La Plaza Corniche

Several of DH's coworkers here are native Tunisians. One of the ex-pats actually attended college in Tunis, so lived here for several years before going abroad. This provides us with a lot of inside intelligence on the best places to visit, and the best restaurants to try.

The guy who went to college here--we'll call him Cedrick--waxed poetic about a hotel bar and restaurant he called La Plaza Corniche. The first time I went there, I was tired and jet lagged and NOT prepared for a meal to take three to four hours. I know better now. Their website makes this place look classy and elegant, but really it's campy and kitschy. I felt the need to document the flock of pink flamingos for my dear friend Marilyn. If she comes to visit, we'll take her here and get photo documentation.

We've eaten at La Plaza three or four times now, a couple of business meetings and one pleasure trip. Last night we took an outing with two other couples. This time, to try their specialty--fish steamed in a salt crust. I like a nice fish fillet. I do not care for digging out the bones, so I don't order a lot of whole fish. I was assured by my companions that if we ordered this fish, the waiter would do all the work and give it to us 'beautifully, with no bones!' So, it's worth a try.

We had drinks. Appetizers. Some good bread with harrissa. Then the fish was delivered. This fish is the local fish of choice called the durrod...at least that's how it sounds like it's spelled. I'm not enough of a master at language or fish to decide if it's sea bass, grouper or cod. If you say 'durrod' you get the same fish every time. And the locals rave over this one. It's always the best, the freshest, the chef's favorite. So tonight, we ordered it steamed in salt.

Preparation is a tableside production. The waiter/server begins by rapping against the fish with a small hammer or spoons. This is to crack the salt shell. Different servers have a little different technique. This guy picked off big chunks of the salt and set them aside carefully, clearing away the big chunks before going any further. At the next table, the server bashed it all into rubble and swept it away. Different techniques, same end result.

Once the salt chunks were cleared away from the top of the fish, the server carefully swept the fish using a fork and spoon. This creates a bed for him to work on. I'm told they are careful to place the salt away so that it doesn't fall back onto the fish fillets as they loosen the meat and present it to the customers. It makes good sense, that's just too much salt for anyone's palate.

Next, the server took his fork and spoon and just rolled the skin/scales up, stripping it from the fish in one rolling movement. It was the easiest thing I've ever seen done. He made it look easy, that's for sure. Then, he very gently filleted the steamed fish and presented us each a large plateful. I was a little worried about the bones, but the way he did it, our portions were just fish. And so succulent!
There were some side dishes. Some fried potatoes and small pieces of a local crustless quiche. But the star of the meal was that steamed fish. The waiter recommended a drizzle of olive oil. I also squeezed on some lemon juice because I love the taste with fish. Most interesting of all? It wasn't salty. Not a bit. In fact, there was hardly any seasoning or spices at all. Just a very fine white fish fillet, delicately steamed to keep all the moisture in. Lovely.

I couldn't resist taking a few more photos of La Plaza Corniche. Such a classy hang out. I guess it's really typical of the college crowd--the youngsters make it a popular hangout on evenings and weekends. To me, the dichotomy was marvelous. Here's a place that is just as tacky as can be, appealing to students and the young disco crowd. And it prides itself on great service and wonderful cuisine. Each meal stretches out into an event and the attentive waitstaff fill your every need and desire. Up to and including offering cigars after the dessert has been served and enjoyed. It's truly a nice place. It just doesn't look like it would be.

On our second trip to La Plaza Corniche, we hopped into a cab from our hotel. We got a nice cab driver who was taking English lessons and wanted to speak to us to practice his English. As he was quizzing us about our destination, we could see him stop and try to gather the correct words. Then he very hesitantly asked us, "Have you been to La Plaza before?" We responded in the affirmative. He appeared perplexed, then asked, "Are you aware that it's a discotheque and a lot of students go there?" We said yes. His brows were still knitted. Then he finally found the words to say, "Aren't you a little old to be going to La Plaza?"

Oh, good times.

--Sandee Wagner