89
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT,
TOP TO BOT TOM:
Keep It Fresh
When the food on a whirlwind
tour of restaurants starts to feel
a little too rich, you’ll want to
order a cup of fresh and floral
hibiscus juice (pictured) or tart
baobab juice. While you can find
both throughout the city, I’m keen
on La Calebasse’s not-too-
sweet approach to baobab.Get the Cachupa
Don’t be discouraged by the
unrelenting crowds spilling
out of the nondescript apartment
building that houses
Chez Loutcha. The cachupa,
or peppery sausage-and-bean
stew, at this Senegalese–
meets–Cape Verdean restaurant
is worth the wait.Wine and Dine
When I come back to Dakar,
La Cave is where I relax. It’s a
French wine bar with an extensive
array of bottles plus charcuterie,
cured fish, and sardines. Its deep
European wine reserves are a
nod to Dakar’s colonial past, but
its diverse clientele and
unpretentious, laid-back vibes
plant it firmly in the present.A Sports Bar With Soul
When she opened her bar in the
summer of 1988 during the Seoul
Olympics, Therese Mendy
adopted that city’s name for her
business. Now its second
iteration, Seoul 2, has become
a neighborhood cornerstone
known for playing international
sports on mounted televisions,
barbecuing hulking cuts of lamb
and pork, and pouring regional
beers (my go-tos are Gazelle,
a pale lager brewed in Dakar,
and Star, an amber lager brewed
in Nigeria).Banana Break
Stroll the shores at Plage Pointe
des Almadies and you’re sure
to run into groups of fruit sellers
offering whatever they have in
stock. Grab a banana and spend
a lazy day on the water.The Big Catch
The white stucco walls and stark
blue lighting of Le Thiof may
channel a dinner in the
Mediterranean, but the food will
ground you here in Dakar. Order
the thiof braisé—smoky grilled
grouper with plantains and rice
(pictured)—or the millet risotto
FO capped with smoked fish.