A food adventure.

This evening Jim & Mary took us to a new restaurant in Rockland, Me Lon Togo which features the cuisine of West Africa, specifically Togo. It is located in a old house, and it was great - not crowded, relatively quiet, nicely paced service - and best of all, delicious food. It was a four-course meal. You could choose between two appetizers, and among many entrees. Salad and dessert were fixed. It took us three hours to eat the entire meal. The portions, however, were very reasonable, so I do not feel stuffed. Ellen and I shared these two appetizers: Dje & Amada: Sweet potato and plantain cooked in a sauce made with tomato, onion, apple cider vinegar, and cayenne pepper. Garu Fotu: Manioc grits, smoked ground shrimp, and fried egg cooked in a sauce made of reduced tomato purée and a west african blend of herbs and spices We all had this salad: Mé Lon Togo Salad: Chickpeas, hard-boiled egg, tomato, peas, red onion, salt, pepper, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. For entree, Ellen had Azi Dessi: Tender chicken served with sauce made from fresh hand-ground peanuts, tomato, onion, garlic, ginger, anise seed, and cayenne pepper, served over white rice. Jim had Deku Dessi: Beef, Chicken, or West African aubergene, cooked in a West African blend of herbs and spices, and red palm nut, which has a flavor similar to curry spice. Mary had West African Jollof Rice: Chicken, beef, shrimp, and rice cooked in a rich, tomato based sauce with a flavorful blend of savory herbs and spices. I had Moroccan Tagine chicken: Tender, bone-in chicken stewed in a blend of garlic, onion, green olives, cilantro, parsley, paprika, cumin, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, and raisins, served over saffron couscous. For dessert we had Tapioca Pudding: West African tapioca pudding cooked in a lemongrass broth with your choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Mary and I had vanilla, Jim and Ellen had chocolate. It was all really good. My dish was very flavorful, the chicken was incredibly tender, and there was a little surprise not in the menu: roasted whole almonds. Here are some photos from dessert time: