Los Angeles knows tacos.
So when Majda Belaroui serves her Moroccan take on them, it’s a gamble in a city proud and deeply knowledgeable about Mexican cuisine. Still, any skepticism softens with the first bite.
“Some of the best in the world, and still little known,” Belaroui says, opening a can of Moroccan sardines.
She fries the little fish in a mélange of ingredients emitting familiar aromas: cumin seeds, harissa aioli, chermoula, and pickled onions. The result is crunchy, spicy, and delicious. A creation that feels unmistakably North African while still speaking clearly to Mexican and Southern Californian sensibilities.
Belaroui was born in her familial village of Rommani and grew up in nearby Rabat. Once one of Morocco’s largest wine-exporting regions, Belaroui proudly highlights Rommani’s legacy in her pop-up, Café Maghreb.