Sa Majesté le Roi reçoit les nouveaux ambassadeurs du Maroc    Maroc et Sahel : la construction d'une Afrique souveraine passe par Rabat    Ouverture à la Chambre Haute du 3ème Forum du dialogue parlementaire Sud-Sud    ONDA : les Aéroports affectés par des perturbations du système d'enregistrement    Mezzour, Hejira et Tavio discutent du renforcement de la coopération maroco-finlandaise    Royal Air Maroc lance une ligne directe entre Casablanca et la Sicile    1⁄2 Finale CAN(f). Futsal Maroc 25 : Ce soir, les Lionnes visent la qualification pour la Finale et la CDM Philippines 25 !    Berkane VS Constantine : Si ce n'était qu'une question de qualif !    Glasgow Rangers : Deux distinctions personnelles décernées à Igamane    Violences des élèves dans les écoles : Berrada parie sur les caméras de surveillance    Programme "Moussalaha": 364 détenus bénéficiaires depuis 2017    Monde rural : Bientôt dispositif inédit pour évaluer l'efficacité du transport scolaire    SIEL 2025 : Plus de 403.000 visiteurs recensés    Le Maroc participe au 7e Sommet culturel d'Abou Dhabi    "The HERDS" : une parade monumentale pour le climat fait escale au Maroc    Grâce à l'interconnexion avec le Maroc et la France, l'Espagne rétablit progressivement son approvisionnement en électricité et appelle à la modération de la consommation    Le 1er Dou Al-Qiida 1446H correspondra au mardi 29 avril 2025 (Ministère des Habous et des Affaires islamiques)    Élection du pape: Le conclave commencera le 7 mai    Projet Kuiper : Amazon s'apprête à lancer ses premiers satellites pour rivaliser avec Musk    L'Espagne, le Portugal et certaines régions de France touchés par une panne de courant massive    Appels croissants à l'ouverture du dossier du Sahara oriental marocain sur la scène internationale    Ahmed Toufiq se dresse contre les contenus numériques religieux extrémistes    Commission militaire maroco-espagnole : Rabat abrite la 11e réunion    Tennis : Suspension des matchs à Madrid en raison de la panne d'électricité massive    OM : Amine Harit, un retour compliqué    CAF : Fouzi Lekjaa nommé 1er vice-président    Football : Webook.com, nouveau partenaire officiel de la billetterie de la FRMF    AS Monaco : Frustré par son temps de jeu, Eliesse Ben Seghir songe à un départ    Panne d'électricité : Sanchez remercie le Maroc pour son aide    SM le Roi félicite Abdelilah Benkirane suite à sa réélection en tant que secrétaire général du PJD    Info en images. Tourisme : Hausse de 23% des nuitées à Fès    Une tragédie à Oran révèle les priorités du régime algérien, loin des souffrances de ses citoyens    Les prévisions du lundi 28 avril    Auditec célèbre 20 ans d'engagement et d'innovation au service de l'audition    Le Maroc et le Tchad s'accordent dans le monde universitaire    Edito. Préparer une révolution qui a du sens    Dialogue social : quel effet sur la consommation ?    Nigeria. Le pétrole impacte la croissance    Dakhla : le rap marocain conquiert le désert avec STORMY    En Couv'. Rap'industrie : les beats font riche    Marrakech : Un éclat de mode authentique entre hier et aujourd'hui    Mawazine 2025 : De La Soul célèbre son héritage afro sur les rives du Bouregreg    Disparition : Valentin-Yves Mudimbe tire sa révérence    Le CFCM appelle les musulmans à la vigilance suite à l'attentat islamophobe de La Grand-Combe    Equitación: Los jinetes marroquíes dominan en el festival inaugural EAU-Marruecos en Casablanca    Elections au Canada: les libéraux crédités de 43% des intentions de vote    L'escalade des tensions entre l'Inde et le Pakistan après la décision de couper l'eau    Chine : Retour sur Terre des astronautes de "Shenzhou-19" après la passation des missions de la station spatiale chinoise    







Merci d'avoir signalé!
Cette image sera automatiquement bloquée après qu'elle soit signalée par plusieurs personnes.



