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| - I can definitely understand why Abdul Charra's restaurant has garnered the rave reviews it has. Between the warm hospitality and the value, its awfully hard not to give this place high marks. I came here for lunch with my brother on a Thursday eager to see what the hype was about and to get my first taste of Moroccan cuisine. The restaurant is located a few blocks west of the 51 Freeway on McDowell. The inside is nicely decorated and with Moroccan music playing in the background. Parking is tough and the restaurant is a little dimly lit inside, but minor issues in the grand scheme of things.
As soon as we sat down, Abdul brought out some hot mint tea to our table. A perfect refreshment on an unusually chilly day in the Phoenix area. Shortly after that, Abdul brought out some fava bean soup and some warm fresh made bread. Admittedly I'm a bit of a wuss with really spicy food and the soup packed a pretty good punch. They must've put quite a bit of cumin in there. No complaints about the bread though as the texture was pillow soft. After that, we were provided with more of that delicious bread and a plate of homemade hummus. This version had quite a bit of complexity with a wide variety of different herbs working here. Garlic and chickpeas are there of course but I think I picked up a mild peppery mix in there as well. And keep in mind this was all provided to us before we even had a chance to order our actual dishes.
I went the traditional route this go around and chose the lamb couscous. They actually provide the couscous on the side and then deliver the slow cooked steaming hot meat, veggies, and broth in what looks like an iron bowl. From there you mix the two as you see fit. The couscous was perfect for soaking up all that beef broth and the meat itself was super tender. I honestly don't know how I finished it, but I was determined to make it happen. Outstanding meal. To finish things off, I asked for a date shake, something pretty much all Yelpers say you have to try here. As I understand it, the shake is essentially a mixture of ground up dates, peanut butter, and cinnamon. Abdul recommended that I wait to have it until after my couscous dish as he said the shake was super filling. He was right. That said, the shake had a smooth pleasant texture so it acted as a nice palate cleanser to top of the meal.
Total cost for my lamb couscous, my brother's chicken couscous, a pair of date shakes, numerous hot mint teas, fresh baked bread, fava bean soup, hummus, tax, and tip came to about $36. Considering how much food and drink we were provided, it was a spectacular deal. Up until we got the check, I probably would've said 4 stars for this place, but what you get for the price pushes Abdul's place to about a 4.5. When you can deliver good (at times great) quality hard to find food to the masses at a great price, you've earned this Yelper's personal admiration (and a return visit).
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