Cover image: Le Petit Dakar façade
© Entrée to Black Paris

Le Petit Dakar is only a five-minute walk from the Musée Picasso.

Tom and I dined there on Tuesday evening.

Arriving at 7 PM, we had the place to ourselves for almost a full hour. 

We enjoyed the artwork that graced the walls and reflected on the fact that many Paris restaurants hang and sell the work of contemporary artists.

Le Petit Dakar dining room
© Entrée to Black Paris

Our table
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The menu at Le Petit Dakar is simple and the portions are large. The only dish offered in two varieties is mafé, for which you can order the traditional beef version or a vegetarian version made with sweet potato.

I began the evening with a vodka bissap cocktail and was surprised to receive a glass of spiked hibiscus infusion as large and the one in which soft drinks are served.

Tom ordered a glass of bouye, a drink made from baobab fruit.  He found that it needed sugar.

Bouye and Bissap
© Entrée to Black Paris

As starters, I selected aloco (plantain) and Tom selected the entrée du jour, which consisted of a brochette of aloco, a beef-filled pastel (turnover), and a fish-filled pastel.

Aloco
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Entrée du jour
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Our waiter brought us a tiny bowl of pepper sauce, which he described as being assez fort (fairly hot).  The other server called out from behind the bar to say that it was très fort (very hot).  We found the latter to be the case.  The tiniest drop of this preparation packed a powerful punch!

Pepper sauce
© Entrée to Black Paris

For the main course, I ordered my favorite yassa (made with chicken) and a glass of a soft bissap to accompany it. 

Similar to Tom's experience with their bouye, Le Petit Dakar's bissap is not as sweet as what I've tasted at other establishments.

Yassa
© Entrée to Black Paris

Tom ordered farci, a red bell pepper stuffed with shredded cod and served with a tomato-y sauce.

Farci
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Both came with a massive mound of steamed rice.

The yassa did not include olives, which I prefer.  The chicken leg was massive, and I knew that I would take some of it home.

Tom enjoyed his farci, but could not finish it either.

Even though we only ate half of our main courses, we did not have room for dessert.

We asked the waitress for take-out boxes and happily took our leftovers home!

Le Petit Dakar
6, rue Elzevir
75003 Paris
Internet: https://www.lepetitdakar.com/

Read Part 1 of this Art and Food Pairing™ HERE.