Balimaya

Mapping New York City’s Best Lamb Dishes - Eater NY

"Balimaya, meaning something like “family,” is a restaurant serving the food of the Ivory Coast and other West African countries. It’s poised just inside Mott Haven on Third Avenue as it sweeps into the Bronx from Manhattan, a very convenient locale for the professional drivers who make up a large part of its clientele. The lamb in peanut sauce is a classic dish in many African countries: big chunks of meat rimmed with fat in a thick peanut sauce. The sauce is made with peanut butter as an inexpensive convenience, but it’s mixed with other flavorings, including palm oil and Scotch bonnet peppers. And if you’re lucky, the lamb will really be mutton, giving it more flavor and a firmer chew. Served with polished white rice in abundance, because a little of the thick sauce goes a long way." - Robert Sietsema