Roger K.
Yelp
We were warmly greeted as we came in from the rain and were seated at a table for four while we waited for our remaining party of two to arrive. Menus for four were provided, but place settings for only two. Servers are young, attentive, possibly family members, and help to contribute to the feeling that this is a more homey dining experience.
During the ten minutes before the rest of our party arrived we were served warm honey-mint flavored tea. While they do not serve alcoholic beverages at the Troy location, I assume they have future plans for a beer and wine license since that is what they sell at their Schenectady location. While staff inquired whether we wanted water, no effort was made to see if we might have wanted something else from the beverage section of the menu, such as iced tea or flavored Pellegrino water.
I'm not an expert on Moroccan cuisine and have no way of knowing what it is supposed to taste like. I enjoy trying different flavors and textures. I can only tell you if I enjoyed the food and experience at a restaurant. With that disclaimer out of the way, here are my comments on dinner at Tara Kitchen.
We started by ordering three appetizers for the table - the Eggplant Dip ($5), the Olive Tapenade ($6), and the Warm Fig Salad ($6). Plenty of warm and delicious pita slices were provided with the apps and happily replenished as needed upon request. The Fig Salad, with a honey-harissa vinaigrette, also included white beans and olives. One member of our party who does not care for beans or olives, was pleased to discover that she enjoyed the combination of the two in this salad. It was a very nice mix of textures and I, who is also not a big fan of olives, refilled my plate with multiple servings as I especially enjoyed the sweet and tender figs.
While the others at the table thought the Eggplant Dip was the highlight of the apps with its roasted garlic and tomato dip, I was not overwhelmed. Similarly, as I've already said I'm not a big fan of olives, the Tapenade did nothing special for me, but it was well received by the others at the table with its artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes.
For my entrée I decided upon the Lamb with pomegranate, molasses, black olives, almonds, and harissa ($24). Harissa, I understand, is made from a series of peppers along with herbs, garlic, coriander, saffron, caraway, and possibly other ingredients. In spite of the various peppers, this was not a hot spicy sauce. It was actually mild. The lamb was very tender and its flavor had blended in the soupy sauce of my dish. The rice provided with each entrée helped to soak up some of my sauce, but I had to request a spoon, otherwise I would have been left with a plate full of liquid that the delicious pita was unable to absorb. None of the other dishes served to our table had this level of liquid sauce. Overall, the dish was pleasant but it did not wow me.
My wife had the Scallops, Fish, and Shrimp with black olives in tomato chermoula ($26). The fish was swai, a white fish that is very mild in flavor. While chermoula is described as being a marinade commonly including such ingredients as dried parsley, cumin, paprika, pepper, and salt, both my wife and I thought this dish was somewhat bland. It just seemed like it was missing something in the flavors category. Of the three fish, the scallops were the tastiest and cooked perfectly, and we appreciated that the kitchen removed the tails from the shrimp.
Both of the other diners in our party were pleased with their meals. One ordered the chicken with the same pomegranate sauce that I had with my lamb, while the other ordered a lamb dish with honey almonds, prunes, apricots, and harissa.
Noise level in the brightly lit dining room is noticeable and slightly above average. It didn't necessarily prevent table conversation, but it did create a constant awareness of its existence.
