We find friendly folks and good East African eats at Safari

[Robin Garr]

We find friendly folks and good East African eats at Safari Grill

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

Safari Grill’s Githeri, an iconic Kenyan stew of fried corn and beans.


How big is Africa? Africa is so big that you could fit the U.S., China, India, Japan and most of the countries of Europe neatly within its borders and still have plenty of nooks and crannies left for more. You’ve probably seen the colorful map that shows this; it’s all over the Internet.

How big is Africa? About 1.5 billion people live there, or almost 1 out of every 7 humans on Earth. That’s about the same as the total population of Europe, North and South America.

So riddle me this: How come so many of us know so little about Africa? And getting to the point, how come Louisville has so doggoned few African restaurants? It’s only in recent years that we’ve started to get glimpses of real African flavor.

Recently, I’m happy to report, we’re finally getting a taste of the culinary riches of East Africa, thanks to recent arrivals Baraka, on West Oak Street, which I hope to sample soon, and the destination of this week’s dining journey, Safari Grill, in the lovably multi-ethnic environment of Beechmont’s Woodlawn Avenue.

So let’s offer a warm welcome to Safari Grill’s proprietors Mohamed and Gabriel, immigrants from Kenya and Somalia, respectively, who greet visitors with sparkling hospitality, excellent English, and an eager enthusiasm to share their homelands’ native foods.

Long ago the home of Tangerine restaurant, famous for its slogan, “Worst Food in Kentucky,” this small, well-kept storefront boasts bright walls the colors of turmeric and berbere, furnished with simple black-metal, red-leatherette chairs and glossy earth-tone laminate table tops.

Safari Grill’s menu, posted on a large sign behind the counter where you place your orders at the rear of the room, isn’t overly long, but it offers a good overview of East African food, which starts on a native West African base of corn, greens and chicken, beef and goat, but goes on to add distinct flavors of Arabian and Indian tradition, cultures historically linked by trade routes around and across the Indian Ocean. (All the meats, by the way, are halal, in Muslim tradition) ...


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/we-fi ... fari-grill

You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly’s Food & Drink section today.
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/

Safari Grill
328 W. Woodlawn Ave.
915-0943
https://facebook.com/safarigrillllc
Robin Garr’s rating: 86 points

Nice revelation, Robin. Imagine how healthy the typical American would look on a regular diet composed of the food in the images.

I look forward to reading about your impending Baraka visit. I was taken aback by my recent visit there as I had posted. I hope you have a similar positive experience.

As you pointed out, most of us are clueless not only about African cuisine, but about Africa in general.

I like that place. My experience was similar, except that they gave me a bowl of what seemed to be canned beef vegetable soup to start. I recommend the goat biryani at the Somali Mall downtown as well.

In 2012 there was a Rwandan restaurant called Karisimbi at Iroquois Manor. They had good goat ribs and they kept a bottle of banana beer behind the bar on the hush-hush. Unfortunately it closed after a pipe burst. I know there's a group of Burundian ladies who do catering. Since the Rwandan, Burundian, and Congolese community is so sizeable, I keep hoping another place will open. Is thr Senegalese place (Chez Seneba?) still going?

I saw a "Chez Seneba" on Poplar Level in Newburg a while back and intended to post to ask if anyone knew the scoop. So here is the question--has anyone been there, and if so, is it under the same ownership?

I went like 4 years ago. Walked in and were immediately asked "what do you want?" Half the stuff on the menu wasn't available and the service was slow, but the proprietress was friendly after we made it past her first question. That amused us because it reminded us of experiences in Africa. Wound up sharing some roast fish and french fries. Overall we had fun. Yelp says it's closed now, unfortunately.

Chez Seneba was on Bishop Lane near the Watterson, but she moved out to Poplar Level and I kind of stopped going for lunch, so I don't know what happened. Has anyone been to the "new" location on Poplar Level?