Pullman Dakar Teranga

Restaurant Review: West African Staples Get the Star Treatment at Teranga | The New Yorker

"At the Africa Center's new café in East Harlem, Teranga, I found myself conjuring the flavor of Senegalese-born chef Pierre Thiam’s fufu as though it were a song I’d been humming ever since: slightly spongy and stretchy, here made with plantains and red palm-fruit oil and tasting stirringly complex—sweet, nutty, vegetal, with a distinct funk akin to ripened cheese or cultured butter. Fufu can be ordered as a side or as the centerpiece of a “seasonal bowl,” a term borrowed from fast‑casual vernacular that Teranga does itself no favors in using; the fufu bowl, bolstered by scoops of Senegalese ndambe (a lushly thick stew of sweet potato, black‑eyed peas, and okra) and tangy Ivorian attiéké (dried, fermented, grated cassava that resembles couscous), is as skillfully rendered and satisfying as many more formal meals in town. Thiam’s passion for fonio—he started the Yolélé company to import it and even gave a 2017 TED talk where he served fonio sushi—is evident in two preparations here: a steamed, chewy, subtly sweet fonio jollof with carrots and peas in a tomato broth, and a neon‑pink beet‑dyed cold fonio salad flecked with dill, pickled carrot, and pomegranate seeds. Everything else sings with it too: grilled chicken thighs marinated in thyme, garlic, and lime; egusi, a hearty stew of collard greens and melon seeds; and Ghanaian kelewele (spicy fried plantains), with each plate or bowl coming with a choice of sauces—a thick peanut mafe with a hint of Scotch‑bonnet, or caramelized onions mixed with lime confit—and glass jars of house‑made condiments, including a salty, oily shrimp paste, on each table. The bright, open lobby, designed by Robert A. M. Stern, is thoughtfully outfitted with wooden tables, cozy seating areas, a library, African objets (including a painted fishing boat from Dakar), and art installations; a wall of windows looks onto a regal stretch of Fifth Avenue and a beautiful corner of Central Park, making it easy to imagine a picnic on the banks of the Harlem Meer. Cold drinks are packaged to go—bissap (sweetened hibiscus tea with mint), a kicky ginger juice, and glass bottles of Maltina, a raisiny, slightly bitter, caramel‑and‑molasses‑rounded Nigerian malt beverage first sold in the 1970s as a fortified food supplement—and for dessert there’s a dense, creamy coconut‑rice pudding topped with honey‑roasted mango. The café is counter service, open only until 7 P.M., and plates and bowls run about $10–$14." - Hannah Goldfield