Le Casbah by Ted’s is lively and attractive, but the food doesn’t exactly possess the same charms as the setting. The bistro is decked out in plush North African furnishings, which combine contrasting turquoise blue and dark brown pieces with bold orange lanterns against white walls. Giant windows fill the otherwise boxy space with sunlight all afternoon and just as you’re about to order your couscous or tajine, the menu takes you back to more familiar ground. Le Casbah, in fact, serves European and Thai food. The menu, 72 items in total, offers a mix of straightforward snacks (like a ham and cheese sandwich), pastas, steaks and “Asian” dishes. That’s just the kind of extensive menu that spells disaster for any restaurant. With few exceptions, most of the dishes here usually end up too sweet, too salty or too bland. Take the recommended spicy walnut and bacon salad; despite its name, “spicy” is the last word that comes to mind to describe this salad with sweet dressing, piles of limp iceberg lettuce and soggy bacon. You can also skip the Asian Favorites section unless you want to pay for the huge-but-humdrum chicken rice or a poorly executed pad thai. The Italian Pasta Set, which includes four different noodles might seem a steal at B255, but wait until you get your plate of dull and overly sweet carbonara (take it easy on the oil, Chef), Bolognese, salmon with pesto and vongole (with tiny, tiny clams). Seafood dishes did fare better. Our grilled dory fish fillets served on a bed of chopped spinach with mushroom and white wine cream sauce were delicious, the dish’s natural flavors intact. Even better are Le Casbah’s desserts, especially the luscious soft chocolate cake. Unfortunately, getting any of this to your table is a challenge: servers like to gather and chit-chat rather than take orders. At least they don’t have an attitude and will gladly let you linger over a cup of coffee all day without giving you the look. Now, it’s great that Le Casbah will make you want to stick around but, at this price, it would be nice if the cooking could make you want to come back for more as well.
