Review of Africana Eatery & Cheers Pub

Summary: While we purely checked out this place for its quirky name, it quickly became apparent to TSD that Africana Eatery is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. 

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Seriously, the only reason we checked this place out was cause of the hilarious name. That’s it. After the disastrous Calgary vs. Pittsburgh game, I suggested to Kent that we check out this place for early dinner. He didn’t even hesitate when he said yes.

Located outside the central Indian district of Falconridge, Africana is actually two steps from the massive Canada Post facility in the NE, off of Airport Blvd NE. It looked pretty ghetto/industrial from the outside, just like a good hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurant should. The mystery of the “& Cheers Pub” became clear once we got there: it was a pub attached to the restaurant by the same owner. It served the same food, in a pub-type setting…kinda similar to the whole Wicked Chilli situation.

The restaurant interior was a pleasant surprise – less hole-in-the-wall, more family-type restaurant. It wasn’t anything too memorable, except that it was actually quite nice and pleasant. Unfortunately, I seemed to have forgotten/neglected to take photos…The current owner is of Indian descent, but originally hailing from Tanzania. Apparently, he first moved to Toronto and then eventually to yyc, where he drove buses for Calgary Transit for a year. Didn’t like it too much, so he got into the restaurant business.

What Africana lacked in decor and ambiance, it made up in its menu, which was quite extensive, and covered not only East African, but North Indian and Hakka cuisines as well. The first thing the server did after she took our orders was to drop off a thali with all kinds of delicious Indian chutneys like yogurt, coconut, tamarind, and some special hot sauce from hell that even I was scared to try (honestly, chilli powder in water anyone?).

Unfortunately for me, most of the East African dishes were non-vegetarian, so I couldn’t try any of the main courses. However, the appetizers looked pretty mouth-watering and I ended up ordering the Nairobi Bhajia (potatoes coated with flour and fried until crispy, golden brown) and Mogo (cassava fries) with Pili-Pili sauce.

Both the bhajia and the mogo looked delicious, but they tasted even better. I was floored by how delicious the appetizers were. The bhajia were perfectly spiced and battered. I tried them with almost all of the chutney’s but my favourite combination was probably with the tamarind chutney. The mogo fries also turned out to be delicious with a magnificent and satisfying crunch that was complimented by the spicy/tangy paprika sauce – they reminded Richard & I of the sweet chilli potato fries at Singh & I. So good.

Surprised to see a hakka component to their offerings, I couldn’t help but order the vegetarian Hakka noodles. I love this shit…I don’t know why. I guess it’s probably the years of eating Indian Maggi noodles that marry the concept of Chinese noodle dishes with distinctly Indian spices. Anyways, regular readers might remember the Wicked Chilli review where I pretty much trashed their version of the hakka noodles.

 Africana’s version was a 100x better. There was a right proportion of noodles to veggies; it wasn’t overly salty or greasy and you generally taste both Chinese and Indian flavours in the dish. Although I was already pretty full, I couldn’t stop shoving this sh*t into my mouth!

Richard’s Ruminations

I arrived a bit later than the other two, but was just in time to dig in to “Chuma’s World Famous Beef Ribs,” which are short ribs that you can get in a variety of wing flavours (eg. mild/medium/hot/suicide, honey garlic, teriyaki, etc.).  We got sweet-chilli flavoured ones, which fit pretty well – they were nice and tender and the serving size seemed reasonably generous.  As Kiran mentioned, the pili pili mogo was pretty kickass – and also reminded me that I still need to check out Nando’s (perhaps the most prolific purveyor of piri-piri chicken known to man).  I’m guessing pili-pili and piri-piri refer to the same pepper, but maybe that’s just because I’m Asian.

The menu appears to be mostly Indian-based (including the hakka dishes – I don’t understand why these seem to be all the rage these days), but reminding me of the way that “Chifa” restaurants in Peru are Chinese-based – where Peru seemed to have a decent amount of Chinese immigrants, east Africa had Indians.  The immigrants kept their style of cooking but utilized local ingredients – in this case, using things like cassava and pili pili chillies.  It’s a pretty successful melding, I’d say.  As their sign out front says, they do also serve several “western” dishes such as cheeseburgers and Philly cheesesteaks – handy in case there’s a picky eater in your group of friends (though I have no idea how good their burgers are).

Kent and I split a mixed thali, which had both meat and veg curries, along with tandoori chicken – it was a hell of a lot of food for one person, so I think we made the right choice by splitting.  Surprisingly the server asked us how spicy we wanted it – I wonder if they you ask for spicier whether they just grind in some more piri piri chillies into your curries?  It was pretty solid overall, though the roti was hardly a substitute for proper Indian naan.  On the plus side, the roti and rice came standard with the meal – none of that BS where you think prices look good until you realize that rice is $4.  On the downside, if you’re on the Atkin’s diet the carbs might go to waste.

