"I'm an aspiring vegan, but my partner isn't, so to win him over, we ordered the Shokouya Cancanan chicken. The half chicken was accompanied by wonderfully grilled onions and tomatoes and presented a generous serving of well-seasoned, juicy, fresh, and perfectly cooked chicken. I appreciate that they only use what I like to call 'happy chicken'—cage-free, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free—which eased my hesitation about eating meat.
The side dishes were just as I remembered: attieke, a fantastic couscous-like dish made from ground, fermented, and steamed cassava, was tangy, springy, and felt familiar in my hands. Yes, the traditional way to enjoy attieke is to take a small handful with your right hand, form it into a ball, and dip it into a sauce or enjoy it with a piece of tender chicken. The taste and texture are truly unique.
We also had the alloko, a generous portion of fried sweet plantains. In Côte d'Ivoire, these are typically enjoyed as street food, best consumed after a hot day while walking with a friend to enjoy the evening air. A street vendor would serve them wrapped in newspaper, paired with a spicy paste made from fermented dried fish, chili pepper, oil, and the ubiquitous Cube Maggi. The combination of sweet, spicy, and umami flavors made my toes curl just like it did 20 years ago! At Alloko Garden, you can experience some of that magic with their alloko. Each chef has their own recipe for the accompanying sauce, and I suspect Monsieur Tohouri, the proprietor, uses less heat and fish and more natural ingredients than the MSG-heavy Cube Maggi we're used to in Oakland. This healthier version certainly gets the idea across, and my partner, who was new to alloko, understood how delicious it was.
We both appreciated that, instead of plastic, the alloko and attieke came in a biodegradable paper box. Since Mr. Tohouri was temporarily out of one dish I wanted to try, he generously added a dish called fonio arancini, which are similar to hush puppies made from a grain I hadn’t encountered in my village, fonio. Even 20 minutes after picking up from the storefront in Jingletown, the fonio arancini were still delicious—crispy on the outside and warm and almost pudding-like on the inside, filled with a savory umami flavor from the cheese blended into the dough, along with a delightful dipping sauce.
I read in an article on Berkeleyside that Monsieur Tohouri is interested in boosting the economic prospects in Côte d'Ivoire, with the first step being to create market demand. I wholeheartedly support this initiative! Even though we were famished after a four-hour bike ride, both my partner and I were fully satisfied after our meal. I know this will be the first of many visits to this restaurant. I feel extremely fortunate to have an authentic source of Ivorian cuisine in my neighborhood, with a focus on the health of our food systems, the planet, and the people involved in producing and enjoying the meals.
I opted for takeout because I’ve heard that restaurants lose about 40% of their revenue to delivery services like Uber Eats and Grubhub. Given the generous portions and fair prices, it was important to support the restaurant directly."
