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Ceebu yapp

What: “Yapp” means meat in Wolof, so think of this as ceebu jën’s cousin for carnivores. It’s usually beef or lamb that accompanies the “ceeb,” or rice, as well as a variety of vegetables and often xooñ, the same crispy burnt rice you get with ceebu jën. Unlike that dish, however, we noticed the preparation of ceebu yapp tends to be more like a stir fry—meat and veggies cut up small and cooked together, and then piled atop the rice. It’s like Senegalese-style fried rice, and it’s very, very good.

Where: Our ceebu yapp is from the estimable USAID Rice Shack up in N’Gor, a thatched-hut affair with tables and chairs that sets up for lunch across the parking lot from La Madrague hotel. The chef, a woman named Adji, usually offers four or five dishes a day; clientele is generally a mix of Senegalese workers and expats.

When: Daily from about 12:30pm-2:45pm, though sometimes dishes run out sooner.

Order: It will depend on the day’s offerings, but Adji’s ceebu yapp (800 CFA) is quite tasty when it’s offered, a flavorful mess of chopped meat, onions, green beans, and carrots over seasoned short-grain rice. A squeeze of lime perks the plate up further.   

Alternatively: Many restaurants likewise change up their daily offerings, but no-frills Touba Restaurant (95 Rue Joseph Gomis, map) is a good bet—it’s very popular among locals at lunch, and generally offers a nice range of dishes at great prices (around 1,000 CFA).