Café Mogador in East Village : A home away from home
Publié dans Yabiladi le 04 - 08 - 2017

In the middle of the most popular neighborhoods in New York, Rivka a Mogador native founded with her brother, Café Mogador, a home away from home where they recreated their mother's Moroccan recipes. The restaurant located in East Village, Manhattan is a warm place for all those who are in love with Moroccan food, culture and hospitality.
Café Mogador is a home away from home for Rivka Orlin, a Jewish woman who was born in the Moroccan coastal city Essaouira. In 1983, she founded with her brother one of the most popular restaurants in East Village Manhattan, a place where everybody is invited to enjoy the food and relax in a cozy atmosphere.
It all started for Rivka when she was living in Morocco with her parents and twelve siblings, a fascinating story that was narrated by Lee Oren, Café Mogador's Director of Operations. «Rivka was born in Mogador from a Jewish family but she moved to Israel in 1956» recalled Lee. 25 years later, she moved to New York, and most precisely East Village, which was considered back then a cultural hub that inspired many artists and musicians. «It was an underground area and there weren't a lot of restaurants around maybe there was a bar or two» Lee told Yabiladi.
Recreating her mother's recipes
Inspired by her childhood memories and recalling her mother's recipes, Rivka founded the restaurant with a very heartwarming idea in mind. According to Lee «Rivka's idea was to make the food she was growing up eating». Growing up in household where 12 kids were supposed to be fed was quiet a hard task for her mother, so Rivka was there whenever her mother was cooking. Although she did not know how to cook back then Rivka «used to spend time with her mom in the kitchen», said Lee.
«when she opened the restaurant she basically did everything by herself, cooking, washing dishes and serving the food. She did everything from A to Z», declared Lee. Café Mogador was a way of feeling at home again and remembering all the past memories in Morocco, so Rivka «just cooked the food that her mom used to make (…) she made Couscous, Tajine and Bastilla and some Middle Eastern food as well and no one in New York back then knew what Moroccan food is».
Expanding the family business
After gaining respect and popularity, Café Mogador was expanded. «5 years ago we opened another restaurant in Brooklyn in Williamsburg which is also successful and they are serving the same Menu», explained Lee who insisted that the two locations are notorious for being a «home away from home». It is all based on the feeling that one encounters when dining or having lunch in Mogador. Also the decoration is collected by Rivka, photos of her family, teapots and tagine pots sourced from Morocco. «It is very casual, a labor of love for her (Rivka)», stated Lee.
Indeed, the family business has been a magnet for almost every Hollywood star. Featured in magazines like Vogue, Time Out New York and the Interview, Lee told Yabiladi that the list is very long when it comes to the number of celebrities who have been to Café Mogador. «Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Johnny Depp and Kevin Bacon were there». Not only that, a few series and movies were shot in the restaurant.
Everybody's welcome here
When asked about their regular customers, Lee said that they welcome everyone and that's what makes them so unique. «One of the things that we are proud of is that we are 'everybody's welcome there'».
As for the food, the two locations of Café Mogador, serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. The menu contains a range of Moroccan signature dishes such as, Couscous, Tagines, and Bastilla alongside other Middle Eastern goodies. Although the cuisine is Moroccan, Lee explained that they don't source products from the kingdom. «There isn't anything that we are sourcing from Morocco especially because you can really get everything here», she said adding that «however a lot of elements in the restaurant are from Morocco like the Tajine pots, the teapots and the Turkish coffee cups».
Café Mogador is indeed a very agreeable place for New Yorkers and even tourists. «Every week I get an email from customers that really love us and they are like oh you should really open a place like this in Los Angeles» said Lee with a happy voice. For the moment Café Mogador is open in Brooklyn and East Village, two pieces of Morocco, most precisely Essaouira in the USA.


Cliquez ici pour lire l'article depuis sa source.