Mama D's in Hermosa Beach

"Like fire and water, yin and yang, or an — every meal at Mama D’s African Cuisine is a master class in the art of balance. Run by the eponymous Mama’s daughter, Claudia Wanki (Mama D operates the original outpost in Washington D.C.), this non-pretentious Boyle Heights restaurant serves excellent Cameroonian dishes like ndole, jollof rice, and a Classic African Lunch. They’re intense, vibrant dishes, packed with salty flavors and lots of oil, that deliver a punch straight to the taste buds. But unlike the time we got baby bangs, that punch is deliberate. While any one dish might be too rich on its own, when paired with any of the starches, like tuberous gari, a tart and sour yam fufu, or plain white rice, it all comes together to create a perfectly balanced meal— the kind that warrants many return visits, just in order to try everything. It’s an expert design of flavor, deserving of being studied at MIT, or dissected by Roman Mars in an episode of . But, of course, you’ll have to start somewhere. Begin with the ndole. A brilliant, dark-green stew, it’s a mix of bitter spinach, stewed nuts, and shrimp, that’s both smooth and creamy, like casserole, or nutritious peanut butter. Served with a side of yam fufu, a soft, neutral-tasting cloud of starch that absorbs the dish’s salty and oily flavors, the two complement each other like Andy Richter and Conan O’Brien, David Letterman and Paul Schaffer, or any other late night host and their little sidekick. Or perhaps you’ll want the Classic African Lunch, a beautiful, bright-red tomato stew paired with rice. Savory, thick, and filled with your choice of beef, broiled chicken, shrimp, chicken, or fried fish — it’s a quintessential West African Christmas meal that tastes like a present to yourself, minus all of the pesky paper cuts and . But no matter what you order — or how you decide to eat it — a meal here is like getting hit with an extra-big dose of comfort, something we could all use a little more of, these days. Long days at work, (multiple) outstanding parking tickets, or the fact that you had a completely lackluster session with your therapist and still had to pay for it — they’re no match for the kind of world-class, soul-healing meals being made at Mama D’s. You can either eat on the small, limited patio out front, or call (213) 610-5322 to place an order to go. The latter, of course, is perfect for a meal at home, where you’ll inevitably binge the entire first season of Beastars , with not a single break. Hypothetically." - Kat Hong

"Mama D’s Italian Kitchen will resume cooking old-school favorites in Hermosa Beach on March 1, after closing its 28-year-old Manhattan Beach location last October." - Mona Holmes