaurant's specialties. One reason I usually like desserts made with recipes from other countries is that they are not as sweet as many American desserts, but this one still had enough sweetness to offset the tartness of the lemon, and provided very vibrant contrasting flavors.

Coconut cake

So far I have given five stars to all of the desserts I have tried. The selection of desserts here does not compare to places such as La Baguette or Ingrid's, but I think in terms of freshness and quality Cous Cous Cafe is quite comparable.

Even though everything I have tried has been good, the tagine plates seem to be the signature dishes of the restaurant. These are listed as "specials" every day on the board, and I think it is a good strategy to base the daily offerings on the freshest ingredients that can be obtained from local markets (and menu items seem to be consistently fresh as well).

The friendliness of the staff, comfortable decor, and reasonable prices for good quality food are additional reasons I can recommend Cous Cous Cafe. Even though Cous Cous is small it does not have some of the limitations I find in many small ethnic restaurants such as closing early, not being open seven days a week, or frequently running out of special items.