Sneak Peek: Cu Ju Sports Bar Soon to be Rockin' Moroccan Food

Proprietor Badr Benjelloun is gearing up to add his native Moroccan cuisine to the menu at his hutong sports bar Cu Ju. If the test batch we recently tried is any indication, it's going to give you another great reason to make it out to the joint.

Cu Ju opened up a couple months ago and has been pleasing sports fans with its wide selection of rums. Benjelloun is still finalizing the renovations on the kitchen, but he performed a couple of test runs last week.

The menu we tried on Saturday started with a beetroot salad, which was delightfully fresh with its combination of oranges, olives, and mint. Next up was a squash and beef tagine stew that did its duty of falling apart on the fork.

I'm not particularly well-versed in Moroccan food, but the dish did still take me back to childhood beef stews that my mom would make every Sunday. The issue of who got the last piece of bread for mopping up the juice/sauce caused the briefest of tense moments between me and my partner, but the ever-gregarious Benjelloun headed it off with another plate of bread.

For the full experience, Cu Ju also has Moroccan mint tea.

I'm eagerly waiting for the workers to finish up on Cu Ju's kitchen so I can get some more of this stuff. We'll keep you posted here on the Beijinger blog to let you know when it's up and running.

Cu Ju 蹴鞠 Wed-Mon 6pm-late. 28 Xiguan Hutong (opposite No. 5 Middle School), Dongsi Beidajie, Dongsi Shisitiao, Dongcheng District 东城区东四北大街东四十四条细管胡同28号(北京五中斜对面)

Photo: Marilyn Mai