Tajine dream

>> New kid on the block Aslama Tunis
earns bragging rights

by MATHILDE RABBAT

Strolling down Beaubien on the way to a rather uneventful appointment, my eatery sense began tingling, followed by my sense of smell as the aroma of a stewing tajine came wafting out of an open doorway. Like any good P.I., I keep a notepad handy for such occasions: “Note to self, sample the best Aslama Tunis has to offer.” Now that the mission has come to pass, it’s time for the debriefing.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the young resto features a limited selection of corresponding fare: eggs, omelettes and crêpes (all priced under $6) to get the morning off to a hearty start, salads and briks ($6) to sustain you throughout the afternoon, and staples like the tajines and ever popular couscous combos for a protein packed, satisfying supper.

At this place, you not only cap off your meal with a tea, it marks the beginning, the middle and the end of your stay. In accordance with North African hospitality, the tea just keeps on flowing. We’re talking fresh mint tea, so you might find a stray leaf or two floating in your cup.

May I suggest you use that tea to wash down a refreshing Tunisian salad dish? It’s actually two salads on one dish: one side holds onion bits, green and orange peppers, cucumber and fennel, while the other contains marinated cooked red pepper, onion and invisible aubergine. They could’ve benefited from a bit more salt, but, on the whole, both combinations are real winners and provide a welcome change to the salads found elsewhere.

Though seafood is usually an indispensable part of the Tunisian diet, there was none to be found on the handwritten menu—an endearing eight and a half by 11 faded photostat—save the mechouia salad containing tuna and a couple of briks with a choice of the same fishy character or shrimp. I wasn’t in the market for a brik on the night of my visit, but I’ve put the deep-fried pockets down on my “to eat” list for next time. I was more into the plats du jour, featuring tajines ($11.99) with a choice of poultry, veal or lamb, which I’m told is the favourite. Couscous dishes, all priced under $15, come in many permutations incorporating similar ingredients, all 100 per cent halal.

Portions are just right and simplicity seems to be the rule of thumb. In this case, there’s a lot to be said for sticking to the basics. The traditional clay tajine is unveiled at the table right before your eyes. What lies before you is a tasty, tender portion of veal roast bathing in a translucent and barely viscous broth, thus avoiding the heaviness that accompanies thicker tajine stews. Perfumed with a hint of rosemary, the broth is just too good to let go to waste after the veal and neighbouring green peas, chunks of carrot, tomato, potato and onion have been consumed. That’s where the warm baguette to sponge it all up comes into play.

The couscous with merguez also deserves an honourable mention. Very fine grains are cooked just right, drizzled with a light tomato reduction, topped with chickpeas, carrots and potatoes and a dusting of oregano. Though the merguez sausages accompanying this dish packed a welcome hot punch, unfortunatel the spiciness that usually characterizes Tunisian cuisine, often provided by a healthy dose of harissa, was conspicuously absent in the poultry and veal tajines.

A quiet tête-à-tête quickly became dinner for three as the proud owner of the establishment, an admitted do-it-yourselfer and soccer fanatic, likes to share conspiracy theories with sympathetic ears and brag about the work he’s put into his pet resto. One thing’s for sure—as the only cook, server and all-around manager of the establishment, this guy has earned the bragging rights.