Restaurant: Foodies: Premium Taste and Unique Style
Where: Casablanca, Morocco
Casablanca was nothing we expected. From all the rave we’d heard about Morocco from travelers and Casablanca from the film, we headed down without enough real knowledge or accurate expectations. This city is mostly used by travelers, not as a destination, but as a transportation hub. We could see why. You can take a plane, train, boat or bus to just about anywhere here, but if you choose to stay a while, there’s not so much to do. Some people spend a few days here to go to the beach, the large market, or sit in the cafe where a scene in Casablanca was filmed. Food-wise, we hadn’t yet seen or tasted anything to write home about. Yet hungry we were, and it was only our third day.
Venturing out in search of a grocery store that was supposed to be close by, we stumbled across Foodies. With its obviously Western- influenced décor, and no other food in sight, we happily entered this cute restaurant with a French flair.
When we entered, there was only one other lady eating. We soon learned that this was a rarity. At all other times, Foodies seemed to be packed with hungry customers, and rightly so.
After being welcomed and having ordered, my mom struck up a conversation with our waitress and quickly realized that she was the owner as well. Yasmine is not only the heart and soul of Foodies, but she is also its standard of excellence. Only 21 and back in her home town after studying in Paris and living in Canada, Yasmine had already gained enough knowledge and experience to put it into practice.
When we dined our first time here, Foodies had only been open for two weeks. Yasmine related her difficulties finding good employees, and had already had to do some replacing. Despite the weight of running her own, newborn business, she seemed well-organized, thoughtful, and professional. The sweetest part of all was her location: right next to her mother’s pharmacy. “I couldn’t do it without my mom,” Yasmine genuinely protested.
Morocco being a Muslim country, we had to ask if Yasmine had met any resistance opening a business as a woman her age. She admitted that she had met some resistance, though the main response was confusion. Her passion to open a restaurant was not completely understood or believed to succeed. She happily reported that both men and women had been coming by to eat.
As for the food itself, well you’ll just have to come here. Just kidding, I’ll tell you a bit about it, though you should see it on the Facebook page for yourself. The presentation of the food is as good as the taste. The food was made well, fresh, and with interesting flavors and sauces I had never tasted before. Yasmine knew how to combine taste, quality, and originality. You can choose both Moroccan staples, such as tagine with couscous (pic below) or falafel, Western plates such as pizza and salad, or unique things in between.
Wanting to get some things to prepare us if we traveled down through Africa sometime, we told Yasmine that we’d love to stop over at her mother’s establishment as well. Yasmine took us over and personally introduced us to a woman equally as kind as herself. Yasmine’s mom even went through the trouble to drive the three of us over to the train station when it was time to leave.
If you find yourself in Casablanca, even for a day, go here. It was a favorite experience for us, and with nothing much else around to do, I’d call Foodies one of Casablanca’s main attractions.
