A night in Tunisia

>> Méditerranéen delivers couscous with a smile

by SPANKY HOROWITZ

Restaurant Méditerranéen specializes in Tunisian food, which features ingredients such as olive oil, couscous, Mediterranean spices, lamb and seafood. There's a terrasse in the summer, breakfast specials, lunch specials, very good dinner specials and a reasonably priced yet short wine list.

The signs outside advertise their dinner specials, which include at least five choices for under $11, with unlimited visits to their salad, soup and dessert bar. Three friends and I began our evening by toasting over a bottle of Tunisian Chateau Mornag 1996 ($25). This light red wine was not too dry and not too fruity, leading the way for a fabulous dining experience which would begin at the salad bar.

Aside from the mandatory lettuce which, understandably, was left untouched, there were whole beets, hard-boiled eggs, fresh rolls, dried pineapple slices, dried bananas, pasta salad, crabmeat salad, cold calamari rings in olive oil, rice-stuffed vine leaves flavoured with fresh mint and many other items not found in your run-of-the-mill free salad bar. Suffice it to say, I felt like I had eaten more than what most folks would consider a "salad."

Fortunately for me, I had spent years training for nights like this and was undaunted by the fact that the bulk of my meal had not yet been placed before me. My undauntedness was just then shattered by the sound of very large plates landing on our table. With another toast of our Tunisian vintage, we dug in.

The vegetable couscous ($10) was presented in two serving vessels: the couscous itself was neatly mounded into the centre of a large warmed plate and the vegetables were in a casserole dish. The semolina couscous was very fine, a different breed of couscous than you would get at a fast-food Lebanese joint. The assorted vegetables included carrots, turnips, onions, potatoes and zucchini, elegantly seasoned with Tunisian spices (turmeric, cumin, etc.). The chef at Méditerranéen was obviously trained by professionals, as all our plates were hot and one of the most important things they teach at cooking school is "hot food, hot plate."

The Méditerranéen couscous plate ($16) was equivalent to its vegetarian cousin, with the addition of a chicken brochette, lamb brochette and a merguez sausage. The chicken was very tender and very flavourful, as was the merguez. The lamb was a little tough and could have stood more time in a tenderizing marinade.

The Méditerranéen spaghetti ($15), also served on a large warmed plate, was topped with shrimps and calamari and artfully surrounded by over a dozen mussels. The portion was big, yet my skinny companion devoured it quite thoroughly, save for a bowl full of mussel shells--leaving me without a taste but affirming the fact that it most definitely was not lacking in flavour.

My mechoui ($11), which refers to lamb that is spit-roasted, was served alongside a pile of braised root vegetables, roasted potatoes and a pile of couscous. The lamb slices were perfectly seasoned and extremely tender, proving that this restaurant could produce a tender lamb dish if it tried but also confirming that the lamb in brochette form was just too tough.

We certainly did not feel any need for dessert, but how else would I be able to tell you that this restaurant offers unlimited amounts of baklava, chocolate baklava and chocolate-coconut squares, as well as fresh fruit salad that not only looked good but tasted good too. There was no other way, so suffer as we did, we ate unlimited amounts of dessert.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, in a very Tunisian way. :

Comments? foodspanky@hotmail.com

Restaurant Méditerranéen

Address: 3857 St-Denis

Phone: 843-9454

Hours: 6pm-11pm

Best features: features: Upscale couscous, first-class salad bar, conscientious service, free dessert

Alcohol: Yes

Vegetarian friendly: Yes

Wheelchair access: Yes

Credit cards: Yes

Price: $10-18 for dinner before tax, tip and drinks (breakfast and lunch are cheaper)

Rating: *** out of ****