Food

Obviously I should start with the fish. The fish is so good here, caught hours before you buy it. They have Lady Fish, cousin to the Tarpon found in America, a thin, delicate white fish that is usually fried in a pan with an oil sauce. They use a lot of oil in Gambia. Then there is Butter Fish a small flounderesque shaped fish that is used pretty much interchangeably with Butter Fish as the two are cheaper fish compared to the wonderful Barracuda. A strong swimming big boy that has a tuna like texture, barracuda is so good. I like it with just a little lemon or like they make it at this one place called Sailors that fries them with a breading. I’m going to try smoking it in the near future. There will be more to come on fish as I plan to cook it often. Shrimp is also abundant here, we made it last week. We had to cut the heads off and peel them, then deturd them, and then wash and cook them. They were fantastic. Carolyn made a delicious oil and lemon sauce and we fried the shrimp with ham squeezings and oil, combined it with bits of ham, pasta and veggies and then her sauce. When we cook we always make really great food. I made French Tapalapa again and it was even better than before.

The main local food is Benachin, which you make with anything you have around cooked with rice and seasonings in a real big pan, about 2 to 3 feet in diameter over a fire. Fish heads, minced meat (ground beef) chicken, anything and everything. Then everybody just sits around and eats it right out of the pan. It’s really good. Then there is Chicken Yassa, Sometimes served as Fish Yassa. It’s an onion based sauce over grilled chicken. Yassa is my favorite local dish. Afra is meat on a stick that Carolyn likes however, I haven’t worked up the courage to eat it yet. There is some other local food but those are the main ones. And of course my Tapalapa from across the street.

Foreigners have brought a great deal of food along with them. There are Lebanese places and several high quality Indian places. As well as a pizza joint or two. Pretty much everything in the tourist areas serves the same stuff with their twists to it. Some places are much better than others. This being a tourist area for mostly the Gambia’s former colonial power, Great Britain, means everything is served with chips (French Fries (Freedom Fries)), which is nice because I wholly enjoy the fried potato. And of course there is the Traditional English Breakfast, so named because it is always the same; fried eggs, bacon (fried ham NOT bacon), sausage link, fried tomato, and baked beans. I had it in Manchester, on the plane and here last year. Hold the beans if you don’t mind, old boy.

Cheers

-BBB