Critics’ choice: The pleasures of home-style African cooking

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

Badou Chicago

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Badara “Badou” Diakhate is a bit of a genius himself, said Mike Sula in the Chicago Reader. The son of a Dakar fisherman, he speaks six languages, has taught college literature classes, and aspires to return to Senegal to run for president in 2022. But the talent that matters most at his promising new restaurant is cooking he learned in his mother’s kitchen. He’s an improviser by nature, but he’ll knock out a stellar version of thiebou djen, Senegal’s national dish—“a whole fish, scored and smeared with a chile-tamarind-based sauce, then deep-fried and served with a towering mound of jollof rice.” He also makes a deeply satisfying mafe—a hearty peanut-butter-based stew of chicken and chunky yam. His signature dish, though, might be the off-the-cuff creation that he calls “Senegalese soul food.” A heaping plate of rice, collard greens, smoked turkey, and stuffing, it’s given life by Diakhate’s global imagination. The turkey has a smoky depth, the collards arrive “bright and snappy,” and each forkful of rice delivers “a brilliant burst of lime, lemon, and habanero.” Think Louisiana meets West Africa, but in Chicago. 2055 W. Howard St., (773) 293-6913

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