A rebuke to those who’d paint a whole continent as a monolith of despair, or Islam as something to be feared, Senegal turns simple-minded assumptions and prejudice on their heads at every turn.
By the numbers
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1960
Year Senegal declared independence from French colonial rule
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6,000
Distance (in miles) of the annual Paris-Dakar Rally, now held in South America
Fact
Senegal’s population is more than 90% Muslim, but the nation’s first elected president after its independence from French colonial rule, Léopold Sédar Senghor, was a Catholic.
Eats
Jardins de L’Amitié
Allées Seydou Nourou TALL N° 4011
221-33-824-86-93
Bazoff
Sicap Rue 10
+221-77-274-82-92
What Bourdain ate: Beef mafe served with rice
Dibiterie Le Mbotté
Rue 6 X 11, Medina
+221 33 822 13 88
What Bourdain ate: Dibi, roasted meat served on paper with grilled onions and mustard
Huitres de Sokone
Plage de la Pointe des Almadies
+221-77-803-46-29
What Bourdain ate: Clams, sea urchins and thiof fish
Marché Kermel
Rue de Essarts
Senegal has famously delicious food—flavors, and, often, ingredients that should be eerily familiar to any fan of Southern cooking.
Sidekicks
Youssou N’Dour: Iconic musician and Senegal’s former tourism minister.
Pierre Thiam: Renowned chef and cookbook author.
Djily Bagdad: Hip-hop artist.
Oumy N’Dour: Journalist.
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton: NPR West Africa correspondent.
Jean Hazard: Paris-Dakar Rally racer.
Lingo
Thiof: Senegal’s signature fish.
Beef Mafe: Stew thickened with ground peanuts.
Thiebou Jenn: Rice with fish; Senegal’s national dish.
Dibi: Roasted meat served on paper with grilled onions and mustard; essential Senegalese street food.
Dibiterie: A place that serves dibi.
“God is great”: An expression used when there’s no solution to a problem.
