Restaurant Review: Baboush

This intimate restaurant urges you to settle into a cushy pillowed banquette; order a marvelous Moroccan Old Fashioned made with ginger whiskey, rose water, saffron bitters, and simple syrup; and let the exotic, intoxicating rhythms of Arabic pop music transform your hectic day into a tranquil Marrakesh night. The kitchen turns out three brilliant phyllo cigars. We sampled two: one rolled with ground beef and pine nuts, another with shredded chicken, pine nuts, and sautéed onions. The flaky, paper-thin phyllo was light and appropriately dry, while the stuffing was moist and pungent with exotic spices. Please order the pomegranate tabbouleh. Think of it as a Middle Eastern version of pico de gallo: bulgur wheat is tossed with chopped parsley, cucumber, tomato, mint, and lettuce; seasoned with a squirt of lemon juice; and topped with pomegranate seeds. Eat it by the spoonful or sprinkle some on a delightful plate of vegetable couscous covered with roasted red peppers. The kefta tagine was underwhelming; braised meatballs sat in a bland chermoula tomato sauce with an overcooked fried egg on top. Instead, ask for the lovely duck confit scented with cinnamon and apricots and served with lentils and fried cauliflower. Follow it with a scoop of house-made saffron pistachio gelato.