Café Sud

For more than 25 years, Deborah Kaplan has been creating glorious, often one-of-a-kind wedding cakes. Her towering confections have been featured in Vogue and engaged couples flock to her pastry shop/café in Queen Village to study an album of beautifully photographed full-color cakes.

The restaurant portion of Kaplan’s Café Sud is newer, and has a personality distinct from the pastry shop. Several weeks ago, Edward, my mom Berthe and I decided to go to dinner at the 20-seat BYOB at Eighth and Catharine streets.

Café Sud is awash with Mediterranean colors. The walls are covered in colorful geometric artwork in shades of saffron, gold and persimmon. Kaplan’s husband, Mostafa Mouhib, a handsome man with a winning smile and polite demeanor, gave us menus and advised the lamb and artichoke special ($22.95) would not be ready for several hours. Not to worry. I have not enjoyed Moroccan food in such a long time, I looked forward to a succession of dishes coming from the kitchen. Mouhib, who was born and raised in Morocco, has the sublime touch of a professional waiter. He once worked as one in the Moroccan royal palace.

He brought us a loaf of Sarcone’s seeded bread, which had been toasted in the oven, and softened butter. Kaplan and Mouhib use this famous loaf to make paninis for Sunday brunch.

We began dinner with Sud salad ($7.50), avocado salad ($7.95) and vermicelli and shrimp rolls ($9.50).

Sud salad consisted of a good-sized bed of torn romaine lettuce leaves with bits of cool beets, a smattering of tangy goat cheese and a sprinkling of toasted pecans tossed in a light balsamic vinaigrette. The beets tasted as if they came from a can but the salad was refreshingly cool and not a bit overdressed. A slice of grilled bread came with Mom’s salad.

One of the best dishes of the evening was the avocado salad, which was simply prepared. Mouhib sliced a fresh ripe avocado and set it on the plate. Slices of fragrant crunchy fresh fennel were placed next to the avocado, along with sweet juicy orange slices. A few toasted pecans were included. This appetizer was a twist on the red onion and orange salad that is popular throughout Morocco. Mouhib just substituted fennel for the onion.

The vermicelli and shrimp rolls were prepared with phyllo, the light crispy wrappers used to make sweet and savory pastries throughout the Mediterranean. I received three plump rolls that were spiced just right, filled with thin pasta threads and a bit of shrimp. Two were burnt on the outside, however. My plate contained one of my favorite Moroccan vegetables; carrots with cumin and cinnamon. They were served cool along with some string beans, which were a little mushy because, I suspect, they came from a can. They were sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander.

From the entrées, we sampled classic chicken with cous cous ($17.95), lamb tagine ($19.95) and pastilla ($15.95). Mouhib roasted one-half of a small chicken in the traditional earthenware vessel, added cous cous and topped the dish with chickpeas and potatoes. Although the chicken was tender, it lacked flavor. It also could have used more color and eye presentation.

My lamb tagine was a disappointment. I’ve enjoyed lamb in Moroccan restaurants and it always was filled with ethnic spices. I received a tasteless braised lamb shank swimming in a dull bland gray broth, topped with caramelized onions that were a bit too sweet. Tagines are rich stews and vegetables play an important role in their creation. If the dish were made with lamb cubes, vegetables, cumin, turmeric and a hint of cinnamon, it would have tasted like the real thing.

Edward’s pastilla was just OK. The pastilla is a pie made with phyllo. It must contain chicken, eggs, almonds, cinnamon and herbs such as cilantro, which is frequently used in Moroccan cooking. This pastilla was shaped into a long roll. The filling lacked flavor and it was hard to find the chicken. Too much cinnamon was dusted on top of the phyllo roll before it arrived at the table. Edward also received a warm white bean salad with his dinner, which I liked.

Since Moroccan fare should be redolent of herbs and spices, we brought a rich Côtes du Rhône to Café Sud.

We were about to order dessert when Kaplan finished her meeting with a young bride and groom. She recommended her carrot cake ($7) because it is different from the run-of-the-mill types at the majority of bakeries and rich mango sorbet ($7). The carrot cake was uncommonly good. Kaplan bakes it in a long, deep loaf pan. She brought us a generous slice – more like a slab – of her dreamy confection. The batter is made with meringue, which gives the cake a heavenly light texture. It was covered in homemade rich buttercream frosting. We also enjoyed the sorbet and tucked into three nice-sized scoops. It had a refreshing flavor and paired well with the carrot cake.

Although some dishes were tasty, more attention to detail should be used in the preparation of food at Café Sud. Fresh vegetables should come with dinner. The marvelous aromatic herbs and spices used in Moroccan cooking were lacking in our entrées. With a bit more care, dinner fare at Café Sud could become just as fine as Kaplan’s cakes.

Two tips of the toque to Café Sud.

Café Sud
801 E. Passyunk Ave. (Eighth and Catharine)
215-592-0499
Visa and MasterCard accepted
Restaurant too small for a wheelchair
Open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday; Sunday brunch
BYOB