Moroccan menu here to say at Commons Kitchen

The Commons Kitchen has seen a lot of menu changes: pizza, from-scratch breakfast, Moroccan and Mediterranean dishes, soup and sandwich lunch specials, and barbecue chicken. As of this fall, however, the Moroccan dishes are back and here to stay.

The restaurant, originally Due Amici pizza, was purchased in 2018 by husband and wife Adil Griguihi and Nadina Azzouay – longtime Ithaca residents who immigrated to the United States from Casablanca, Morocco, in 1998. Griguihi is the owner of downtown staple Casablanca Pizzeria, so after a few months, they rebranded the establishment and shifted away from pizza.

Under the new name, they served family-style home cooking, with an emphasis on breakfast and lunch. Unfortunately, “Breakfast was too stressful,” recalled Griguihi. Their from-scratch approach was at odds with customers who were often looking for a quick meal at those times of day.

This prompted their first foray into the Moroccan menu. With Azzouay helming the kitchen, they prepared an array of staple dishes from their homeland’s cuisine: couscous with vegetables, spiced kebabs and tajine (meats slow-cooked in clay dishes) among them. The reception was incredibly positive right from the start – but that alone was not enough.

“The problem we had since we opened this place is we could not find good help,” Griguihi said. “It was only me and my wife here, and we couldn’t do it, to be honest with you. It was too much work.”

He explained that though the menu appears simple, many of the dishes take significant time to prepare. Between the demands of the primary business – Casablanca Pizza – and raising their two children, this was time they didn’t have. They made the decision to close the business for a few months while they figured out the next steps.

As it turned out, the help they needed was only a few blocks away. Andrew Conroy, formerly the owner of Gateway BBQ Kitchen, was looking for his next move. Though his barbecue had a good reputation, the size and location of his establishment wasn’t ideal. And though the Moroccan menu requires a decent amount of prep, it was nothing compared to the multi-week process to make the sausages and meats Conroy had sold at his business.

“This is a lot of marination and prep work, but it’s not like weeks of making one thing ready,” Conroy said.

Griguihi invited Conroy to work with them at The Commons Kitchen.

“When Andy closed his store over there, I brought him here,” Griguihi said. “That was a big break for me and my wife because Andy’s very professional. He’s a very nice guy to work with.”

At first, they tried to keep some recipes from the Gateway BBQ Kitchen.

“We tried his menu – the barbecue chicken that he used to have there,” Griguihi said. “It worked in the morning but not at night.”

As it turns out, once folks had had a taste of those classic Moroccan dishes, that’s all they would ask for.

“People keep coming and asking me to do Moroccan food,” Griguihi said.

A graduate from the Culinary Institute of America with decades of restaurant experience, Conroy didn’t take long to pick up the Moroccan recipes.

“I’ve had plenty of years cooking different cuisines, so I just had to learn the different spices that they use. It’s not cooking methods that I’m not used to doing,” he said. “When Andy came in, he learned everything about Moroccan food, and he does it himself now. With him and my wife, it’s a good teamwork.”

Around this same time, the market for Mediterranean cuisine began to open up with the closures of Istanbul Turkish Kitchen, Sahara Mediterranean Cuisine and Aladdin’s Mediterranean Bistro.

The response, as it was the first time, has been overwhelmingly positive.

“You know how Ithaca is – people love different stuff,” Griguihi said. “The lamb that I put in the tajine – it’s the best seller here. People love it, and they keep coming back for it.”

This dish – lamb shanks cooked with Moroccan saffron, prunes and apricot – also happens to be Griguihi’s favorite.

“The customers here are totally different than the ones who go to Casablanca – more families, more locals,” Griguihi said. “That’s what I love about it. … I love this place. I was going to sell this place, … but when I see the locals, I decide I’m staying. I want to focus on the locals here.”

Emboldened by the community’s response and thankful for Conroy’s contributions, Griguihi has fully embraced The Commons Kitchen’s final direction. While very little was done with the décor in the first year of operation, he is slowly updating it to reflect his home country’s aesthetics.

Handmade tapestries, woven rugs from Agadir and pictures from Marrakesh hang on the walls. Jewel-toned tea glasses are displayed by the counter, and new tables, chairs and lighting are on order.

As for food, guests can be assured the menu will not be changing again. Griguihi and Conroy both testified to the popularity of the current dishes and their desire to offer consistency for their regular customers. This includes the Mix Kebabs – a mix of chicken kebab, beef merguez and falafel – which also happens to be Conroy’s favorite dish.

All of these same dishes will be available for catering as well, which The Commons Kitchen has already provided for weddings and Cornell University events alike.

With that said, they do hope to introduce new options – especially as a way to welcome new guests. On Mondays they’ll focus on vegan dishes.

“Every week, we’re trying to put two or three meals from every different country like Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria,” Griguihi said.

Though the family’s two establishments are just across the Commons from each other, the mood is quite different at both.

“Here, when I come here, I’m relaxed,” Griguihi said. “I talk to people, it’s good for me, and it’s good for the customer. We make people feel like they are home.”