Bolat African Cuisine (V 2.0)

When I moved to Lakeview in 2006, very few restaurants attracted my attention in the neighborhood. I discovered Bolat around the same time and was deeply saddened when the restaurant closed due to a fire about a year ago. My African standby within walking distance was no more and I was forced to jump on my bike and ride to Iyanze in Uptown and Banadir in Edgewater for West African cravings.

As a frequent patron of Chicago Comics, I walked by the storefront every week waiting for the lights to flicker and was pleasantly surprised to see the door unlocked two months ago. The soft opening featured one of the best deals in the city…4 course tasting menu with a drink for $20. I took full advantage of the deal, especially since the courses changed as the new Executive Chef, James Kerwin, tested out new concepts.

I met with Sharon (Happy_Stomach) to try a wide array of dishes. You can read her (more professional) review here: http://gapersblock.com/drivethru/2010/01/27/african_cuisine_made_modern_in_lakeview/

Background: Bolat is taking a new approach to the menu. Emmanuel (owner) is introducing a seasonal menu concept while retaining well known “classics” such as Goat Pepper Soup and Curry Goat. The current season is focused on West African cuisine and will make its way towards South African cuisine around late February/early March. In addition, Gregory Williams (Metromix’s Best New Bartender of 2009) is behind the cocktail menu. I was given the opportunity to sample a new item which consisted of Palm Wine, St. Germain Liqueur and Vodka. I personally recommend the Dark and Stormy with Absolut Pepper Vodka, but all of his concoctions have been excellent so far.

A run down of the meal…

1. Fried Yam with a trio of dipping sauces (peanut, fried pepper sauce, black sauce).



The yams arrived in thin, narrow chips and were fried to a nice golden brown color. All three sauces brought a different level of heat intensity. My personal favorite was the red pepper sauce, but I also enjoyed the flavor combination of peanut butter and tomatoes. I am not sure what was behind the spicy black sauce though. I believe this was Sharon’s favorite.

2. Ayamshe with steamed rice



This was a stew of diced, cooked goat and fish stock with mild sour notes over perfectly seasoned rice. I thought this was the spiciest and most delicious dish of our meal!

3. Jerk Chicken Drumsticks over coconut rice



The jerk chicken was packed with aromatic spices and the bed of coconut rice was a welcome addition for balance. The meat was easy to peel off the bone. It was a flavor explosion.

4. Seared scallops with sautéed spinach, chilies, tomato and fufu



I have been on a scallops kick lately so this dish was a necessity for me. This was an interesting presentation. Despite the dish being structurally difficult, it was an unconventional favorite of mine. I ate this dish in parts rather than as a whole. I enjoyed the combination of spinach, tomatoes, and pepper.

5. Black Eyed Pea Mash with fried plantains



You can order this dish with meat (chicken, goat) or vegetarian. We ordered this as a vegetarian dish. This dish was a mash-up of beans and yams with a fried plantain or black sauce toppings. The bean casserole with peanut seasoning was savory and spicy when mixed with the sauce, but the second reiteration was less inspiring.

6. Kashata Na Berri kashata candy, strawberry, chocolate



This coconut and peanut cookie was my least favorite because I am not a hard candy fan.

7. Curry Ice Cream coconut, peanut



YUM! I usually tend to stay away from savory ice cream (love the sweets), but curry coconut will draw me in every time. A perfect ending to a wonderful meal with great company!

Bolat African Cuisine
3346 N Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60657
http://www.bolatchicago.com

made it in here a few weeks ago... they've been on several of the half price groupon-type deals and i had picked up one on 'wegivetoget' ...

the space is very nice... much more upscale than I had anticipated even. It filled up, but I don't think I'd worry too much w/out a reservation.

