Moroccan Mix

LeVarrat opened Gypsy Grill a year ago last fall with a menu best described as French with a lot of California tossed in--which is to say, inventive. Now, in Yahya Dauodi, LeVarrat has a saute chef who can add a touch of North Africa to the mix too.

Dauodi comes from Morocco, which touches both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The Muslim kingdom dates from the 11th century, but because in recent times it has been a protectorate of both France and Spain, its cuisine is distinctive.

Working with Gypsy Grill's executive chef Christian Monchatre, Dauodi overhauled the restaurant's list of offerings some weeks ago.

"The menu had been the same since we opened," LeVarrat says. "We wanted to refresh it a little bit and give it a new flavor.

"The Moroccans are a big ethnic group in France, so now we have couscous, and we also have a Moroccan-style chicken casserole with prunes and almonds, and a baby spinach salad with almonds, honey, walnuts and sesame and anise seeds."

Dauodi cooks the couscous with chicken, with lamb and with a mixture of chicken, lamb and a mildly spicy Moroccan sausage containing both lamb and beef. The prices for these dishes range from $14.95 to $17.95.

He does the chicken casserole with a light honey, saffron and cinnamon; it costs $12.95. He does the spinach salad, which costs $5.75, with selou, a delicate concoction of flour and honey with crushed sesame seeds and almonds that ends up looking like sand, LeVarrat says.

Indeed, LeVarrat adds, that's what selou means in Morocco--sand.

Elsewhere on the menu: a sauteed salmon filet served in a red wine sauce with portobello mushrooms, for $14.50; a grilled ahi tuna steak with a sauce of red wine, peppers, and pears, for $15.95; and jambonneaux aux lentilles, a traditional French country dish with shank ham and garlic sausage in a lentil stew, for $15.25.

"We're going to continue to move forward into a more traditional French menu in California style--which means no cream, no butter and very light sauces," LeVarrat says.

Gypsy Grill seats 100. It serves dinner seven nights a week, lunch weekdays. It is at 16911 Ventura Blvd., at the corner of Balboa Avenue in Encino, (818) 784-7393.

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