Out of Africa

Though I have been to the Danforth and Donlands area, it was usually for dinner parties. So on Saturday, I decided to walk around the neighbourhood. There was a good mix of restaurants and other stores along this stretch of Danforth. But there wasn't actually a lot of foot traffic. I claim that this was due to the fact that the street was too wide. It felt more like a thoroughfare than as an area for strolling around.

I finally stopped at Le Plato, a restaurant serving West African food, that opened last year. Unfortunately, being located in the basement, you can't really see it. Even the sign is tucked away above the stairwell. In addition, it was hidden around the corner at the bottom so the first thing you see is a boarded up store.

Inside, the restaurant was small and cozy, though the lighting was perhaps too dim. As West Africa had primarily French colonies, the menu was in "la belle langue". The server also spoke fluent French so feel free to practice yours with him. For dinner, I ordered Makayabu ($10), a fish dish, with Jollof rice ($5) and Alloco ($5). While waiting, I also got a glass of Bissap ($2). The drink, made from hibiscus flowers, was fruity. The salted cod came grilled with onions and bell peppers and a mildly spiced sauce. Its saltiness wasn't too strong, though it definitely overwhelmed the sauce and veggies. The rice itself, from the one-pot-meal family of dishes, similar to paella and possibly the ancestor to jambalaya, was red and fragrant. It was on the dry side, so I found it was tastier to soften up the rice by mixing in the sauce and sautéed veggies. The Alloco, or fried plantain, was crisp and chewy. It was a delicious meal from an under-represented part of the world.