As part of their Tastemakers series, 7×7 has a nice update on chef/owner Mourad Lahlou of Aziza, the Richmond District’s only restaurant to earn a Michelin Star.
Lahlou has a new show on Moroccan cooking that will air on PBS this fall. He recently spent a month in Marrakech shooting the series. He remarks that the food in Morocco has not changed in decades, but that doesn’t keep him from innovating on the many dishes. “My palette has changed. In Marrakech, I kept thinking, why do you have so much oil for this dish, or reduce this sauce so much… I really feel like we’ve made this stuff better.”
Since earning his Michelin star, Lahlou says “We get people driving 30 miles to come eat here now.” To keep Aziza fresh and on the forefront of modern cuisine, he recently hired chef de cuisine Louis Maldonado (standing, right) and pastry chef Melissa Chou (standing, left), to work with him.
Aziza is open Wednesday through Monday from 5:30 – 10pm. You can make reservations on their website.
Sarah B.