Chicago, IL

I had the somewhat rare opportunity of spending a semester in college in Ghana. For those of you who are geographically challenged, Ghana is a beautiful Country in the heart of West Africa. It was the first African nation to gain independence from European colonization (in the 1960’s). It is also home to one of the world’s most awesome football (soccer) teams.
When I was at the Taste of Chicago on Friday, I noticed that they had a booth from an “African” restaurant. It wasn’t just “African” food, it was WEST African food! For those of you that don’t know the difference, African food comes in many varieties. An Ethiopian Restaurant is going to be extremely different from a Morroccan restaurant. In my opinion, West African food is the most terrifying to American patrons, and is, therefore, the least common kind of restaurant. Anyway, I got curious as to whether I could get real Ghanaian food in Chicago. So, on Sunday, I went on a quest. In the morning, I googled “West African Restaurant Chicago,” and I got a bunch of matches. Most of these were on websites with “user review” sections. This prompted me to come up with the following list of tips.
What to expect when eating at a West African restaurant
(1) Your food is not going to come quickly. In fact, the longer the food takes, the better the restaurant! No one knows why the food takes so long. It’s part of the experience! Sit back. Read a book. Talk to some of the people around you. Watch TV. Learn not to be so stressed out about time. It will be therapeutic.
(2) “Soup” is a relative term. Ghanaian “Soup” will look reasonably like what American soup may look like, but usually more stew-like. Nigerian “Soup” looks nothing like American soup. It looks like mashed okra with pepper sauce on top. That’s because soups from these countries are really more like a sauce to be eaten with some kind of starchy dough, like Fufu or Banku. If you don’t know how to eat them, just ask! The wait-staff may seem like they are laughing at you, but they are happy to help.
(3) THE FISH WILL HAVE BONES IN IT! Beware. Don’t choke.
(4) Most of the food is intended to be eaten with your hands. They will bring you a bowl of water to wash your hands off at your table, so just go with it. What’s the worst that will happen? You’ll have messy hands. Then you wash them. No loss.
(5) If you are going to branch out and try something new, don’t be so picky. People in different parts of the world eat different things! Guess what? That’s a good thing. Don’t expect them to have French fries. Don’t expect them to tailor make you a meal. Be flexible for once in your life. It will be a good experience if you let it be a good experience.
(6) Don’t trust the internet. Some of the places listed online are now closed, and others that do exist aren’t listed online. When in doubt, check the phone book.

I hope some of these tips are helpful. I highly recommend hitting Bolat African Cuisine on Clark street in Wrigleyville. It is a beautiful restaurant with mostly Nigerian food (some Ghanaian!), a big plasma screen TV that was playing Football (soccer) on Sunday, and it seems to be a meeting spot for West Africans in the area. On one side of me was a family from Nigeria, and on the other was a family from Ghana. It was a great afternoon with yummy, reasonably priced food. They also deliver, but that way, you miss out on half the fun.

Bolat African Cuisine
3346 N. Clark St., Chicago,
(773) 665-1100

Bolat African Cuisine, Ghana, Nigeria, African Food, Taste of Chicago, Wrigleyville