I honestly don't remember everything we tried, we tried fried yam w/ dipping sauce.. fried plantains, curry goat, jerk chicken (which I'm pretty sure had the same sauce as one w/ the fried yams) .. coconut curry ice cream, ginger milk shake. we shared between 3 of us.

they have a full bar, and their drink menu has a wide variety of very unique cocktails. the highlight of my night actually turned out to be their cocktails. they have house made ginger beer, served with rum (or your choice of other). very good, i had to have a few!

the curry ice cream dessert is worth having again and again. outstanding!

the milk shake was on the dessert menu, but I wouldn't call it a dessert. should have just been served as a cocktail. it was close to their ginger beer cocktail and barely had any ice cream in it, it wasn't worth ordering IMO.

not the cheapest place in the world. check came to about $125 for 3 (which included about 5 alcoholic drinks, and the drinks weren't cheap at all).

will definitely be back

Eating at Bolat was wholly different from what I expected. As a weekly customer of the Bolat/ Iyanze food truck downtown, I’m used to being the only white person in a line of African cab drivers. It took me several tries to build up enough cred with the truck operator so that he’d sell me the really good stuff without hesitation. There’s nothing there that isn’t authentic, oily, rugged and spicy-good food. I’ve been to that truck probably 20 times now, and not once have I seen another Caucasian.

I entered Bolat, and the first thing I saw was the white, fresh-out-of-culinary-school grad peering through the kitchen window, and his baby faced classmate helping in the background. Some kind of Gen Y pop music played in the background. Fruity cocktails with straws were being passed around the dining room, and The Beavers sitting at a six-top were sending something back because it was too spicy.

“Where am I?,” I wondered. Wrigleyville was the obvious answer, not just because of the location, the drinks, and the crowd. The menu at Bolat features seared scallops and something called a “Bolat Burger”. To be sure, there are some African-sounding things too, though they happened to be out of about half of them last night.

The food wasn’t half-bad, actually. Curried goat was spicier than I expected, though more sinewy too. It was topped with some deep-fried onion rings that were too greasy and way too salty. I really liked the mashed blacked eyed peas, which were rich and well-spiced. That said, something about the experience at Bolat made me feel like a rube. I don’t expect to return.

Ack.

This doesn't sound anything like the Bolat of old, which was a haunt for Nigerians enjoying home-style meals as well as neighborhood locals venturing out a bit.

I'm still gonna check it out, but your review Kenny definitely makes a visit less urgent. Hell, I'll probably be back to Iyanze before I go to Bolat.

As far as I know, Bolat's owners are still the same. Kudos to them for trying to branch out I suppose. And its not like there aren't tons of other authentic Nigerian places in the city, so its no big loss.

If anything, maybe it'll serve as a gateway for people who've never tried West African food before. First stop Bolat, next stop Qaato, just a bit farther north on Clark.

It is the same owner (Emmanuel Abidemi). I know Bolat is constantly tweaking the menu. It is sad to hear that many of the dishes were unavailable though.

I'm a bit spoiled with west African cuisine, as I used to study the music with a teacher who was also a good cook. So I was deeply outraged when I went to Bolat with really high hopes and was charged something like $11 (this is 15 years ago; I was a starving grad student) for a moderately-sized plate that was 1/3 fufu, 1/3 beans, and 1/3 goat stew that was not as good as my teacher's.

So I suspect that the whole move/makeover thing is simply because the owner has learned that Wrigleyville folks don't mind paying those sorts of prices, whereas West Africans do.

MycoMan wrote:I'm a bit spoiled with west African cuisine, as I used to study the music with a teacher who was also a good cook. So I was deeply outraged when I went to Bolat with really high hopes and was charged something like $11 (this is 15 years ago; I was a starving grad student) for a moderately-sized plate that was 1/3 fufu, 1/3 beans, and 1/3 goat stew that was not as good as my teacher's.

So I suspect that the whole move/makeover thing is simply because the owner has learned that Wrigleyville folks don't mind paying those sorts of prices, whereas West Africans do.

The curried goat I had last night was something like 10 bucks. I had no problem with Bolat's prices, though I should note that I did not order the $12 Bolat Burger.

