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Frascati DOC

Frascati
dominiquelettiere

I discovered the Frascati DOC white wine in 2011 shortly after meeting my now-husband whose family makes the wine. This wine is crisp and bright and refreshing and every time it starts to heat up in the... Read more

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Quintessential Dakar: What to Eat

May 14, 2013

A city spotlight on Dakar, Senegal’s sultry capital city, where French, Wolof, and North African influence...

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Quintessential Dakar: What to Eat

A city spotlight on Dakar, Senegal’s sultry capital city, where French, Wolof, and North African influence meets local ingredients in the kitchen—and on the street.

Pirogue boats on the beach in Ngor, Dakar, Senegal
Hand-carved pirogues on the beach in Ngor, in Dakar

Perched on the edge of West Africa, Senegal has long gone quietly about its business while its neighbors get into all sorts of trouble. Quietly, of course, is a misleading word in the context of Dakar, the sultry capital city and dust-ridden domain of all-night music clubs, infamous traffic, relentless hustlers, and nonstop construction, where the dead silence of night is regularly punctured by soaring muezzin calls to mosque.

And then there’s the food. Among other West African countries, Senegalese cuisine stands out for its distinct cultural influences—most notably from various ethnic groups (especially the dominant, native Wolof), Europe (particularly France; this  was a French colony until 1960), and North Africa—and its mastery of local ingredients, seafood, millet, and groundnuts (peanuts) chief among them. Dakarois take pride in their food, be it baguettes on a sandy side street, grilled sheep in a smoky dibiterie, or a beautiful plate of ginger shrimp from a restaurant on the beach. Some expats may tell you there aren’t many restaurants in Dakar, that all the best food is prepared at home. Let’s be clear about something: If a local invites you in for a home-cooked meal—and this is likely to happen; Senegalese are famous for their hospitality—by all means, go. Failing that, a little research goes a long way in revealing plenty of dining options scattered among the city’s markets, backstreets, cozy neighborhood cafes, and upscale seafood joints. We’re here to help you find them.

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    Pouding chômeur (“pudding show-mer”), which translates as “unemployed pudding” and dates, not surprisingly, to the Great Depression, exemplifies the Québécois...

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  • Frascati DOC

    Frascati

    dominiquelettiere

    I discovered the Frascati DOC white wine in 2011 shortly after meeting my now-husband whose family makes the wine. This wine is crisp and bright and refreshing and every time it starts to heat up i…    Read more
  • uninhabited beaches and harpoon fishing

    Warbal, Maluku Islands, Indonesia

    mrtofficial

    Visiting my dads home town, Kai, in east Indonesia, I stumbled across the small island of Warbal accessible only via speedboat. From there we travelled by speed boat to various pearl farms and un…    Read more
  • Croatian Street Food

    Split, Croatia

    seeliveeat

    It is hard to spend any period of time in Croatia without noticing carts and fast food restaurants grilling what look to be small uncased sausages. Typically about three inches in size, they look …    Read more
  • Junk food - Taiwanese style

    Chutung, Taiwan

    hungryel

    First encountered on the drive back from a three-day hike in the mountains of northern Taiwan--probably no meal has ever tasted so good. A street cart displays a wide range of edibles: (pre-batte…    Read more

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