Badou Senegalese Cuisine — Restaurant in Rogers Park Township

I cannot describe the extraordinary experience we had tonight. Thank you Badou and Paula for such a wonderful experience. You made us feel like we were long-time friends, and yet we had just met.

We called the day before to make reservations. We mentioned two dishes that were not on the regular menu, and without hesitation Badou told us he would make them for us. Just for us. Wow! We arrived and he was ready with the two dishes and said he would make whatever else we wanted. He had made the curry goat stew which was outstanding, and the mafe lamb which was exceptional. Two in our party liked the goat dish best, and the other two the lamb. He also prepared the national dish, but with jerk chicken instead of fish which was phenomenal. Our fourth dish was the yassa chicken which was also fantastic. And I cannot forget the pastels which are perfect savory pastries filled with chicken sautéed in tomatoes and onions and served with a tomato sauce. These were some of the most perfectly fried appetizers we have ever had.

The mafe lamb was outstanding with an aromatic peanut sauce that was divine. I love rama chicken in Thai cuisine, and this was as good as the best I've ever had in that cuisine, if not better. There's a difference, but a familiarity as well. The curry goat had a subtle curry flavor which was delicious. I wish I were able to describe these flavors better. The jerk chicken with the national dish was an awesome suggestion by Badou. Please follow his and Paula's lead as you discuss the menu. They helped us pick just the right dishes, and Badou asked us about our tolerance for heat and served the perfect amount of heat in his flavorful dishes.

Overall, this was a great experience. It was BYOB, but we also had the bissap hibiscus drink which was delicious. We could not ask for better hosts. Badou, who was leaving for Senegal the next morning, and Paula, who is perfection, were simply wonderful. We felt so special.

We cannot wait...

We cannot say enough great things about the service and food. I learned about Badou through a Timeout Chicago article promoting different NYE restaurants to order from. The restaurant reviews were great and I was very interested in trying Senegalese food for the first time.

After seeing I could order online, we placed an order for four items. Long story short, when we arrived to pick up the order this evening, the restaurant appeared closed. It turned out the 3rd party ordering system hadn't updated the restaurant's hours for the day and they were in fact closed, HOWEVER with the help of the small business owner next to the restaurant, they contacted the owners of the restaurant and then the owners of Badou said they would complete our order!!! What?! It was over and beyond! I was shocked and extremely appreciative, but I also shared with them it wasn't necessary if they were closed. They insisted they would make the food for us if we were okay waiting just 30 minutes.

We waited 30 minutes with no problem and then they called when it was ready. I later learned they had a big catering job that evening/tonight and so was even more grateful and surprised that they were willing to fulfill our order.

The food did NOT disappoint and was the perfect way to end 2021 and say hello to 2022!

I will 100% be revisiting Badou, and will just make sure I call the restaurant in the future to confirm our online order came through.

ALSO, the online ordering company they use is very helpful. The online ordering company was quick to respond when I emailed to see what happened with our order. They originally refunded our credit card, but once we received our food, I emailed them back to ensure that our credit card was recharged. I will also call tomorrow to make sure that the restaurant did in fact get paid for our food order.

5 stars...

Takeaway: Strong flavors, perfectly cooked meat, and reasonable prices combine for an incredible dining experience

Context: Dined in for dinner with a friend. I effectively have no experience with West African food and especially with Senegalese cuisine

What I Got:

Pataya (8.5/10) Perfectly flaky (and so hot) pastry dough filled with spiced chicken, tomatoes, and onions. The stand-out part of this dish, which reminds me a lot of an empanada, is just how great the crust / dough is. You can tell it was freshly baked (fried?) and that made a massive difference. The filling was also great - despite it being a more "wet" mix due to the tomatoes, it held up really well, likely due to it being freshly made. I would go back just to eat more of these.

Diby Yaap (8.5/10) Spiced grilled lamb, onions, & carrots over saffron rice. Everything was basically seasoned perfectly here and want to call out the lamb specifically for also being just the right amount of tender. Saffron rice was great with the rice at an ideal texture - not too mushy and not too hard. This was the spiciest dish we got, but definitely not anything crazy. My only complaint is that I wish there was more of it!

Jerk Chicken with Jollof Rice (7.5/10) Jerk chicken paired with jollof rice, plantains, cabbage, & carrots. My favorite part of this dish were the vegetables - the plantains, carrots, and especially the cabbage could be a standalone dish - as with everything else, perfectly seasoned and cooked. My main complaint, if you'd call it that, here was with the jerk chicken. Don't get me wrong, it was still great and cooked / seasoned well, but maybe pales a bit in comparison both to the other dishes I tried as well as some of the more dedicated Jamaican...