You might already know about the cubes, but are you up on the garlic sauce? Let me backtrack a second. In September, Haverhill welcomed Dar Rafiki’s to their steadily growing dining scene, a petite bakery and takeout spot just outside of downtown. Owner Lhoussine Rafiq, who hails from Morocco originally, has been building a name for himself on the North Shore ever since 2016, when he opened a food truck. That first business parlayed itself into a second, larger operation: an events business that services large-format clients, like movie sets.
The brick-and-mortar shop, though, is its own rare beast, a blend of freshly made pastries, made-to-order sandwiches and plates, and even traditional yogurt drinks called Raib (the drinks, available in three flavors—pomegranate, vanilla, and orange blossom—are made by combining milk, yogurt, and a small amount of sugar before undergoing a light fermentation).
The cubes, which have become Dar Rafiki’s signature dessert, rotate in flavor, and Rafiq posts flavors for the week on social media. Made from a laminated dough (blocks of butter are pressed between sheets of flour to combine and the process is repeated through several periods of rest to achieve the telltale flaky layers), the cubes are filled with fruits and pastry creams. On the day I visited, there were two cube flavors: mango and honey-lavender, the latter a floral delight.
Pain au chocolat—stuffed, Rafiq emphasized, with three batons of chocolate as opposed to the traditional two—are crisp, amber orbs. But the croissant case is packed daily with popular items, both savory and sweet. Square Danish filled with cheese or fruit. Savory pastry pockets stuffed with leek and parmesan, or spinach and feta, or tomatoes and olives. Almond croissants. Split-top plain croissants oozing with pastel pastry cream (banana, blueberry, Nutella).
And that’s to say nothing of the actual pastry case, next to the croissants, which is jam-packed with tarts, genoises, Mille-feuilles, and more.
Still, my favorite bite from Dar Rafiki’s, enjoyed back at home, was the so-called Chicken Killer. The layered plate starts with saffron- and turmeric-inflected rice, followed by a layer of fried-to-order pommes frites (they get a dusting of a homemade salt that’s aromatic with rosemary, cilantro, and thyme), garlic sauce, shredded chicken, and salad. That last crunchy layer includes Rafiq’s house-made pickled onions, tomatoes, and feta cheese. Every bite offered a new surprise: texture, flavor, heat from Morocco’s storied Harissa.
And that garlic sauce? I watched as a cook used an immersion blender in the kitchen, turning a rondeau full of roasted garlic into the thick, white condiment. It came across in every bite, and was reason, I think, to return, again and again, for a sandwich, maybe, served on homemade bread: chicken shawarma, kofeta, merguez sausage, or even falafel, for good measure. Well, anyway, not to worry. I’ll be back.
There is no other plate like Rafiq’s Chicken Killer around, but for croissants that deliver in both size and stature, check out some of these other favorites.
To order: food.orders.co/uw5796nu
Honeycomb
South Hamilton’s Honeycomb bakery often sells out of their incredibly popular pain au chocolat, so if you’re making the trip, consider ordering online first.
A&J King
In spring and summer, you can find A&J King’s stellar croissants (and kougin amann) farmer’s markets in Newburyport and elsewhere, but you can also pick one up at their Salem store.