El Harissa Market Cafe, Ann Arbor, MI

When we were visiting in Ann Arbor, our daughter took us to El Harissa Market Cafe, a new restaurant run by a Tunisian cook and his British wife (I should have asked their names!). The owners are extremely friendly, and spent a lot of time chatting with us, especially as they lived for a while in Hyde Park and knew Chicago well. In particular, they reminisced about their favorite restaurant, now alas defunct, Hashalom (on Devon), and have modeled many of their offerings on Hashalom's food. They serve appetizers and main dishes (there are only two, but excellent: chicken couscous and merguez meatballs) by weight. Standout appetizers included Mama Houria, a spicy carrot dip; lablabi, cumin flavored chickpeas; a parsnip dip -- mashed potatoes and parsnips; muajadara, rice with lentils and caramalized onions; and Egyptian style foul mudammes.We also had the Moroccan chorba soup, a vegetarian lentil soup. You can, obviously, order harissa sauce on the side; the version they prepare is tasty but not overly hot at all. Everything was very carefully prepared and presented. For dessert, they offer 20 different flavors of gelato and sorbet, including pomegranate and honeycrisp apple sorbets, chocolate hazelnut, Turkish roast coffee, wild berry, and scores of other gelatos, at extremely reasonable prices. They want to expand the market part of the business, though for the moment they sell pita bread among other items. Of course, the food can also be ordered takeout. Three of us stuffed ourselves for $40, and we ordered more food to take with us on the train back, far preferable to Amtrak's offerings. This is a real find.
Robert

El Harissa Market Cafe
1516 North Maple Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-585-0686

went here for lunch on this recommendation...seriously legit and highly recommended. Thx for the heads up!