The African Truck

It starts out simple (the day that is),

1. some robot texts me at 4:28a.m. with the exciting message, "Just saw a news story about a local mom making $250 a day.  That is such a lifesaver! Visithttp://bootychatter.com on your computer"
2. My nose ring gets yoinked out as I get dressed
3. I look fat in my sweater dress.

Enter Bolat African Truck's jollof rice, fish and "sauce".  

I take my styrofoam container to the dock and shove heap after heap of moist spicy rice into my mouth while mallards, tiny birds and seagulls gather 'round to watch and squawk at me. I feel like an African Mother Goose.

Everything cost $6 and I couldn't even finish the rice.  I will never purchase the fish again seeing as it is LACED with bones and therefore inedible.  However, next time I will purchase rice and beans and plantains with "sauce".  

There is no menu and there are no posted prices.  You just have to ask or know.  Here's what I *know* they serve:

-plain white rice
-bell peppers and jalapeno soup [super spicy and best poured over white rice]
-fufu [think moldable mashed potatoes, scoop up everything on your plate with it instead of using a fork if you dare]
-plantains
-fish [order by the piece, there aren't any fillets]
-goat
-black eyed peas
-sauce [spicey tomatoey perfection from the meat tray]

KNOW THIS:

The sauce and jollof can make it rain... from your armpits.  Don't mess around and eat jollof and sauce on a day when you forgot the Speedstick.  Things will not bode well for you socially.

If you are a little more adventurous, and don't mind eating food off the back of a truck, then give it a whirl.
There were a bunch of other sides and breads in the truck that I wanted to ask about, but there was a line of hungry cabbies forming behind me, so I just went with the goat and rice. It was a lot of food for $8. The rice was pretty good, the sauce was nice and spicy, the goat had good flavor but was pretty tough. I'd probably try it again, particularly from the Vee Vee's truck or Bolat. I'm not sure how much difference there is between them.

When I used to work in the loop a few years ago I would stop by the Vee Vee African Restaurant truck in downtown Chicago for the goat in curry with rice. It was great and a nice change to the traditional places to eat in the area. For only $7 you get a lot of food that I would would not be able to eat the entire portion. If you have trouble finding the truck, try and locate a cab in the area and ask for directions or better yet have them take you there to enjoy a tasty meal at the Vee Vee African Restaurant truck.

Todor Krecu
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