(Omar Boukhriss is a native of Morocco. Photo by Joel Rubin)
By Joel Rubin
In Morocco this May, on a two-week tour with six other couples, my wife and I rode camels, bought ceramics, survived crowded markets, drank a lot of mint tea and feasted on tajine.
More worldly foodies than I know the latter is both a North African stew of meat, vegetables, olives, spices and rice…and the earthen ware pot in which it is cooked. For our group, the protein of choice was chicken, and it was often our entrée wherever we dined. I vowed to prepare my own once back in Virginia, but then on second thought, why not sample a local tajine, if it’s on some authentic local restaurant’s menu.
Which of course brought me to Omar’s Carriage House in Norfolk that Moroccan-born Omar Boukhriss started nearly three decades ago (lucky for us, he came here to follow his future wife, at the time an ODU student) in an almost two century old former stable. The “hay drop” opening in the ceiling is evidence that horses, not diners like Wendy Bockmiller and Heather Hopkins of Chesapeake, once populated what now contains tables, chairs and a bar. “This is our first visit,” said Wendy. “We came for Moroccan Monday.” As did I, to determine whether Omar, who learned cuisine from his dad (“cooking was in his blood”), and his capable kitchen could match the well-seasoned tajine we had in Fes, Marrakesh and Ouarzazate (which I pronounced as “where’s it at?” when there.)
Before I deliver the verdict, let me catch you up on this beloved restauranteur, who experienced an unimaginable family tragedy last July. Omar’s 25-year-old daughter, George Mason business school grad and the newly installed Carriage House manager, Yasmine, returning home from a vacation in Morocco, suffered a crippling brain injury in flight. She died days later in a New York hospital.
“Yasmine and I were both involved in a charity we established in Morocco to help people recovering from a devastating earthquake in 2023,” says her dad. The centerpiece of the philanthropy is a small school that trains youngsters in trade skills. “We raise money here, and I go back and forth regularly to make sure the water is clean and the people have the resources they need,” says Omar. Their 501c3 foundation is called Yasmine Kenzi, and when you are next at Omar’s place, you can scan a QR code to donate.
And you will want to come on a Monday to sample one of six Moroccan entrees, like kebabs, roasted fish, cous cous with vegetables or the aforementioned tajine, lamb or chicken, which you can also order other nights. Drum roll please. Omar’s tajine, prepared by his Moroccan chef Touria (“our angel” according to co-workers) and flavored with saffron, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and preserved lemon, was better than any I had in the mother country. Seriously. “What a compliment,” said the proud owner. I don’t recall sampling bastilla (ground chicken, ground almonds and eggs in phyllo dough, topped with powdered sugar) when we were supping in Essaouira or Meknes, but Omar’s version, is world class too according to my now enhanced taste buds.
The Carriage House, located on lovely Bute Street in Norfolk’s quaint Freemason district, is open every night for dinner and Sunday for brunch. Call ahead to make sure the proprietor is in country so you can thank him, for not only the enduring quality of his fare but the care he provides to still suffering countrymen in his native land. And it’s all in the name of Yasmine, forever in the hearts of the owner, his staff and we fortunate patrons.