A LA CARTE\MOROCCAN/TUNISIAN FARE.

Byline: Larry Lipson

It's exotic. It's intriguing. It's adventurous.

It's Moroccan and Tunisian food, which is more or less the same thing.

Those who have tried Morrocan food know that it's eaten with the fingers and offers some wonderfully singular dishes. Best known is the Marrakesh mini-chain, with four convenient locations.

B'stila (or bastilla), a filo-layered sugar and spice pie of incredible piquancy made with pigeon (or chicken) flavored with onions and coriander, ground almonds, eggs and cinnamon, is one of the most complex recipes in the world when done correctly. But the result often is worth all the work that's put into it.

Here, then, are the restaurants we could find around these parts that serve this delicious fare:

Babouch

Address: 810 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro.

Phone [phone].

Comments: This is a landmark eating place in the San Pedro area, 18 years old and going strong.

Picks: The prix-fixe is $21 per person and begins with harira (Moroccan lentil soup) followed by a traditional salad and then bastilla, plus an entree selection (12 choices, couscous with lamb and vegetables recommended) and a pastry dessert with mint tea.

Dar Maghreb

Address: 7651 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

Phone [phone].

Comments: Since the late '70s this dramatic white-domed facility has been the mecca for this impressive style of North African food. Although some of Hollywood's young show-biz crowd have had parties here that are reputed to have been highlighted by food fights, most of the patrons, celebrated or otherwise, contain themselves even while being required to eat with their fingers.

Picks: It usually makes more sense to order one of the set meals here rather than trying to order a la carte.

Koutoubia

Address: 2116 Westwood Blvd., West Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Consistently a highly rated restaurant, Koutoubia offers regular Moroccan and several Jewish Moroccan specialties.

Picks: The unusual salad called tchoutchouka should not be missed. Ditto for the bastilla, couscous and one of the tajines (stews), lamb being preferred.

La Casbah

Address: 34 E. Ortega St., Santa Barbara.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Many Santa Barbarans consider that they're lucky to have this exotic restaurant to visit on occasion.

Picks: The "Berber Feast" is the best way to go if you have four or more people in your party. It's $26 a person, and, like most Moroccan restaurant meals, it begins with lentil soup, salad and then bastilla. Entree choices include couscous; lamb, beef and chicken brochette; and a prawn dish. The meal includes tea and cookies.

Marrakesh

Address: 13003 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Also at 1100 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Beach, [phone]; 8238 Parkway Drive, [phone], La Mesa; and 634 Pearl St., La Jolla, [phone].

Phone: [phone].

Comments: For some it's still a special-occasion restaurant, but for many, a dinner at one of the Marrakesh locations has become a habit hard to break.

Picks: Harira, bastilla and a couscous dish are musts here, also rabbit and quail dishes. And one of the fragrant chicken recipes - either tajine fassi or tajine m'aasel, the latter with honey, prunes and almonds - makes a gratifying choice.

Moun of Tunis

Address: 7445 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

Phone: [phone].

Comments: Tunisian food is much like Moroccan, though Tunisian cooks are said to love flavoring their dishes with harisa, a really hot chili paste.

Picks: Dinners range from the four-course $15.50 couscous meal to the multicourse Moun of Tunis signature feast ($21) with both a lamb and artichokes dish and a lemon chicken plate.