Kilimandjaro Philadelphia
I’ve just discovered our city’s best dining bargain, said Brian Freedman in Philadelphia Weekly. For several years now, owner Youma Ba has been a passionate emissary for the glories of Senegal’s “phenomenal” cuisine, and her cooking might even exceed her enthusiasm: “In terms of the depth of flavor you get for the money,” a meal at her cozy, welcoming restaurant could be unmatchable. Senegalese food marries an array of influences, including French, Arab, and Portuguese, but the hallmark of Ba’s cooking is “an ability to take a relatively short list of ingredients and transmogrify them into something infinitely greater than the sum of their parts.” Take the onions that define her yassa chicken: They’re “as sweet and creamy as slices of perfectly ripe mango.” Her dibi, or grilled lamb, might look overcooked, yet each bite—redolent of basil and other seasonings—leaves “a lingering presence of sweet earthiness on the lips.” 4317 Chestnut St., (215) 387-1970
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Swahili Village Beltsville, Md.
Kenyan cooking can too easily get lost in Ethiopia’s shadow, said Tim Carman in The Washington Post. Ethiopian cuisine is so well established in the D.C. area that it’s become “part of Washington’s DNA.” But that nation’s southern neighbor offers a flavor barrage all its own, and chef Kevin Onyona is working wonders with the tradition at his modest restaurant tucked behind a Shell station out in the suburbs. Kenyan food is a mashup of influences that borrows some tastes from Masai nomads, some from the subcontinental Indians the British brought in to build the nation’s railroads. Onyona imports the Kenyan spices he uses for his samosas because he can’t duplicate the blend here, and he makes a goat soup that’s “loaded with chunky vegetables and decades of culinary assimilation.” The dish that has me flabbergasted, though, is something Onyona calls “goat wet fry”—goat charred on the grill, then tossed in hot vegetable oil with tomatoes and onions. It’s “flat-out delicious.”10606 Baltimore Ave., (240) 965-7651
