Zitoune in Mamaroneck: Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2011

I’m Simon Feldman. For me, one of the great aspects of Hudson Valley Restaurant week is having a chance to explore new kinds of cuisine .

So I decide that it was time to get exotic and become better acquainted with Moroccan Food. On the Post Road in Mamaroneck, is Zitoune, the creation of chef-owner Alain Bennouna.

I had prepared myself for what I thought was going to be an evening filled with hot spicy foods, yet what I found was not at all what I had expected.

: Vegetable Cigars

: Lamb Tagine

: Sizzling Sardines

: Red Snapper Tagine

As it turns out, the Moroccan dishes I had were more on the sweet and fruitful side. We tried two starters. I loved the Sizzling Fresh Sardines (and they came to the table sizzling) and the Vegetable Cigars, wrapped in a wonderfully crisp filo doe.

For the main courses, I tried two tagines: Red Snapper and Lamb. The fish was moist and delicately seasoned, and and the lamb was tender and melted in your mouth.

I really enjoyed my entire dining experience at Zitoune, and I would hope that you too will venture out to explore this very interesting cuisine.

The 411 on Zitoune.