Taste of Sacramento: Arden Arcade’s Casablanca offers a delicious, bittersweet love story

There used to be belly dancers.

It was just part of the weekend dining experience at the Casablanca Moroccan Restaurant on Fair Oaks in Arden Arcade. Customers would sit on floor cushions, and food was served on low brass tables. The waiter performed a ceremonial washing of the hands using a tass, a kettle with a bowl underneath to catch the runoff.

That was before the coronavirus shutdowns.

When dining rooms closed, the Casablanca switched to takeout and delivery. But business was bad.

“I was losing money very fast,” said owner Mourhit Drissi. “I couldn’t handle it.”

In April, there was a brief reprieve. Drissi had called his two adult children to let them know he might be closing. His daughter, Sarah Drissi, took the news especially hard.

“I’ve never really heard him scared like that before,” said Sarah. “Once I knew he was worried, then it got me really worried. ... It’s one of the few things from my childhood that’s still around.”

Sarah works in Los Angeles as a TV talent coordinator, but she still has friends in Sacramento. So she wrote a post on Facebook.

“I never thought I would make a post like this,” it began. “But here we are.” She knew everyone was struggling right now, she wrote. But if you’re planning on ordering out anyway, could you please consider the Casablanca?

Sarah wasn’t expecting much. She thought maybe a few of her friends would see it and order takeout. Instead, the post was shared 1,471 times. The community rallied, and for a while the orders were flying in. But then things died down again. Dining rooms were reopened and then re-closed.

Casablanca is still there, with top-rated food for Sacramento suburb.

One popular menu item is the sultan’s feast, for $28.95 per person. It’s a seven-course meal with a chef’s variety selection of entrees. The first course is the harira classique, a lentil soup, followed by the salad taht el hammam, a hummus and carrot salad drizzled with olive oil and served with pita bread. For parties of three or more, the salad also includes beets spiced with cinnamon and thyme.

The third course is the b’stilla, a mixture of almonds and egg in a phyllo dough with powdered sugar and cinnamon on top. It’s a sweet dish, not to be mistaken for dessert. We’re still on appetizers.

The sultan’s feast comes with three entrees, including a variety of couscous dishes and tajine, a traditional Moroccan stew. Dessert is almond baklava with sweet mint tea. All menu items are available a la carte.

Drissi is from Rabat, the capital of Morocco. He grew up there, became a lawyer, and never imagined that some day, he’d be moving to America. Then he got a side gig teaching Arabic for the Peace Corps.

“The first day of teaching, I met my American wife,” Drissi remembered. “My beautiful, Irish redhead wife.”

Colleen Drissi was a Peace Corps volunteer. It was June 28, her birthday, and the Americans had gathered to sing “Happy Birthday” to her. Drissi went to see what all the singing was about. He saw her and then he went to class. She was in his class.

By lunch time, he was writing her a poem. By dinner, she’d managed to get it translated. And within a decade, they were raising two young children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Drissi’s law degree was no good in the United States. But he’d had always had a knack for cooking and a dream of owning his own restaurant.

June 12 marked the restaurant’s 27th anniversary. In the intervening years, Colleen died and Drissi, with the blessing of his children, remarried. The restaurant remains located in an unassuming Arden Town strip mall near the intersection of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Watt Avenue. On one side is a florist shop. On the other, a now-closed Goodwill donation center.

“Once you enter the restaurant, believe me — you will forget about the outside,” said Drissi. “I love my business. I really do. It is home.”

Duke’s Plates and Pints

Duke’s Plates and Pints is located in the Arden Town Center.

“We pride ourselves on being a tap house,” said Aubrey Carlson, who co-owns Duke’s with her husband, Michael Carlson.

They offer 24 different lines of beer. One is nonalcoholic and used for the kid’s root beer float ($2.50). The rest are rotating lines of craft beer.

Duke’s also offers a full menu. It’s casual, American-style fare. Appetizers include buffalo wings ($10.99) and carnitas tacos (11.99), made with pulled pork, salsa and pico de gallo on corn tortillas.

All the burgers are half-pounders, and the Duke burger ($15.99) is a favorite. It’s made with grilled Angus, melted cheddar, bacon, red onion, avocado, lettuce, tomato and garlic aioli, and served on a Pugliese bun from Bella Bru.

The Duke burger comes with a side of french fries, house-made potato salad or Sadie salad.

Duke’s has been open since 2014, and recently got its liquor license, although the focus is still on beer. Food and drinks are available for takeout. Otherwise, the restaurant is still able to seat customers outside. Duke’s has two outdoor patios, a small one in front that seats about eight and a larger one in back that can seat about 68.

“I’m so grateful we have that patio. If we didn’t, we’d be in a much worse position,” said Aubrey.

If you go

Casablanca Moroccan Restaurant

Where: 3516 Fair Oaks Blvd., Arden Arcade

Hours: 5:30 to 10 p.m. seven days a week

Duke’s Plates and Pints

Where: 510 La Sierra Drive, Sacramento

Hours: Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Online: www.dukesplatesandpints.com

This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 10:10 AM.