MycoMan wrote:
I'm a bit spoiled with west African cuisine, as I used to study the music with a teacher who was also a good cook. So I was deeply outraged when I went to Bolat with really high hopes and was charged something like $11 (this is 15 years ago; I was a starving grad student) for a moderately-sized plate that was 1/3 fufu, 1/3 beans, and 1/3 goat stew that was not as good as my teacher's.

So I suspect that the whole move/makeover thing is simply because the owner has learned that Wrigleyville folks don't mind paying those sorts of prices, whereas West Africans do.

KennyZ wrote:
The curried goat I had last night was something like 10 bucks. I had no problem with Bolat's prices, though I should note that I did not order the $12 Bolat Burger.

Oh, cool!

And I assume there was enough goat. For me it wasn't just the overall price, it was that the plate was 2/3 very cheap starch and shouldn't have cost more than $5.

There also used to be a Ghanaian place up near Devon called Vivi's which was pretty good. It may have been written about here, but the LTH search function doesn't find it. I was there at a banquet and someone else was paying, so I may have found it overpriced if I was buying, but at least the food was very good. Lots of homestyle stuff -- those sweet little deep-fried dough nuggets, and greens flavored with fish -- in addition to the main course.

MycoMan wrote:

MycoMan wrote:
I'm a bit spoiled with west African cuisine, as I used to study the music with a teacher who was also a good cook. So I was deeply outraged when I went to Bolat with really high hopes and was charged something like $11 (this is 15 years ago; I was a starving grad student) for a moderately-sized plate that was 1/3 fufu, 1/3 beans, and 1/3 goat stew that was not as good as my teacher's.

So I suspect that the whole move/makeover thing is simply because the owner has learned that Wrigleyville folks don't mind paying those sorts of prices, whereas West Africans do.

KennyZ wrote:
The curried goat I had last night was something like 10 bucks. I had no problem with Bolat's prices, though I should note that I did not order the $12 Bolat Burger.

Oh, cool!

And I assume there was enough goat. For me it wasn't just the overall price, it was that the plate was 2/3 very cheap starch and shouldn't have cost more than $5.

I'd say it was about 5-6 oz of meat, cut into 5 or 6 two-bite sized chunks. It was served over a bit of rice - not much. There was an option to pay an extra five bucks for an "entree" sized portion, but that was not necesary with another small dish or two on the side (such as the plantains, which were not particularly good).

MycoMan wrote:

For me it wasn't just the overall price, it was that the plate was 2/3 very cheap starch and shouldn't have cost more than $5.

There also used to be a Ghanaian place up near Devon called Vivi's which was pretty good. It may have been written about here, but the LTH search function doesn't find it.

Italian red sauce joints must really hack you off . Anyway, I think the place you are thinking of is Vee Vee's, of food truck fame here on the boards. If you search that term, you'll see a lot of good stuff.

Italian red sauce joints must really hack you off .

Yes, if they're charging $20 for pasta bolognese.

Thanks, for the spelling tip for Vee Vee's. "Vivi" is Ewe for "delicious", and I've always assumed that they were playing off of that; so the African spelling is what sticks in my head. But I don't know whether they just decided to make sure that Americans don't mispronounce it, or I whether I've just been wrong all these years and it's completely unrelated...

Stopped in at the new and improved Bolat, and it was quite a different place than what I remember, much more lively, with screened windows in front to admit the blessedly warm night air.

Feeling good, we ordered… and gagged on our first app: grilled plantain.



Almost carbonized, and with a tasteless peanut sauce, this dish got me worried. Maybe it’s authentic, but if it is, it seems a wrong-headed way to prepare a dry, starchy fruit. Well nigh inedible.

We liked the curry goat:



There was heat and some dimension in the rice, and unlike the meat in the goat pepper soup (which The Wife speculated had been butchered on the wrong bias), the goat in this casserole-like dish was chewy but completely chewable. Check out the onion rings on top, a flourish from the French-trained chef, for which our our spiked server claimed to be inspiration (regard golden and magenta forelock):



After dinner, this nice lady rolled me a cigarette, which I thought right kind.

Bolat seems in search of a new identity; not sure they’ve found it yet.

