Instagram Post 3/10/2018

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Paradis des Gouts – Part 1. It’s always good news when one of my posts begins with “Part 1”: it means that a follow up is definitely in the offing. I hear that there are multiple chefs hailing from multiple African nations in the kitchen on various days – but all with a focus on Ivorian cuisine – and that fact alone compels me to make multiple return visits to this new West African restaurant at 1136 Broadway in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

We tried only two dishes that day and both were certainly tasty. A perfectly grilled red snapper was served with attiéké (lightly fermented grated cassava with a texture like couscous), a rich onion/tomato/palm oil based sauce (a perfect foil to the crispy skinned fish) and a toss of sweet plantains. That Maggi seasoning cube you see perched atop the attiéké is ubiquitous at the West African table: just unwrap and crumble it over the top as you would salt over any starch, but it packs significantly more punch than mere salt to anything it graces.

We also ordered one of the Saturday specials, Plakali (cassava pounded into a sticky, dough-like consistency, best consumed with the fingers) and Palm Nut Stew (aka Sauce Graine) with Beef. It’s a dish I’ve enjoyed elsewhere – I’ve even made it myself a few times – and the recipe varies from chef to chef as much as a recipe for any stew might. All are based on palm nut cream (which you can purchase canned or do it the hard way and extract it from scratch) plus a wide assortment of potential candidate ingredients; I found this version particularly satisfying.

True to its name, this restaurant turned out to be a Paradise of Flavors; watch this space for an update on my return to paradise.