The Humble Gourmand

Karim Bouskou

Park Terrace Bistro

Park Terrace Bistro

Ever since he came to the U.S. in his early 20s, to work for Disney’s Epcot Center, Karim Bouskou has considered himself a cultural representative for Morocco.

Twenty years later, Bouskou still brings Moroccan culture to the US, though this time around it’s by serving up authentic cuisine to residents in Inwood, Manhattan’s northern-most neighborhood. But Bouskou said Park Terrace Bistro is more than just a good Moroccan restaurant. It may be helping to usher in a new wave of gourmet restaurants to a neighborhood that has long gone without — and can also compete with the best in the city.

“Up until four years ago, if we wanted to eat out, we would take a cab down to Washington Heights or the Upper West Side,” said Bouskou from behind the restaurant’s brass bar, which is lit with hanging lamps imported from Morocco. “I was the pioneer in this area.”

In July 2004 when they opened, Bouskou and his wife didn’t know the restaurant would make a splash in the New York City restaurant scene, which has included a nod in The New York Times and listings in the Michelin and Zagat guides. But as Inwood residents, they had experienced firsthand the neighborhood’s need for a place like the Bistro.

Natalie Weiss, Bouskou’s wife and a lifelong New Yorker, said she knew from her work in the real estate business that residents were looking for fine dining.

“When I would sell up here, clients loved the architecture, the parks; there wasn’t a problem with the commute,” said Weiss, vice president of Bellmarc Realty. “But at the end of every single showing, people would say, ‘Where do we go to eat?’ There wasn’t an answer to that question.”

The space at 4959 Broadway was exactly what Bouskou and Weiss were looking for, and the Bistro moved into what had before been home to a number of unsuccessful Spanish restaurants. Bouskou said locals didn’t take him seriously at first.

“When they heard it was going to be Moroccan, they laughed,” according to Bouskou. “They said, ‘You’re not going to last six months.’”

They might have been more skeptical if they had known that Bouskou had only cooked for family and friends, never professionally. But he had worked as a waiter at several four-star restaurants, including Oceana. He said being attentive to detail was one of his strengths as a waiter, and he trained his staff to provide four-star service.

When Bouskou moved from the front of the restaurant to the kitchen, he first offered a menu of what he calls “Moroccan fusion” — authentic food with a twist. But his customers kept asking for traditional cuisine, such as couscous or tagines, slow-cooked dishes of seafood, lamb or chicken.

“I had no idea how to cook those dishes,” said Bouskou. He brought in some Moroccan chefs, but after a few bad experiences decided to take over.

“I was looking for a chef, and I realized I was my own guy,” he said.

He flew in the person he considered his most apt teacher: his mom. She stayed four days, working with him all day in the restaurant.

Park Terrace Bistro’s menu today includes dishes Bouskou learned to cook from his mother, but also some of the experimental cooking that appeared on his first menu. This “Moroccan fusion” is reflected in the restaurant’s most popular dish, Fifteenth Century Couscous — shrimp, scallops, almonds, apricots and cranberries in a saffron cream sauce — and his daily specials, which have included striped bass over fennel confit with saffron and basil.

Bouskou says the menu is still changing to stay fresh for regulars, some who come in five or six times a week.

Flora Holderbaum is one of those regulars. A 14-year Inwood resident, she says she’s at the Bistro at least twice a week. As a single woman, she likes the option of eating at the bar, which has a very social atmosphere. But what keeps her coming back is the food and the intimacy.

“Karim and Natalie always make you feel special there,” she said. “They know your name, they shake your hand or give you a hug.”

Bouskou is not only bringing Moroccan cuisine to his regulars like Holderbaum. He’s also bringing his regulars to Morocco. This year he took about 16 frequent diners, who are also now his close friends, on a 10-day trip to Morocco, including a family-style meal at his mother’s house.

Mark Pottinger, who lives around the corner from the Bistro and has been a regular since it opened, said the trip was a natural progression.

“Karim introduced us to Morocco through the restaurant and the food,” said Pottinger who is head of the music department at Manhattan College. “We got to pay our respects to that food and the environment.”

For Bouskou, it was a chance for him again to act as cultural representative but also a reminder of why he came to the U.S. “I do miss Morocco,” he said, “but when I go, I miss New York.”

Photos by Karsten Moran. You can see more of his work here.

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