Thursday, June 11, 2015
Downtown St. Paul can be an unforgiving place for a street-level, lunch-type restaurant.
Even the uber-popular chain Jimmy Johns abandoned its post on the pedestrian-friendly mall of West Seventh Place for a prime skyway-accessible counter.
That space housed the very short-lived Tacos, Nachos and Beer, and when we heard that Afro Deli was coming to town, we rejoiced but also held our breath, hoping downtown workers would embrace it.
Imagine our surprise, nearly four months after its opening, when we visited the deli (the first location is near the University of Minnesota's West Bank in Minneapolis) on a warm spring day, and it was busy. Not just the usual lunch-rush busy, either, but wait-for-a-table busy.
Afro Deli's Chicken Fantastic is truly fantastic. (Pioneer Press: Jess Fleming)
It seems downtown workers have not only discovered the spot but also can't get enough of the African spices and tender halal meats being served.
We tried a smattering of dishes from the menu -- which is somewhat abbreviated from the one at the Minneapolis location -- and there wasn't a bad dish in the bunch.
Though portions are generous, we have to recommend starting lunch with vegetable or beef sambusa ($1.49 for one, $3.99 for three). That they sell the sambusa singly is a great option for those ordering take-out or solo diners -- you don't have to have friends to share with in order to have a delicious start to your meal. The fried dumplings are stuffed with either spiced lentils or beef and come with a basbas, a fresh, herbal Somali dipping sauce.
If you try only one thing on the Afro Deli menu, it should be the Chicken Fantastic ($7.29 small/$8.99 large), which is an African take on curry. The spices are warm and earthy and the sauce creamy and smooth. Served on a bed of fluffy saffron rice, it's soul-soothing and taste-bud-awakening.
Beyond that, the spicy, tender Somali steak sandwich ($5.99) is a great deal, especially because it comes with the restaurant's delicious fries.
The Afro Steak Dinner ($7.49 small/$8.99 large) is also worth a try. The spices are more muted in this dish, which has a very tomato- forward sauce.
If you're on the go, a Chapati Wrap ($7.99) is a great choice. Like a burrito made with African flatbread, the chicken version we tried was surprisingly spicy and utterly delicious.
Don't expect all the chicken or steak items on the menu to be different preparations of the same meat, either. Everything we tried was refreshingly different.
And if you're a fan of sweet chai tea, definitely order a cup of the Somali sweet spiced tea ($1.49 for 12 ounces). It's sweet, heavily spiced and a great midday pick-me-up.