Africana Restaurant & Lounge
A healthy African cuisine
A healthy African cuisine
A distinctive feature of East African cuisine, according to Ouattara, is its naturally healthy nature. “The dishes are naturally healthy,” Ouattara said. “Let’s
say when you take the fufu. The fufu is like pounded yam. And the pounded yam we have comes basically right from Western Africa. And it is coming right from
the ground. There are no additions, no chemicals, nothing. Couscous and cassava are the same thing. So the food is actually earthy. And 99 percent of what
we cook has onions and tomatoes blended into them so you don’t necessarily see it, but you get that portion of your daily nutritional diet that you need.”
Africana has a broad array of meat and vegetarian dishes. “My first specialty is the peanut butter soup,” Ouattara said. “It’s called maffe. It’s cooked with
creamy peanut butter. When we say that, people think of peanut butter and jelly and bread. But it’s completely different. The peanut butter is cooked with
onions and tomatoes and spices. It’s excellent. That’s what we sell the most of. People love it over rice. We cook for vegetarians and meat lovers. We use beef,
a lot of chicken, goat and lamb. We also have Kedjenou, which is only an Ivorian dish. It’s tomato soup with juicy chicken. It comes with rice. And we have
yassa, which is the Senegalese best dish. The chicken is marinated in lemon overnight. It has an excellent flavor. It is excellent.”
And if it’s a sweet that you need, there is alloco, fried plantain. “They are some of the best,” Ouattara proclaimed. “It’s like having a piece of cake. We use
sweet, plump banana plantains. People like it.”
How can one tell that Ouattara’s cuisine is authentic? Well, ask the members of Orchestra Baobab, which played at the Barrymore Theater and Africana
sent some food over for the band members to eat. “Afterwards, some of the members stopped by to say hello,” Ouattara said. “They were really happy because
that is what they eat back home. They were so surprised and amazed.“
After the kitchen closes at 10:30 p.m., Africana stays open because it is also a lounge serving up a wide variety of martinis and other exotic drinks. A DJ
spins Latin and African music and Ladies Night features 2 for 1 rail drink specials.
Africana Restaurant & Lounge, 2701 Atwood Avenue, is open Tuesday-Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m. Visit their website, www.africarestolounge.com for a
complete menu and other information or call 204-9999.
say when you take the fufu. The fufu is like pounded yam. And the pounded yam we have comes basically right from Western Africa. And it is coming right from
the ground. There are no additions, no chemicals, nothing. Couscous and cassava are the same thing. So the food is actually earthy. And 99 percent of what
we cook has onions and tomatoes blended into them so you don’t necessarily see it, but you get that portion of your daily nutritional diet that you need.”
Africana has a broad array of meat and vegetarian dishes. “My first specialty is the peanut butter soup,” Ouattara said. “It’s called maffe. It’s cooked with
creamy peanut butter. When we say that, people think of peanut butter and jelly and bread. But it’s completely different. The peanut butter is cooked with
onions and tomatoes and spices. It’s excellent. That’s what we sell the most of. People love it over rice. We cook for vegetarians and meat lovers. We use beef,
a lot of chicken, goat and lamb. We also have Kedjenou, which is only an Ivorian dish. It’s tomato soup with juicy chicken. It comes with rice. And we have
yassa, which is the Senegalese best dish. The chicken is marinated in lemon overnight. It has an excellent flavor. It is excellent.”
And if it’s a sweet that you need, there is alloco, fried plantain. “They are some of the best,” Ouattara proclaimed. “It’s like having a piece of cake. We use
sweet, plump banana plantains. People like it.”
How can one tell that Ouattara’s cuisine is authentic? Well, ask the members of Orchestra Baobab, which played at the Barrymore Theater and Africana
sent some food over for the band members to eat. “Afterwards, some of the members stopped by to say hello,” Ouattara said. “They were really happy because
that is what they eat back home. They were so surprised and amazed.“
After the kitchen closes at 10:30 p.m., Africana stays open because it is also a lounge serving up a wide variety of martinis and other exotic drinks. A DJ
spins Latin and African music and Ladies Night features 2 for 1 rail drink specials.
Africana Restaurant & Lounge, 2701 Atwood Avenue, is open Tuesday-Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m. Visit their website, www.africarestolounge.com for a
complete menu and other information or call 204-9999.
By Jonathan Gramling
Yul Ouattara learned a lot from watching his father, a successful restaurateur and businessman in the Ivory
Coast, which is located in West Africa. As the first child, Ouattara was expected to help out.
Eventually Ouattara came to the U.S. and studied information technology. He received a degree in IT from the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and landed a job at TomoTherapy on Madison’s west side. But he never
forgot the joy his father got from owning his own business.
And Ouattara noticed that there was a dearth of African cuisine in Madison and none representing his
beloved West Africa. He sought the advice of a friend on where to open a West African restaurant. He was
advised to open it downtown or on the east side. A spot opened on Atwood Avenue and Ouattara jumped at the
chance to open the Africana Restaurant & Lounge, which made its debut June 5.
So far, Ouattara is glad he took his friends advice. A steady stream of “adventurous” east siders and others
have been flowing through the attractive restaurant decorated in an African motif. And they have found a
distinctive African taste different than Buraka, which has its roots in East African cuisine.
Yul Ouattara learned a lot from watching his father, a successful restaurateur and businessman in the Ivory
Coast, which is located in West Africa. As the first child, Ouattara was expected to help out.
Eventually Ouattara came to the U.S. and studied information technology. He received a degree in IT from the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and landed a job at TomoTherapy on Madison’s west side. But he never
forgot the joy his father got from owning his own business.
And Ouattara noticed that there was a dearth of African cuisine in Madison and none representing his
beloved West Africa. He sought the advice of a friend on where to open a West African restaurant. He was
advised to open it downtown or on the east side. A spot opened on Atwood Avenue and Ouattara jumped at the
chance to open the Africana Restaurant & Lounge, which made its debut June 5.
So far, Ouattara is glad he took his friends advice. A steady stream of “adventurous” east siders and others
have been flowing through the attractive restaurant decorated in an African motif. And they have found a
distinctive African taste different than Buraka, which has its roots in East African cuisine.
Yul Ouattara started the Africana Restaurant
& Lounge in june.
& Lounge in june.