Bad Couscous

I've waited two decades to dine at Washington, D.C.'s Marrakesh restaurant, 617 New York Ave NW, and tonight I had my chance. The mint tea at was quite good, as was the bellydancing (the least authentically Moroccan feature of the club). To our distress, however, the salad was bland (except the zaalouk was pretty good). The bread was stale. The bastilla was burnt. The chicken with lemon and olives was not made with preserved lemons. The chicken was dry and tasteless. The olives were an afterthought. And that was the best dish of the night. The lamb with prunes and almonds just tasted like lamb that had been boiled too long. And I swear, the couscous tasted as though it was boiled not steamed. The apples in our fruit basket still had the labels affixed. All in all, a high priced fiasco. Never again.