Bolat African Cuisine

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  So, I spent a semester of college in Ghana and, not surprisingly, have a deep love for West African food as a result.  This particular branch of the Bolat chain of African eateries on the North Side didn't disappoint.  If you you are looking for fancy, you will be disappointed; my experience involved going to the food line and ordering what I wanted (in this case, jollof rice and chicken), being served my food, paying, and then taking into my seat, cafeteria style.  If that's off putting, then this is not the place for you...nor is West Africa.
  
  The food itself was lovely.  The jollof rice tasted as authentic; the slightly spicy, slightly herby taste took me right back to so many meals in Accra. The chicken, too, was true to form: a little stringy by my preferred standards, but still good, and simmered in a GREAT spicy tomato sauce...make sure the sauce gets mingled with the rice!  The rest of the menu was very true to form for a Ghanaian or Nigerian restaurant; I didn't see any sort of groundnut stew, which is a travesty, but so it goes.
  
  My sole complaint would be the service; since there's no wait staff checking on the tables, you're left to fend for yourself once you get your food.  On top of that, the staff on the food line was not super chatty or helpful; they seem to operate on the assumption that you know what you're doing...which with African food in Chicago is not necessarily a safe bet.
  
  On the whole, though, this is a solid place for a quick meal, esp. if you're already familiar with West African fare and need a fix.

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  Posted on 02.21.12 Kevin B.

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  Jerk Chicken = $14 for 1 (ONE) ... just a single chicken leg.  The quality: ok.  Didn't taste like a $14 chicken leg to me.
  
  Ox Tail = $7 for a vertebra.... to be clear, that's one bone, with a little bit of meat on it, mostly bone.  Typically you get a few bones so that you can get some meat.
  
  Delivery + Tax + Tip + Bones = $33.17
  
  We got some rice too.
  
  Order from here, and you will starve... even if you eat like a bird. (I eat like a mongoose... sounds like a lot, but I promise you, mongooses would starve eating this rip).

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  Posted on 01.31.12 Robert T.

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  The food here is extraordinary (jollof rice, fried rice, fried fish, moi-moi, etc).
  
  You will wait 3 hours to receive it.
  
  You decide.

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  Posted on 01.03.12 Missy J.

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  Well, I had a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon for Bolat, searched it on my trusty iPhone, and never cross-referenced the address that popped up with the address on the coupon.  Oops :) We were led to Broadway, and entered Bolat, one of apparently a few in Chicago.  The heat was out, but the food was still warm... it is in a cafeteria-style case and it was all fogged up.  This EXTREMELY nice guy behind the counter who was hilarious explained all of the different food to us since we were new there.  We were trying to spend $35 so we could get $25 off, so we ordered 3 bags worth of food.  :)
  
  the goods:
  tilapia in tasty red sauce
  fried plantains (love them in Panama, Guatemala, and apparently the Ghanian version as well!)
  the beans
  the veggie rice, which was also a but spicy
  
  the not so goods
  the dough ball that you're supposed to pinch and dip in the sauce was disappointing
  the yams-- meh. boring.
  the vegetarian thing with crushed up mango seed.
  the jerk chicken
  
  the people there were really nice, and made us feel welcome even though it was FREEZING in there.  After our kind explainer and packer added up our total (all of this, plus a few freebies he added in all for $37) I found out that this actually was not the place the my coupon was good at.  Shoot!  The food was overall good, I felt like I was branching out from my usual area and food type, so I gave it 3 stars.  If you have the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon, don't come to the one one Broadway!  :)

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  Posted on 12.10.10 Laura C.

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