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“Darna”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Moroccan	Murray Hill	Moderate	Good

MY DINNER AT DARNA
For as many super-sized, ultra successful restaurants as there are in this city, there are at least ten times as many underdogs—struggling under-the-radar spots that open and quickly close, mostly unnoticed, often with years left on their leases and no more than a few hundred meals served. These are spots you don’t read about in the glossies, the Old Gray Lady, or even more democratic columns like $25 and Under or Sietsema in the Voice. These are the places that keep the mortality rate of the restaurants business so high. In many cases, their fate is sealed from the beginning. Often times affordable rent often means a locale with poor street traffic. Passionate chefs often have big dreams without the experience to back them up, or a budget for more than a green management team. And certainly there’s no cash left over for PR, or even more basic things like stylish décor.

This week, I came upon a snug and charming restaurant that is an underdog. But it’s an underdog that should survive. Because this particular little Underdog can fly. I speak of a jewel-toned Moroccan bistro called Darna, located on an unappealing Chinese-and-pizza-joint stretch of Second Avenue between 34th and 35th Street. While the street is unimpressive, what lies beyond the tall French doors of Darna’s façade, is.

Darna is owned by a charming man named Mourad El-Hebil, who used to work for the Moroccan office of tourism. Mourad is a formal gentleman. He can be found at his restaurant every night, smartly dressed in a well-fitted dark suit. He welcomes every guest personally and his mission seems to be as simple as spreading joy and happiness through tagines and couscous. Helping him along in his endeavor is his chef Lahcen Ksyier, a native of Morocco who offers transporting flavors that take you to Fez, that leave you in the Casbah, and that drop you into the hustle of the Medina in Marrakech.

I happened upon Darna with my friends Karen and Andrew, prolific culinarians and authors whose opinions on matters of food I trust implicitly. We settled in on a frigid night last week and were quickly welcomed by Mourad (in a great dark suit) and seated at a cozy pillowed banquette opposite a dark-wooded bar lit from above by Moroccan lanterns. With Darna, Mourad has created an oasis-like ode to his native land. The restaurant is a small and simple stage, but it is also beautiful, with walls wa ... [more, click below]

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Posted: January 22, 2007

Other restaurants in Murray Hill :
+ Breakfast at The Cafe at Country   + A Voce   + Country (Upstairs)   + Darna   + Penelope   

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