661696 Fri Oct 23 07:59:32 -0700 2009 5 12 Boston Area 0 5125016 In my ongoing pursuit of African food that I like, and to erase the taste of Teranga from my mouth, I chowed with a couple of friends at The African Cuisine in Hyde Park last night. It's a funny place in the middle of nowhere (apologies to Mumbles) and was almost empty when we arrived. It was still almost empty when we left, but a few guys had filtered in to watch a Nigerian movie in the meantime. The owner Roy explained the whole plot to me and bragged about his extensive collection of African movies that are in rotation all the time. He was great. OK, so. At the outset I will say I know nothing of this food. I wouldn't know a good red-red if it hopped on my lap and called me mommy, but my dining companions do, so I hope they will chime in here on anything I completely get wrong. The menu has W. African and (oddly) Jamaican food and we got a little of each. We ordered meat patties, a black eyed pea turnover and goat soup to start. The patties are made in house (I'm talking to YOU Opinionated Chef) and are scrumptious. Being a bit of a baker, I especially admired the light and flaky pastry. The goat soup packed a punch, with an upfront pepper hit and then a lingering burn. I would like a vat of this on a cold day. I don't have much of an impression of the turnover. For mains we had jollof rice with meat bones and the afore-mentioned red-red, which is a Ghanaian stewy thing made of black eyed peas, palm oil and red pepper, hence the name red-red. This was served with fried fish -- you could choose your meat on any of the dishes. When I say the rice was served with bones I don't lie. As far as I could tell, there was no meat at all. Neither of these dishes was as spicy as I would have liked but I don't know if they should have been. We had beer and palm wine, which my buds really enjoyed. So much that they bought the rest of the supply to take home. A really fun night that ended up at the Cottage Club (Inn?) across the street for $5 whiskeys and a warm welcome from the regulars (kinda like Eddie C's in Eastie without the cheek biting.) My only regret is we didn't get the oxtails and that I didn't take some of that soup to go. The African Cuisine 1248 Hyde Park Ave Fri Oct 23 07:59:32 -0700 2009 10232 yumyum 1 5142779 I’m waaaay late to get up on this one, but surprised nobody else has either. Then again, PF Changs did just open up in Cambridge, so I can understand folks might be distracted. ;) Mumblesville is teeming with interesting places and The African Cuisine was but one that caught my eye. Between the owner, Roy, and other staff, it seems these good folks are a mix of Nigerian and Ghanian, and the food is kind of all over West Africa, including Senegal. And Jamaica. Mon. yumyum, I’m not sure we ever did get around to ordering off the Jamaican side of the menu (we did hem and haw over oxtails for a while though), as I believe the meat patties actually came from the African side. Nevertheless, as you said, they were top-notch. I was a little concerned at first having seen a few lonely patties sitting under a heatlamp, but they brought out the freshies, crisp, flaky, soft and snugglie, with a well-seasoned meat-based filling. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2583/4037570688_ba6001de81.jpg The goat pepper soup made the W.African – Jamaican connexion much more apparent, as it seemed to be a beautiful mashup of a Jamaican pepper soup with a goaty, palm oil-tinted African stew. The broth was rich with goat essence, but had a nice tang to cut and pleasing burn to follow. Just all around a terrific soup. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2646/4036803633_c04704383c.jpg The aforementioned blackeyed pea turnover, “moi-moi”, is kind of what I think of as a West African tamale. I liked the somewhat grainy texture of this version (other versions I’ve had have been more jelly-pudding-like), and there were also some hidden nuggets of some meat embedded within. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/4037569928_4bac1432f3.jpg Jollof rice seemed a little flat flavour-wise, and didn’t really have that tell-tale rich red appearance. Red-red fared much better, soupy, comforting, and slightly spicy. Both cow’s feet and fried fish were served in an identical tomato-based sauce, which I thought was a bit redundant, yet pretty tasty. Jollof rice with cow’s feet and red-red: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2716/4036806593_481ed51bec.jpg Red-red with plantains and fried fish: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2650/4037558112_2b4ff9d381.jpg Overall, this is pretty decent W. African food, though I would like to hear more from our third dining companion who has had actual experience eating in West Africa. I’m curious to check out the Jamaican side of the menu as well, as I can imagine them doing a bangup job on an oxtail stew or curried goat. The thing I walk away obsessed with the most though is the dang palm tree. From the palm oil to the palm wine, I need to incorporate palm into my life a little more. Fri Oct 30 08:27:12 -0700 2009 5125016 11162 Nab 2 5142802 Goat soup was the real deal and delicious. And could not believe finding Palm Wine here in the US. Worth the trip for that alone. The moi moi and the turnover were also quite good. The rest... I am semi-convinced that unless you get West African food made by someone's grand mother who actually owns a HUGE mortar and pestle and cooks over charcoal outdoors (the second part is semi-optional) you are not going to have West African food that is the genuine article. e.g. anything I have had called Fu fu in this country is always made from a mix which can't possibly come close to the texture of boiled cassava and plantain pounded into gelatinous yummy goodness. In short, good to excellent apps, a little weak on the mains. And get some palm wine if you go, a real treat. Fri Oct 30 08:34:24 -0700 2009 5142779 10169 StriperGuy 2 5142812 Nab this has been discussed more than reviewed in the past, but periodically comes up, so you can't blame it on PF Chang's. :-) I think Prav had designs to go, but I couldn't find a thread with a review. I did find one review from the time frame it was being discussed (not as complete as yours). http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/156537 Fri Oct 30 08:38:54 -0700 2009 5142779 12962 itaunas 3 5142842 Yes, I was pleased to see Prav's posts (which I can't seem to find right now) on the place as it sounds as though he has scoured the menu, and I am calling him out now to spill the blackeyed peas on the place and its gems. =) Fri Oct 30 08:46:40 -0700 2009 5142812 11162 Nab 4 5143291 Prav said this at the time, and also gave me rec's for our visit. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/584468#4292453 O RLY. Fri Oct 30 11:05:26 -0700 2009 5142842 10232 yumyum