Alhambra Palace Restaurant is a good Morrocan restaurant on Randolph Street.

1240 W. Randolph, Chicago, IL – (312) 666-9555

We went to the antique market on Randolph and went by this restaurant on the way there. You can’t miss the facade – its a bad takeoff of the Arabian Nights. Aviva had wanted to try this place for a while so we decided to eat there after the market.

The food was decidedly good – Aviva had the dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves) and chicken tarine, and I had the falafel and spiced lamb tarine. The grape leaves weren’t soaked in brine and were soft and tasty. The falafel was perhaps the best I’ve ever had, crispy and not oily on the outside and soft and fluffy inside, with a slight hint of cinnamon. Tarine is the name of a ceramic cooking pot that’s got a conical top with a hole in it; the food is placed inside and then slow cooked. The chicken was lightly seasoned, but the lamb was outrageous – I could pull it apart with a fork only, and the spices were wonderful.

The restaurant is actually not the main attraction – they have a large (perhaps seating 500 – 1000 people on two levels) auditorium in back where they have belly and flamenco dancing. They rent hookahs at $20.

It was expensive. But, the portions were large (we took some home) and the food was good. We’ll go back again.