Tanjia - 4905 Telegraph Ave

We'd been to Tanjia before this excursion, and wondered if we enjoyed it as much as we remembered or whether it might have been the belly dancing...

Tanja is a Moroccan restaurant, and has basically 2 per-person price structure for a prie fixe meal. We like the more expensive side of the menu because of this crazy chicken pie that comes in the middle. If the thought of powdered chicken and sugar sounds vaguely frightening, you have to try this pie. But I'm skipping ahead.

What we ordered: The expensive side of the menu (this is like $2 more). First trip: chicken with prunes and lamb on skewers. Second trip: chicken on skewers and lamb with prunes. Moroccan white wine and a French beer.
What came in the service: fresh sweetish white bread, plate of Moroccan salads (various pickled and non-pickled veggies), lentil soup, bizarre phyllo dough minced chicken pie with powdered sugar and cinnamon on top, the main meat you ordered with couscous, mint tea, fruit and fried banana.
Service: in the theme of the place - traditional Moroccan. I guess. Neither I nor my PIC have been to Morocco, but let's just say the servers aren't inked twentysomething hipsters in low-rider jeans and a-symmetrical haircuts.
Atmo: Moroccan - tent, belly dancers and servers in ethnic garb
Crowd: mixed
Spent: around $50.00 (with tip)
Overall rating: 4 sporks, mostly for the chicken pie + being able to make lamb and chicken well + belly dancers

The interesting: being inside Tanjia gives one the impression of being in a luxurious circus tent. It's also fun to sit on pillows and watch belly dancing, so overall the atmo is part of the Tanjia experience. The tapestries are a little tired these days, but somehow this didn't bother us.

The first thing they bring you is an groovy water urn and some towels. I wasn't sure what this was about, but somehow avoided embarrassment (rare) by resisting the urge to put my glass out when the dude started pouring. Turns out he was washing my hands for me. He then left us with fluffy white towels, which are nice to have during the meal seeing as how there's a complete lack of silverware. (Though they will bring it upon request.)

The courses build, and the very best thing about all of them is the chicken pie. You can also get other kinds of pies, but the chicken one was so good the first time we wouldn't dream of switching. Somehow the combo of phyllo, cinnamon, powdered sugar and chicken comes together to create a unique and utterly delicious combo. I was rather afeared of this pie on first glance - powdered sugar and chicken not being a mix that sounded appetizing - but one bite made me a convert. The bread is also surprisingly good - it's chewy and a little sweet, and they make it there.

These folks really know their meat. The first time I ordered chicken with prunes, and it was tender and just delicious. My PIC loved the lamb skewers; somehow Tanjia manages to do skewers without turning the lamb into dog food. Second trip, the lamb with prunes was of a cut that we'd never seen before (vertebrae?), but the meat was falling off the bones and PIC was having a little lambgasm. The chicken skewers were well-seasoned and great as well.

The cous cous was a little overcooked the second time we were there, but I'll forgive them. We were too late for belly dancing on this trip, but were entertained by the sudden, staggering appearance of a local bar patron who stumbled in and tried to steal a glass of water. (She was, as she made clear when the waitress tried to prevent this odd theft, very thirsty.) After some bellowing and a nice glass of water provided by the staff, she stumbled back out the door with and said "Thank you" in Chinese to our Asian waitress. Who isn't Chinese but appreciated the gesture.

In any case, we really like this place and only wish that we could just go in for the chicken pie. I'd also make sure to go in time to see the belly dancers again - that really adds to the whole experience.