Monthly Archives: February 2023

I Went to Wakanda, There Was No Vibranium

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If you don’t get the title that’s ok, it just means you’re not a Marvel nerd.

The mission Saturday was to find an African restaurant for the blog and hit the road. Turns out the closest one I could find on Google or Yelp was the Wakanda Lounge in Greenville, SC. It was a 50 mile one way drive but the next closest was in Atlanta at 90ish miles away so to Greenville I went.

It was a gloomy grey drizzly day so the drive wasn’t spectacular. I took the interstate to get it over faster rather than the more scenic route that would have acquainted me better with the upstate of SC. Next time I’ll go rural.

Wakanda Lounge is in a little strip shopping area with a couple of other restaurants and it anchors one end so there’s plenty of parking. I got there right after they opened so there was no crowd. It is a fairly good sized place with a bar and 20 or more tables to seat diners / patrons. There is also a stage or a very small dance floor in the center of the main floor. The server was just firing up the smooth jazz background music when I walked in. He waved at the tables telling me to pick my spot while he went off to get a menu.

As we chatted it was obvious he wasn’t from around here, which made me feel like my chances for some authentic food were good. I’ll finish with the ambiance before getting to my food choices. The walls have murals of African villages painted in a sort of stylized manner. The chairs are all covered with black cloth chair covers and the place was very clean. The patrons that came in while I was there were all picking up or placing take out orders except for the guy and his wife who came in to decorate several tables for a birthday part later. They too weren’t SC natives as they were speaking an African French with one of the ladies who worked in the kitchen that they obviously knew well. More good signs for authenticity.

I played it sort of safe and got the jollof rice with goat. Jollof rice I’d had before and knew I liked at least one version of it. You can get it with no meat or tilapia as well as goat and even the goat could be fried or goat stew. I went with fried. As you can see there were some fried plantains on the side and a nice batch of multicolored bell peppers with the rice and goat. The goat was well fried, to the point that the fat was a little crispy and it was lightly seasoned. In fact the whole dish didn’t have strong flavors that punched you but just a really nice melding of flavors that was quite delicious. Often goat can be gamey but this was just rich with goaty goodness. The portion was generous so I left very sated and with dinner for the evening in hand.

No it wasn’t lunch leftovers. I decided to get some peanut soup and fufu to bring home. I got the small because I didn’t expect to be very hungry after the big lunch and it was a smart move. The peanut soup was tasty but I honestly think they should have spiced it up with some heat to make it better. I will also say the soup to chicken ratio was very favorable. The chicken tasted grilled and the peanut soup was properly peanutty. It made for a great dipping sauce for the fufu.

What the heck is fufu, you say? Well it’s a starchy dish made from one or more of several things. Traditionally from cassava it is now acceptable to make it from other starchy foods. The consistency is somewhere between paste and playdough. The flavor is neutral so it goes with anything. It is really just a carb delivery system that’s fun to play with if you don’t mind getting your hands on your food.

It was a trip worth taking and I’m glad I made the drive even if there were no super heroes or vibranium in this Wakanda.

ISO Good

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Well this post was supposed to be a quick one, but not so much.

Earlier in the week I wanted some noodles and decided I’d go to a relatively new spot just up the road from the office, ISO ISO Ramen & Boba.

One of the first things you notice when you walk in are the two big tablets set up in the front. This is how you order. I’d been once before so I knew the drill but they have an employee behind a counter to help you navigate the process if you need it. Another thing you notice pretty quickly, assuming it’s not out roaming around, is the roomba on steroids.

It’s a robot delivery system. How they choose when it is used I’m not sure as both times I’ve been my food was delivered by a flesh and blood server. I think it may only be delivering boba since they have lids and aren’t likely to spill. I didn’t pay that much attention since it didn’t come my way.

As I mentioned I’d been before and I got a rice bowl that time. The presentation was nice and it was certainly colorful but honestly it was just ok. I told a coworker that if I went back it would only be to try the ramen.

And that is exactly what I did. I got their namesake dish the ISO ISO ramen.

It wasn’t as visually appealing as the rice bowl but it was, to me, much more flavorful. You can’t see the noodles because they are waiting to be fished from the depths of the bowl with either fork or chopsticks. I opted to spoon up some of the spicy broth first and then alternate between chopsticks and spoon. The egg gives you some sense of scale on the diameter but the bowl was quite deep too so this was a lot of ramen. It was also no joke in the spice department. I was literally sweating and the old nose was running after a few minutes. My lips were still burning a little when I got back to work so it was properly spiced.

Honestly I was feeling kind of wimpy as I was contemplating leaving it unfinished because there was so much. When I saw the 6″ 300 plus pounder who was there with his daughter tap out and not finish his I didn’t feel too bad leaving a few noodles in the bowl. It was flavorful and filling and got the endorphins pumping so yeah I’ll go back. Also even though you order and pay using a tablet the employees were very friendly. If you’re in Seneca / Clemson and have a yen for ramen check them out.