Tasting Africa

I've been meaning to have a taste of Africa at Holisac Taste of Africa since I first heard of them a few years back. If I recall correctly, they were in Sun Prairie at that time but they've since moved to the food court at Global Market.

Earlier this week I took a friend's daughter out for dinner at Global Market. She's a student at the UW and I like getting her out of the campus area for a good meal. There were several folks who were very kind to me back when I was an impecunious college student and I am happy to pay it forward. Her mother told me that she'd recently suffered a breakup and was disillusioned with boys. It was my hope that a visit with her honorary uncle and something different for dinner would help cheer her up. Oh, and ice cream too.

The occasion also gave me the chance to try Holisac. My dining companion was initially going to order something familiar, a poke bowl, until we got to Hotco Noodles. The counter there had some samples and I grabbed one of their noodles. After popping a couple into her mouth, she was hooked and ordered some stir fry noodles with tofu.

She really liked the noodles and somehow managed to wolf down a rather large plate of food. You can do that when you're 19. Methinks she'll get it spicier next time. I ordered chicken peanut soup with fufu. Delicious! The soup was mild yet richly flavored. The fufu was just something to dip in the soup. It had a texture that was somewhere between mashed potatoes and bao.

I look forward to exploring their menu further.

While chatting with her I discovered she has taken after her mother and is a regular at a particular campus area bar. Ha! I got an earful about Gen Z men and learned that they are goofy. For instance, many are reluctant to approach women. She complained about having to go up to men whom she catches looking at her from across the bar.

Fellas! Make some moves!

African + American = dinner

We are in the middle of Madison Black Restaurant Week and I decided to join the gustatory fun by finally going to Kingdom Restaurant, something I've been meaning to do for a while now. Too long.

The interior was rather nice, though virtually empty. One lady enjoyed the mood lighting at the counter as she patiently waited for her order. 

The owner and chef is one Mahamadou Tunkara who hails from The Gambia. His menu is a mix of African and American dishes and for my dinner, I sampled both: yassa and Italian beef. My order was presented to-go so I am unsure if one can actually dine-in.

The Italian beef bore only the vaguest resemblance to the culinary deliciousness that my hometown proudly boasts about. The beef bits were like these thick slabs of processed buffalo shank. They had this weird spongy texture. Even if the meat were good, it was slathered in processed cheese sauce goop. I ate a small sample out of morbid curiosity before putting it down the disposal.

The yassa, a West African dish, was absolutely delicious. It was chicken and onions in a mildly spicy sauce served atop couscous. And the couscous was salted perfectly. The chicken was on the bone, 2 thighs and a leg. I suspect yassa is one of those dishes that folks fondly recall their grandmothers making.

The lesson here is to stick with the African dishes at Kingdom and I shall do so on my next visit.