By Bilal Mohammad

If you need to take a quick vacation, but you only have a lunch break to spare…then Café Mogador, located in the East Village, is the spot for you. When I walked into the Moroccan restaurant, I was drawn to the authentic design of the place. A quaint terrace, rustic wall treatments, and tiled mosaics all work to give the place a certain je ne se quois. On the inside, the restaurant feels very airy and breathable, despite being fairly busy during lunchtime.

I’ve found that I’ve grown bored with the fashion in which seafood is typically served at many New York restaurants. You can only eat grilled salmon over caesar salad or a fillet doused in lemon dressing so many times. I wanted to find a seafood entrée that was refreshing and scrumptious. I think I’ve found this in the Sautéed Salmon Crab Cake sandwich.

Despite offering an array of authentic Moroccan and Mediterranean items, the menu at Café Mogador remains friendly to those who might not be so experimental with cuisines. I was looking for seafood, but I was definitely conflicted before ordering because all the lunch sandwiches sounded so delicious! After I had narrowed my selection down to three sandwiches, my server helped me choose the crab cake over the grilled feta panini press and the signature Mogador burger.

It tasted fantastic. From the second that I bit into this sandwich, it must have taken me a quick five minutes to finish off the whole thing. The onions and tomatoes complemented the salmon cake very nicely, but it was the horseradish mayonnaise that took this sandwich to another level. It is a great option for those who might be a pescatarian diet, but would definitely taste just as good to all the meat lovers out there! [Read about brunch at Cafe Mogador here -- if you haven't been, you should change that!].

REPORT CARD
Meal: Lunch
Price: $$
(Out of three stars)
Ambiance: ***
Food: ***
Service: **
Would I go back?: Yes!

Restaurant Info:
Café Mogador
101 St. Marks Place
btw 1st Ave. & Ave. A
212-677-2226
East Village

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