Kent’s Two Cents

For an appy, I ordered a plate of beef ribs. I had to: they claimed they were world famous. They weren’t the spare ribs you would expect at a pub, but were larger beef short ribs. And you definitely get bang for your buck, not only are the ribs big and meaty (that’s what she said?), but you get a big plate of it. It could have been a full meal if I wanted it to, but I was leaving some room for an actual entree. Oh and they tasted great. Might not be the best I have had, but you get awesome value and a big selection of flavours to choose from. Some of the cuts are slightly fatty though. Oh well they are ribs.

Also an appy, the mogo fries. Also delicious. Crispy and dipped in Indian spices with tomato sauce. If you have been to Safari Grill, they are pretty much the same. I would get this stuff all the time if they served it in pubs and other watering holes.

The mix thali was made of a beef curry, chicken curry, 2 veggie curries, BBQ chicken, samosa, rice, roti, and gulab jamun as dessert. So yeah, its a lot of food for what you’re paying. Since I already scarfed down most of the beef ribs, Richard and I decided to split this one in half. Though for a single person, the mix thali alone would make you quite full. Everything was satisfying, and I wouldn’t hesitate to come again if someone asked, but I was less impressed with the main than the ribs and mogo fries. I was probably oversaturated by all the different tastes and got tired, haha.

Summary

What’s interesting is that the current owner used to co-own/run Safari Grill with his brother before they decided to part ways. Kent mentioned how similar the dishes were between the two restaurants..I guess it wasn’t creative differences that caused them to part ways…family problems?

At the end of the day though, I was blown-away. Africana is definitely a hidden gem in Calgary that must be on your “to check-out” list.

If you want to know more about East African/Indian inspired restaurants, check out the Safari Grill vs. Tiffin Curry eat-off organized by Chow down in Cow Town!

Ranking

	Kiran	Kent	Richard
Ambiance	4/6	4/6	4/6
Service	4/6	4.5/6	3/6
Plating	4/6	4/6	4/6
Taste	6/6	5.5/6	5/6
Originality Authenticity	6/6	6/6	5/6
Value	5/6	5/6	4.5/6
Overall	29/36 = 81%	30/36 = 83%	25.5/36 = 71%

Review of The Himalayan (Nepalese Cuisine)

Summary: A great date place / family restaurant for those looking to try a fusion of Indian/Chinese cuisines, friendly service, and more importantly, good food.

Calgary has a dearth of Nepalese cuisine, so when Kent found a Groupon for this restaurant, it was a no-brainer.The Himalayan is tucked away in a tiny strip mall in the west end of 17th Ave, but don’t let the location and outer facade fool you. It felt like we had stepped into another world as soon as we had walked in – the interior is in complete contrast to the exterior. The owners have clearly put a lot of thought and effort into tastefully decorating the place. The mood lighting, in addition to enhancing the ambiance, accentuates the Nepalese inspired artwork on the walls. Definitely a great date place, if you don’t mind the families.

Upon seating, we were immediately greeted by our very friendly server. While shooting the shit with him, we found out out that his father was a former part-owner of the other Nepalese restaurant in town: Everest Kitchen. However, due to irreconcilable differences, they had decided to part ways. It will be interesting to cover Everest Kitchen as part of our next outing and compare the differences between the two establishments.

Nepali cuisine is a very interesting mix of Indian/Chinese fare and is reflective of Nepal’s geographic location nestled between the two Asian giants. The intermingling of these two ancient cuisines is clearly evident in their offerings and reminded me of Hakka cuisine, which is Indian/Chinese cuisine hailing from the East Bengal region of India. Our server, being related to the owners, was very knowledgeable about the menu and was able to steer us through the vast offerings.

Kent and I didn’t order anything to drink but decided to get the mouth-watering momos ($6) as appetizers (while waiting for the perennially late Richard). The latter are a traditional Nepali dumpling made from a mixture of vegetables, mozzarella cheese, and “Himalayan spices and herbs” all wrapped and steamed in shell made from flour dough. That is a lot of words to describe a delicious little appetizer – I could eat this sh*t all day and not feel satiated. The outer shell was moist but not too sticky. The vegetable filling was delicious but a tad salty. The tomato sauce was milder than I would have liked as the momo filling definitely overwhelmed the sauce. Overall though, highly recommended. Definitely, a “must try.’

I ordered the Himalayan Roasted Eggplant ($13) tarkari as my main course. Tarkari, of course, is the Nepali version of curry, but not as liquid-y. Richard ordered a thuk-pa and Kent went with an old standby dish, dal (lentils).The tarkari dishes came with a side of naan and rice. Our dishes took a long time to arrive so we were comp’d with a side of papad served with sweet yogurt and mango dipping sauces. The sauces were sweet and tangy and provided a great contrast to the savoury papad.

