Taza Mediterranean Bar and Grille

[rcweir]

Exciting times. Westford is back on the map, and for more than just ice cream and goofy golf.

Did someone say "belly dancing"?" I doubt that the words "Westford" and "Belly Dancing" have been uttered together from the time Prince Henry first set foot in Westford to the present day. But with the opening of Taza we indeed have something new in town.

We ate here last night, at Taza, a new restaurant which opened up on Rt 110 in the Westford Plaza strip mall.

It is a small restaurant, maybe 10 tables and bar with seating for another 4. We went for dinner, though they also serve lunch.

Menu was Mediterranean, in the broader sense. So not just Lebanese, or southern Italian, but a celebration of various cultural traditions.

We started with the sangria and a watermelon basil martini. For appetizers we had bell peppers stuffed with herbed goat cheese, and a mezza platter of houmus, tabouleh, olives, feta and babaghanous, with pita. Although these are ordinary dishes that you can get at any middle eastern fast food place, Taza's rendition was extraordinary. This was an interpretation of these dishes by a talented chef, with a twist on each dish, like the roasted peppers in the houmus.

We followed that by salads, a Nicoise salad and a house salad with mango and ricotta salata. Again, very fresh, very good.

Half way through the salads the ambience changed. The lights dimmed and the entertainment began. The belly dancer did 3 or 4 dances, involving veils, a scimitar and zills (finger cymbals) though not all at once, working her way among the tables. The performance ended when the manager entered the room and threw a handful of $1 bills at her and started clapping as they fell to the floor. This was all outside of my experience, and I wasn't quite sure what to do at that point. I applauded, as did the others in the restaurant, but I wasn't sure if that was a signal that I was supposed to throw money at the dancer as well. Honestly, I'm not quite confortable money at women, especially with my wife watching. In any case, this lead to a spirited debate on what the etiquette in this situation was.

After the salad, we were nearly full. If I had room I would have tried an entree like the tumbet, a Mallorcan casserole, something like their version of ratatouille. So we went straight for dessert. I had a thick decadent chocolate "pâté". Diane had something with berries and pastry. Very good ending to a fun evening.

With tip the bill came to around $80. So a bit on the pricey side, especially since it was a light dinner for two. But the food was very good. So it is worth checking out, especially if you like Mediterranean cuisine. For special occasions, is is nice to have a local place like this.

[dweir]

The hummus had a nice smoky flavor, unlike anything I've had. I appreciated that the baba ganoush actually tasted like eggplant. Kind of a long wait for a plate of dips, but worth it.

The tuna on the nicoise salad was perfectly cooked, and the ricotta salata was a real treat.

It's too bad the plaza does not have roadside signage.

[JessBee]

I also enjoyed the hummus app, but the poor quail app looked like a splayed frog. I'll skip that the next time around. The statler chicken breast was perfect. A little on the pricey side but a very good meal.

[DanD]

So the food sounds pretty good, but more importantly, was the dancer good????

[loucook]

ha ha ha.. Had the same reaction to the quail when I ate there. The Hummus was delicious. My friend has gluten allergies and we requested some fresh veggies in order to eat the hummus and were met by blank stares. Finally after asking a different server they brought out cucumber slices.