I recently had dinner at Bolat this week and the server informed me that they are changing the menu to focus on dishes from the Western Provinces. The latest menu featured dishes from the Southern Provinces. I am unfamiliar with the types of dishes served in the various regions of Africa, but I am interested in seeing what new additions make the next menu.

Once again, many of the dishes on the menu were unavailable. I was hoping to try the tilapia, but the group next to me ordered the last one

TAC Crazy wrote:I recently had dinner at Bolat this week and the server informed me that they are changing the menu to focus on dishes from the Western Provinces. The latest menu featured dishes from the Southern Provinces. I am unfamiliar with the types of dishes served in the various regions of Africa, but I am interested in seeing what new additions make the next menu.

Did they mean the western provinces of Africa, or just of Nigeria? The food described doesn't sound like anything I've had in southern Africa.

Not sure, but I hope the focus is more expansive than Nigeria. I think Bolat is just changing out 5-8 dishes with every menu change and keeping the "classics" as a standard

My understanding is that Bolat will be doing "takes" on traditional foods from all over Sub-Saharan Africa, so much of it may not look very familiar, and it may not be very "authentic" in the strictest sense.

Has anyone been to Bolat in the past year?
They're on Groupon today.

See, now, the cynic in me thinks that GroupOn might just make it worthwhile...

I got pretty pissed (hey, I've just realized that it was about 15 years ago!) at being charged $10 for a plate that was 3/4 beans and rice.

I finally made it to Bolat with my husband, my son and his girlfriend (who is Nigerian). Other than a table celebrating a birthday, we had the place to ourselves this past Saturday. When calling to make a reservation, I asked if we could bring wine. I was told they sold wine, but that we could also bring wine and that the corkage fee was $4/bottle (and two bottles were allowed).
We started with a beef pie appetizer. Then, between the four of us, we ordered Jerk Chicken, Shrimp Curry, Jollof with fried fish and Egusi soup with goat. We finished the meal with a coconut cream ball. While we enjoyed our meals, the music (African essentials station from Pandora) and the staff, the portions/prices had us a bit confused.
Maybe our expectations are now super-sized, but my husband’s dish (jerk chicken) contained one drumstick and some rice for $14. I had shrimp curry and it contained exactly once shrimp. We felt guilty trying each other’s meals, because there was hardly enough to share. (Hammond’s dish of curry looks huge compared to our dish.) Yes, would could have ordered more meals, but usually, one meal per person would be enough. Even the appetizer looked small on the plate.
The server mentioned that this was the owner’s fine dining restaurant and that there was a second, more casual location. We wondered if that was the management’s reason for the portion sizes (fine dining=small portions), but even that didn’t seem to make sense (one drumstick?) Our Nigerian guest explained that the foods we had were pretty typical (things her Mom might make). The value of my Groupon was almost $100, so I was confused when I got a bill and owed another $50 or so. (That would have made our meager dinner $150, plus the lot parking fee!). I took a look at the bill and saw we were charged $4/person for corkage. I’ve never seen that before, but still, my husband doesn’t even drink and our server cleared his glass. My son didn’t drink either, so only two of us shared the wine. After asking some questions and mentioning my phone call, the removed three of the four corkage fees.
I feel bad to write this because we did enjoy our food and the servers were kind. But even with the Groupon, I don’t feel the food was worth the cost or effort.

Wow.

I don't understand the math, either: even if all your dishes were ~$15, 15 x 6 = 90.

I guess the inflation on their ridiculous prices is moderate, though: $10 fifteen years ago for a dish that was 3/4 rice and beans to $14 today for a dish that's one drumstick and some rice.

It makes me think of a Malinke restaurant to which we took a visiting Guinean musician about ten years ago -- after sitting there for a quarter of an hour without being waited on in a restaurant that was empty except for a group of people noisily chowing down in another corner, our friend told us to leave. He said that they just weren't really interested in serving food -- it was only there to issue work visas to Africans who then came to Chicago and drove cabs and gave the "restaurant" a cut in return for the visa. It was some of these cabbies who were occupying the other table.