Mourad Lahlou's Aziza Reincarnation Pushed To Next Year

In March, Mourad Lahlou said the Aziza reincarnation at Jackson Square could be open as soon as October. As these things so often go, the opening is now probably going to happen closer to February or March of next year "at the earliest." Lahlou's still raising enough money for construction, but he thinks they'll break ground within the next month. At the same time, everyone's also wondering what he's going to do about the beloved Richmond location once things get going with 2.0.

Lahlou tells The Feast, "we're trying really hard to keep ...[it] open. But if I'm going to keep it open, I want to do it right. I don't want to keep it open for the sake of keeping it open because even if you love it now or you've loved it over the years, if it sucks when I leave, then what's the point?" If it doesn't continue on as Aziza, it might be "something with a Mediterranean twist or something Spanish." Lots of accomplished chefs are pitching him ideas, and he's going to do what works best for The Richmond neighborhood. In more imminently exciting news, chef Lahlou's first cookbook Mourad: New Moroccan will come out in early November. He promises it'll be "outside the box" and unlike any Moroccan cookbook you've seen before.

· Mourad Lahlou Discusses Aziza's Moving Plans and His Forthcoming Book [The Feast]
· All Previous Aziza Coverage [~ ESF ~]