RABAT

restaurant worth a trip: Tajine wa Tanjia.

on Fridays: couscous with honeyed onion tfaya and a glass of lben (buttermilk).

any special dish I can try here: tangia (meat cooked with 17 spices in a sealed clay pot for hooooours).

best dish they serve: m’rouzia (honeyed lamb with ras al-hanout).

and for dessert: milk custard with local saffron.

best cafe terrace for a mint tea: Hotel Balima.

before going to the cafe terrace: pick up a couple of sticky sweetmeats to have with the espresso or mint tea.

inexpensive local hotel where I always stay: Hotel Royal. Get a corner room.

best selection of English language books in Morocco: English Bookshop (7, rue al Yamama, off avenue Moulay Youssef. Tel. 0537.706593).

best selection Moroccan cookbooks in French and Arabic: Librairie 3ème millénairie (285, Av. Mohamed V, facing Parlimanet. Tel: 0537.263238).

EL JADIDA

where to stay: the three room Riad le Mazagao that arcs over the entrance to the medina.

to eat: Rachid is a fine, professionally trained chef who works wonders at his Riad le Mazagao. Try to accompany him to the maket to buy what he will make for your lunch.

specialty of the house and of the city: sardine “meatballs” in tomato sauce.

or: fish tagine.

look for: blue shark cooked in a tagine or else in brochettes and grilled.

wander: the ramparts and the old Portuguese city.

street food: grilled corn on the cob.

SAFI

what to eat: fresh sardines! Safi is the sardine capital of Morocco.

best sardines: grilled on the street. Follow the smoke.

ESSAOUIRA

special dish: conger eel tajine with onions and raisins.

best cafe for a mint tea and fresh pastry: Pâtisserie Driss (near Place Moulay Hassan at 10, rue El Hajjali).