After watching the low keyed fish auction and having a cup of "Cafe Express", it was obviously time for lunch. I had a place in mind….down the streets of the Souk…..
We found Restaurant De L'ile
. The place was immaculate…clean and bright in the very Mediterranean way. It was also totally empty for lunch…..perhaps the combination of of "all inclusive" resorts and Arab Spring was having an effect.
The menu had a ton of Tunisian "standards" and toruist dishes….but this was Houmt Souk, on the island of Djerba….we were having seafood.
Things started out with some "amuse/appetizers" to stimulate our appetite and tastebuds.
Along with the standard bread and harissa was a carrot "puree" of sorts…the Missus was ready to hate the stuff, but really enjoyed the spices mixed with a touch of sweetness.
Along with this was a plate of "thon" (tuna) with braised potatoes which was very tasty.
First up was the "salade aux fruits de mer"…..a seafood salad.
Nice, well prepared seafood, nothing fancy, but quite solid.
Then tuna with tomato sauce…..
The tomato sauce had a touch of spiciness and was very tangy. They cooked the fish to death.
If you've read my previous posts on meals in Tunisia, you'd know how much I'd taken to brik, the wonderful deep fried pastry, filled with a fried egg and sometimes seafood. This was the "Brik aux fruits de mer"…the seafood filled brik.
This one wins the "runny egg award"…..I was almost mesmerized by how runny the egg was.
The yolk was profoundly "eggy", reminding me of how eggs used to taste when I was a kid. It was a bit too much for the Missus, though I enjoyed it.
There is of course, the communication barrier, which displayed itself in the calamare….we ordered it "grille", but got it fried. The squid was very tender, thought the batter oily and mushy….oh what could have been.
We finished off with the Octopus in Tomato Sauce. I'm not sure why most of what we have here in the states is like tire rubber. This was quite tender, though not as good as our favorite.
In the end, this was the best restaurant meal we'd had in Tunisia.
After lunch we found a taxi….on the way back to the resort, the Missus saw a pastry shop and had the cabbie stop…..to buy pastries! You know, this being Tunisia, he didn't bat an eye and the Missus bought him a box of confections for his trouble.
We had a nap in the afternoon, went for a walk, and as is our "MO" went to dinner early. After our previous dinner, with the themed "Italian Night", we were curious what "Tunisia Night" would be like.
We peeked out to the patio and saw that the really nice young man…the one who had gotten the Chef de Cuisine to get the Missus some mechouia the night before was working. He waved us over to the little two-top he was waiting on….there was no doubt that we wanted him to be our waiter tonight. We went out and grabbed our plates and when we returned he had created a little bouquet of sorts for our table. This was such a sweet touch…..
And while I felt bad for the folks who had to be "in character" for the dinner……
We also found a dish we really loved…..it was black and tarry looking and was in a container that looked like a flower pot. The flavor however was profound….rich, beefy with some heat, and a tongue coating texture that we found enjoyable. No one seemed to want to eat this stuff….in fact, the Chef de Cuisine came out to talk to us, just because he was happy to see folks enjoy this so much.
It was made with something we had never come across before Molokhia….of course we came home and found the stuff being sold in Nijiya, but at that time this was all new….still is, because we were told this preparation takes two days.
In the end, even though I'm not fond of these "all-inclusive" resorts, we did enjoy our time.
As our cab took us to the airport and back to Tunis, we reflected, not only on the Tunisian Cabbies dream….they all want Cadillacs and Lincoln Towncars….really! But also on how relaxed and kind folks we came across were…..