Kiran’s Thoughts

Given the vastness of the vegetarian offerings at The Himalayan, I was hard-pressed to select just one dish to order. Now I know what most people feel like when they go to a restaurant. Ordering something off a menu is typically a simple affair for me, given that I usually have only one or two options. I was sorely tempted to order something I knew would taste good, but in the interests of expanding my mind and palate, decided to go with the roasted eggplant tarkari. It turned out to be not such a good call. The dish was flavourful with a sweet and sour finish, but in general, too salty. The eggplant was also unevenly cooked as some pieces were tough when chewing. The salad accompaniment was just a filler with the ingredients not being very fresh. In fact, I seem to have been so disappointed with this dish that I didn’t even bother to take any photos.

The dal, on the other hand, was an excellent call on Kent’s part. It was a perfect dish for a cold, rainy day like it was that particular evening. It was perfectly spiced, with just the right amount of salt and spices. You could tell it was clearly home-made from a family recipe. The combination of dal and naan, although not typical, was what I needed on that cold, clammy day.

The Himalayan didn’t seem to have much in the offering for desserts, but Kent and I decided to go with server-recommended cassava root cake. This turned out to be a delicious choice. The cake itself had the texture of oatmeal, but was spongy like, well, sponge cake. The drizzle of chocolate and raspberry sauces only served to enhance the dish overall. My only complaint was it was a bit too small: Kent and I managed to destroy the dish in two seconds. But it was worth it.

Richard’s Ruminations

Namaste, b*tches. I wasn’t too sure what to expect from their place after seeing the questionable aesthetics of their website,(yeah, it’s pretty fucking terrible; crashed my browser once – Kiran) but it turned out to be quite a pleasant venue. After ordering drinks, I perused the menu looking to see if they served yak. Sadly (or happily?) no, but they did offer quite a large variety of Nepali dishes, including several with shrimp (which I found slightly amusing considering Nepal is rather landlocked). I had originally intended to try the mis-mas rice (a mixture of rice, saffron, raisins, and meat), however the waiter rather vehemently turned me away from it, stating that they were working on removing that from the menu (yikes!). Instead, I settled for a mutton thuk-pa, a noodle soup with carrots, cabbage, parsley, onions, chilli, and small chunks of mutton.

The starters were pretty good in general, with the papad standing out in my mind as being particularly tantalizing. To me, it tasted like a mix of Indian-style lentil crackers and Chinese-style fried puffed-rice crackers. My main course (thuk-pa) was simple but decent, though the flavours/textures evoked thoughts of cheaper fare – the meat reminded me of cha siew (Chinese BBQ pork) and the vegetables in the soup made me think of instant-noodle ramen packs (though I imagine the vegetables in this soup were actually fresh and not reconstituted from dehydrated husks ). I also had a pineapple-coconut juice, which is a tropical-paradise-dream of a drink – I would definitely recommend this drink, and I’m not even much of a fan of coconut.

I was greatly impressed with the service and speed that the food came out, though we did arrive before it really got busy -  I’m not sure if they would have been quite as attentive with twice the crowd.

Kent’s Two Cents

I really enjoyed the Himalayan, and its a shame there aren’t more of these Nepali restaurants in the city. The service is exceptional in this family run restaurant, mostly staffed by native Nepali who can explain what’s on the menu. Ever since eating dal bhat (lentils & rice) everyday for a month in Nepal, I have considered it to be healthy and hearty comfort food. The Himalayan makes a good dal, but it wasn’t what I originally expected. Its consistency is on the watery side like a soup. I always thought it was supposed to be like a stew or porridge. Not really a bad thing, it still tasted great. Now if only I could make this stuff properly at home.

Summary

I am glad to see another ethnic eatery getting its sh*t together and share its culinary offerings with the rest of Calgary. Although I was disappointed with my own dish, I really enjoyed the two vegetarian options that Kent had ordered. There are far too many options to choose from to visit this place only once. Although this is contrary to my own personal philosophy, the Himalayan might just be the one place that I could see myself visiting again. The friendly and knowledgeable server also helped. In short, this is a great date or family outing place that shouldn’t be missed.

Peace out.

-Kiran

Ranking

	Kiran	Kent	Richard
Ambiance	4.5/6	5/6	5/6
Service	4.5/6	5/6	5.5/6
Plating	4/6	4.5/6	5/6
Authenticity	6/6	5.5/6	5/6
Taste	5/6	5.5/6	4.5/6
Value	5/6	4.5/6	4/6
Overall	29/36 = 80.5%	30/36 = 83.3%	29/36 = 80.5%