Chez Dior, West African Cuisine from Various Countries in Hyattsville

[manolands]

Hey guys,

This is my first post and indeed my first food writing ever so hopefully I am doing this right! If you haven't been to Chez Dior yet it's quite good especially in this area where Ethiopian restaurants outnumber West African restaurants by a wide margin and finding good west african restaurants can be difficult. I've been a few times and can't recommend it enough if your in the area. They also have a few extended West Africa dishes in case your needing to get your Cameroonian fix or something. My fave dishes in the past have been the Ndolé, which is Cameroonian but still a popular dish in the region and put on many West African menus so don't be skeptical, also the Thieboudienne which could be called Senegal's national dish. A must have, especially for those who haven't had the cuisine before or are unfamiliar with West African food. Finally, the Yassa Chicken is a nice dish on the meat end. WHile I am not a Vegetarian I thought I would note note for Vegetarians: they do not have a Vegetarians menu yet but the owner tells me they are working on it.

[weezy]

I'm unfamiliar with these dishes.  Can you describe them a bit?  Thanks.

 

[DonRocks]

6 hours ago, weezy said:

I'm unfamiliar with these dishes.  Can you describe them a bit?  Thanks.

Louise, I put some links in for you (and everyone else).

manolands, how would you compare Chez Dior to some other of the more ethnically oriented restaurants in Hyattsville?

[manolands]

Heyyyyy Weezy and Don

So Thiebou is a really awesome mix of a Senegalese coucous with vegetables like cabbage, yam as I recall, and a few other things. It is topped with Fish and it is cooked in a tomatoey sauce the flavor of which the vegetables really soak up!! Ndolé is spicy spinach that comes mixed with meat or fish and Yassa Chicken I don't totally remember the specifics of soooo sorry about that. It isn't very complex being mostly just chicken and a rice as I recall but I don't remember the sauce!!! To Don's question: most of the restos I've noticed in Hyattsville or near it are Latin American, particularly Mexican, so this good Senegalese restaurant is all the more unique especially considering the strong Anglophone West African element in the restaurants in the DMV. There maybe other cuisines in Hyattsville I have not yet seen or experienced so I wouldn't be surprised if there is more like Caribbean for example, which is strong in Maryland at large. In terms of quality as a comparison, something I forgot to write earlier, it is stands very strongly if not ahead of many restos in the area. You may disagree though I'll be curious to hear what you think. I eat a lot (117 restaurants in the area and counting) and am continually learning to refine my tastezzzzz. The Francophone Africans have their own "restaurants" which I will post about later and also give indication to why I put in quotes.....

Also excuse my writing I usually write very very colloquially on the internet and on text!!

[nelumbo]

Went to Chez Dior tonight, battling past some annoying lane closures due to utility work on Rt 1. The restaurant has booths along one side and a scattering of tables in the center; the table settings are...eclectic.  One of the owners (I think) was in front handling the tables, and was very friendly and also helped to describe the dishes. I got the thiebou dienne (red version), which consisted of a generous slab of fish, partially stuffed with herbs and cooked with a tomato-tamarind sauce, accompanied by a large portion of rice cooked with tamarind and an assortment of vegetables - I think some kind of yam, cabbage, yucca? and maybe eggplant, also cooked with sauce. There was also a dish of tamarind based sauce to accompany, and a very small dish of very hot red pepper sauce as well - I have a high heat tolerance, and this was hot. I really liked the flavors, especially with the application of the tamarind condiment, and would like to try some of the other dishes from the menu. I don't eat fish often, but this was nicely cooked, with just a few easily removed bones.

There was only one other table occupied while I was there, although a few people came through who may have picked up takeout. My meal at Chez Dior was way better than any of the dishes that I've had at Franklin's or Busboys across the street (which are usually packed), so this is a shame.  It seemed like a number of the storefronts on their block were vacant, so that can't help. I think there may be free parking somewhere behind the restaurant, but I parked easily in public lot #4 just around the corner, which costs $0.50/hr until 8 pm.

Tim Carman of The Washington Post also wrote it up last year.

[DonRocks]

On 5/27/2016 at 8:30 PM, nelumbo said:

My meal at Chez Dior was way better than any of the dishes that I've had at Franklin's or Busboys across the street (which are usually packed),

I wanted to highlight this one sentence of your excellent review.