Detroit, MI — As I start this adventure recap, I’d be remiss to own the fact that a blog post for Baobab Fare is long overdue, and that’s on me!
I’ve adventured to Baobab Fare numerous times and shared the story of husband-and-wife co-owners Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere in previous adventures, and covered for my previous news station when I worked as a journalist. The beloved restaurant at the southeast corner of Woodward Avenue and E. Grand Boulevard is established with bold wording alongside the windows that run east/west and north/south. It’s both a culinary and cultural destination; a sharing of cuisine, family, and community with Metro Detroit.
Hamissi and his wife have a very inspiring story. Both immigrated to the United States from Africa and established Baobab Fare after participating in several pop-ups serving dishes from Burundi and introducing East African cuisine to Detroit. After opening, Hamissi got an extraordinary opportunity to represent Detroit on Food Network’s “Chopped!” in March 2023, which he won!
Not only did he help shine an extra spotlight on Detroit’s burgeoning food scene, but it’s what Hamissi decided to do with his $10,000 winnings that caught my journalist (with an affinity for food) attention at the time. Upon winning, Hamissi announced that he planned to split the winnings and donate it to two local organizations that held a special place in his heart: Freedom House Detroit and Burundi Kids.
Freedom House Detroit was an integral community resource for Hamissi and his family when they started their new life in Michigan. The nonprofit based in Detroit is dedicated to helping asylum seekers and those who face persecution and even provide temporary housing. Several programs and services are offered along the way to help people get established; like transitioning to independent housing and legal aid. Hamissi dedicating his winnings to help his local community and the organizations that helped him really inspired me and led to me reaching out and putting together a story about his journey.
Fast forward three years (oh my, how time flies), and I was approaching Baobab Fare to meet my former colleague (but still current Foodie-at-Arms), Juan, for lunch. It had been a month since I had left my previous job and the news industry altogether but even longer since I had been to Baobab Fare, so I was excited to catch up with Juan and enjoy some top-tier food!
Juan and I updated one another with the latest happenings in our lives, including my recent life changes from leaving the news industry and moving to Ferndale. When it came to ordering, we decided to kick things off with an order of plantains for an appetizer. I decided to order the Kumuhana, which means compassion, while Juan ordered the Mhogo, which is only available on Wednesdays.
The Food
As always, the grilled plantains at Baobab Fare came out perfect. Juan and I made quick work of the plate, continuing to briefly chat between mouthfuls of mushy sweetness. After a few minutes, our entrées followed suit arriving at our table still steaming. The aromatics from my plate filled my senses and stomach with joy. The Kumuhana comes served with grill-roasted marinated chicken topped with onion, garlic, and lemon. The dish includes a fresh corn salad, but I was feeling extra adventurous that day and decided to split the bowl with spicy rice pilau. The plate also comes with fried plantains and stewed yellow beans.
I immediately forked a plantain into my mouth and chomped away. There was an immediate rush of soft, sugary sweetness to my taste buds. The plantains were grilled perfectly in-step with their ripeness, yielding an ideal chewy yet delicate composition. I wolfed a second plantain down without hesitation, revealing an ideal scoop range to sample the fresh corn salad below. I capitalized on the now accessible selection and seized a hearty scoop. I was surprised by how delicious yet simple this salad was and a shout out to the dressing for being a remarkable contributing factor. It really was bright and fresh in its flavors, with the dressing really bringing it home to this side.
I moved onto the spicy rice pilau to see how the other side would fare in comparison, and it was quite the fiery contrast but just as delicious. Where the corn salad was cool and refreshing, the rice pilau had a commanding heat presence, with other, more subtle seasonings and flavors. The tender pieces of rice had a nice dry rub type of heat, with a hint of smokiness to it. As someone who loves spicy food, I enjoyed the controlled punch delivered by the heat. The back-end heat lingered a little bit, but the medium-hot spice level was more than manageable and very enjoyable. I ate about half the rice and decided to try the stewed yellow beans next — saving the tantalizing marinated grilled chicken for last.
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The beans were yet another side in a league of its own. This dish is popular in East African cuisine, and I was a big fan! I loved the consistency of the stewed beans, which were as soft as marshmallows on the outside but mushy and slightly sweet on the inside. The deep savory flavors from the creamy stewed sauce saturating the beans were also notable, so I made sure to scoop and enjoy every bite of the stewed yellow beans!
And last, but certainly not least.. the chicken was a scene-stealer! Even after all the wonderful things I can say about the other foods on the plate, this chicken is a must-try reason to order the Kumuhana. The marinade perfectly encased every part of the chicken and seared in nicely as it was grilled. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, with a huge chunk falling off the leg when I grabbed and pulled it away from the other half. The chicken was very soft and essentially melted in my mouth, with a massive range of flavors exploding off like fireworks during the Fourth of July. The marinade and the seasonings for the chicken were top tier, it was grilled and roasted perfectly and arguably the best meal that I’ve had at Baobab Fare.
I’m elated whenever I dine at Baobab Fare because every visit I try a new dish, and I’ve loved every dish that I’ve tried! This most recent trip was no exception with that Kumuhana standing out above an already stacked menu lineup. My adventures to this fine eatery consistently leave me with a more refined palate, but also a unique culinary and cultural experience hard to find anywhere else in Michigan.
The food that you’ll enjoy at Baobab Fare makes it a one-of-a-kind culinary adventure you need to experience. Not only is the food absolutely delicious and pack a plethora of flavors, but the small business owners are pretty awesome and their mission to give and invest within their community is even more inspiring and worthy of local support. Investing in local businesses that invest back in their communities is important; it’s people helping people, which builds and helps even more along the way. The next time you’re thinking about trying something new, strongly consider adventuring to Baobab Fare in Detroit.
For more information about Baobab Fare, or to peruse the menu, click here.
MI Foodie Adventures 