Thanks, David. And it did turn out to be open, I'm happy to say.
The owner is enthusiastically hospitable. When he learned that it was our first visit, he came and sat with us to talk about the food and answer questions. He also said, "You may have heard that our service is slow. Just wait and see. We have changed that. You will see how fast we are."
Well, he was right -- our appetizers were out in no time and our main courses were on their way to the table just as we took the last bite of the appetizers. So they've really gotten that issue handled.
The food was great. We started with nem, which is a kind of African egg roll filled with shrimp, ground beef, and vermicelli. You wrap the nem in a lettuce leaf. It was very crisp and wonderfully flavorful. The owner also brought us one fataya to try. This was described as a salmon pattie, but it turned out to be a small fried pastry filled with salmon. This was dipped in a flavorful hot sauce.
For drinks, we had ginger juice and baobab juice. I've seen baobabs before, but didn't know you could get any kind of juice from them, so I had to try that. The ginger juice was vividly zippy. The baobab was rich and seemed like a cross between a nut milk and a fruit juice. Both were great.
The yassa chicken was amazing: nicely charred, grilled, spiced chicken served with white rice and yassa sauce, a thick sauce of onions, lemon juice, spices, and other veggies. I would go back in a heartbeat for this dish. The second dish we tried, the Thiebou Djeun, was not my favorite, but only because it was a bit too fish for my tastes (I don't like fishy fish), but my friend loved it. It was a fish stuffed with herbs, fried, and served on a bed of the Djolof rice and accompanied by carrots, cabbage, and cassava (yuca, manioc), all of which had apparently been cooked in the same flavorful sauce that created the red rice. The vegetables and rice were absolutely wonderful.
It's clear that this is a real neighborhood/community place, as regulars kepts stopping in. People lingered long over their meals and conversations, and no one made any effort to move people along. It was very comfortable and amiable. As is common in many parts of the world, in restaurants where you are welcome to stay, you have to ask for the bill, as it will never be offered if you're still talking. It might look like they want you to leave.
I want to go back for more yassa, and there are several other dishes I want to try. As the owner said happily, "there are so many things, you cannot try them all at one -- you must just come back." I will -- despite the 42 mile drive.
If you're interested in a preview, their new menu is on their new website:
http://www.yassaafricanrestaurant.com/
The owner and his wife were both charming and eager to please, and both seemed younger than they looked on Check Please. The owner came out to emphasize again that, though they were initially overwhelmed, they have made adjustments, and they think they will be able to be more efficient. "It's not an easy business, running a restaurant." Well, that's true, but it seems like they're figuring out what it takes. I hope they do well.