Ah, the perils of procrastination. I’ve been working on this review but Ronnie beat me to it. I agree in large part with what he had to say, but have a very slightly different take (and one small correction), so I’ll add my two cents. (And if you think I’m posting
my pics after seeing his, you’re crazy!)
I will admit to some apprehension going in, positive reviews notwithstanding. I have tried Nigerian food over and over (at least half a dozen times) and always walk away unhappy. A few years ago, I even went to Bolat with a Nigerian student of mine to ensure (so far as it was within my power) that I got the “real thing.” He praised our meal and I sadly concluded that Nigerian food just isn’t for me. Given Senegal’s relative proximity to Nigeria, I was…concerned. Notwithstanding the fact that Senegal’s history is markedly different and thus the influences on its cooking have been very different, I was still a little iffy. I was wrong. Period. If you’re not a fan of Nigerian food, do not assume you will not like Senegalese food. Senegalese appears to be a world apart. French and Portuguese influences are notable.
The day before we went, I called, just to let them know we were coming. (Mike Sula recommends doing so in
this review. It’s good advice and I’d recommend it if you’re able to do so. If they know you’re coming, they can tell you when is a good time and, more important, be ready with particular dishes.) After a brief perusal of the menu and a longer discussion with Badou, we chose what Ron described above. At one point, Badou asked us if we liked meat (our entrees happened to be have been chicken, fish, and smoked turkey). Of course, we said. And so he talked us into ordering a lamb dish that we hadn’t initially chosen, not that it was all that hard to convince us to add to our spread.
My sole correction is that the empanada-like pastries were
pastels in one case and
fataya in the other. From the outside, identical (at least to our eyes). But the fillings were different. The
fataya were the pastries stuffed with salmon, onion, a tomato-ey paste of some sort. Apparently the biggest different is size: when they’re larger (and stuffed with meat), the
fataya become
pastels. At least that’s how I understand it. All of the apps were clearly handmade and, judging by the time it took for them to finally arrive (the better part of an hour when we were about the only folks there), Badou undoubtedly began from scratch. All were deep-fried and done to a near-perfect golden brown. None were particularly spicy and all had enticing flavor.
Speaking of spiciness, we had a conversation at the outside with Badou in which he asked and we specified our desired level of heat. We insisted that we wanted whatever would be “appropriate” in Senegal. In other words, nothing “dumbed-down” for the stereotyped (i.e., less heat-tolerant) American taste. It took a little convincing but, fortunately—as will become evident when we get to the entrees—he believed us and cooked accordingly. At least insofar as we are able to tell, short of a trip to Dakar.
I enjoyed the lamb most of all. It was very tender and, despite the use of pretty common basic ingredients (onion, vinegar). It had a low level of heat; I was surprised to find that Mike Sula described it as “blazing hot” (unless his reference was to temperature). I also found that the
thiebou djen was very mellow, though I liked it the least of the entrees as well. Just not a lot going on particularly and a whole fish might well have added a dimension that the filet didn’t have.
The only other comment I would add—I’m a little surprised Ron didn’t mention it—is that between us we brought a wide variety of beverages. The Magner’s pear cider might have been a nice match but it was lousy pear cider. Not much flavor, no depth, just not a well-received bottle. It was the only one of many that we didn’t bother to finish. The Lindemann’s apple (pomme) beer from Belgium was a nice match; I was sorry we didn’t get to the cherry version and I suspect many fruit-flavored beverages would be a great match for this food. Indeed, I meant to try the hibiscus, which is quite popular in Senegal, by all accounts. (I was curious to try the
quinqueliba, a tea made from a bush native to Senegal, but they were out.) Ron brought a couple sour beers and other things; I’ll let him tell us what he brought. My take was that the less sour one was a nearly perfect match; the heavily sour one overwhelmed the food, I thought.
Bottom line: a very enjoyable evening, a new (to me) cuisine with a lot of variety and flavor. If you’re curious, by all means go.
Gypsy Boy
"I am not a glutton--I am an explorer of food." (Erma Bombeck)