Every month I spend a few days in our regional capital in the Extreme North, Maroua. A number of reasons bring me to town: Banking, visiting local NGO offices, socializing with fellow volunteers, going to the hospital to find out what’s residing in my stomach or growing on my feet, etc.
Not to bad mouth Bogo, an excellent town in its own right, but when I arrive in Maroua I often feel refreshed. Paved roads, internet, cold drinks and western toilets…I’m easy to please these days. Perhaps most important however is the cuisine available to me in Maroua. Eating in Bogo on a typical day usually consists of some combination of omelettes, spaghetti, onions, grilled beef, beef stew, spicy dried beef, and assorted other cow parts. Remember Bubba’s spiel about shrimp in Forest Gump? I could now do that exact same thing in relation to cows.
I’ll spare you that for the moment and get to the point. After weeks in Bogo, most of the time without any substantial vegetable of any kind, I’ll arrive in Maroua with a craving for anything that offers a little variety in taste and nutrition. While you all may think that I suffer immensely here I must reiterate that it is simply not the case. You’ll understand better after reading the dining review below of the thriving metropolis that is Maroua.
Belle Vie Restaurant
To start I’ll say that while it is a nice family run establishment, the atmosphere suffers when Junior, the chef’s toddler, is on the rampage in and around the restaurant. When he’s not busy soiling himself on the sidewalk outside or in the middle of the actual restaurant, Junior spends his time harassing the customers and his busy parents. With that said, I am all for putting the little terror on a leash. Yet while I’ve listed all the restaurants in no particular order I would say that this fine establishment, Junior aside, is my top pick any day of the week. Mixed salads, curries, a delicious chicken basquaise, and fish brochettes were some of the highlights. And with all dishes in the neighborhood of 1000-2000 francs ($2-4), someone on a volunteer’s salary can eat pretty well. These staples are still on the menu, but the chef has recently added ham, cheese, sausage and veggie sandwiches to the menu. I know that doesn’t sound all that amazing to you, but I assure you it is a major development in our standard of living here. I believe the normal Human Development Index (HDI) used by international organizations is a mixed measure of life expectancy, education and per capita GDP in any given country. Yet until “availability of ham & cheese sandwiches” is added as a fourth element of the HDI, I think we’ll just be lost in the woods as a society.
Cafeteriat Abdurahman
As far as the food, this place isn’t something to write home about. Greasy beefsteak, bread and French fries is about the extent of it. Despite the lack of decent grub Cafeteriat makes a fruit smoothie that is out of this world. Depending on the season one can get any mix of mango, guava, papaya, banana, pineapple and citrus. Some (including yours truly) have taken to calling them dysentery shakes, and if you saw the fly-ridden table where the fruit is cut and blended you would understand why. Yet I can’t think of one time when my intestinal woes could be traced back to Abdurahman. Then again, perhaps I’m just in denial that something so delicious could be harmful in any way.
Mammale Allaitante/Cheese GIC
This place gets bonus points for having “Lactating Mammal” as their name. The reason for this odd title begins with the formation of a community group that produces milk, yoghurt and cheeses at this location with the aid of an Italian organization. Their dairy products have always been immensely popular, especially among expats, and it was only a matter of time before a restaurant was opened on the same site. Today one can order tomato and mozzarella salad, personal pizzas, cheesesteak, homemade ice cream and tiramisu and many other daily specials. After a long difficult stint in Bogo, this restaurant is usually the perfect pick me up.
Niam Niam Glou Glou
This has never been much of a dinner joint, but when the oppressive heat sometimes lifts enough to allow for a more substantial lunch the burger and fries here hits the spot. For somewhere around three bucks one can get a “Hamburger McDonalds style” and fries. I would say this place actually beats McDonalds. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t kill someone for a double quarter-pounder with cheese right now (you think I’m kidding…throw in an apple pie and vanilla milkshake and I’ll kill two people), but McDonalds style here is a fresh roll, spiced and seasoned ground beef, cheese, ketchup, mayo and olives. It may not have that same glorious mix of artificial flavors, pure fat and sodium, but the freshness is hard to beat.
Restaurant Le Noumou
At first I really liked this place. The prices were a bit steep, but it puts out good food and is a nice change every once in a while. I believe they make more money off of catering and opening their massive courtyard to weddings and parties. This might explain why most times when I come in looking for a good sandwich or a plate of steak poivre blanc they look at me as if surprised that I’ve come to their restaurant to order food. I place my order with one of the half dozen employees with nothing to do in the empty restaurant and they take it back to the kitchen. About fifteen minutes later another employee will walk by briskly and exit restaurant, returning shortly with all ingredients for whatever I’ve just ordered. After that its only another 2 hours of sipping on overpriced drinks before the food is actually ready.
Relais de Porte Mayo
When I sit at a table on this restaurant/hotel’s patio with the tree cover and ambient lighting I forget where I am. It is fine dining at its best (in Cameroon), and the prices on the menu reflect that. A volunteer couldn’t exactly afford this place on a regular basis. Spending upwards of 10,000 francs on a meal is hard to justify when equal quantities of delicious (but less so) food can be found for fractions of the price. It’s nice every once in a while and once I start tearing apart the Roquefort salad, mango duck, spaghetti carbonara or banana split my brain shuts down and all cerebral functions not required for shoving food into my mouth are temporarily disabled. Then the plates are empty and I cry a tear of joy for those few minutes of gastronomical bliss.
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