Manna African Kitchen

We tried this new Nigerian and Ghanaian restaurant the other night. We got the Ghanaian Jollof rice with fish, Waakye with goat, and a Sobolo (or Zobo) Nigerian hibiscus drink as an accompaniment.

This is a complicated review, lots of highs and lows. Let's start with the Sobolo. This was recommended to me as a good place to start with their juice offerings. The base is the hibiscus plant, and I love the Tex-Mex version (Hibiscus or Jamaica). Manna's version has a hibiscus base and that's the first flavor you get. It also has ginger--a lot of ginger. It's very spicy. The taste was interesting but it doesn't work as a refreshment or palate cleanser unless your spice tolerance is high.

Bones! The two proteins you can get are fish and goat, and they are both served bone-in. The goat also has a fair amount of gristle, fat and a rubbery fascia. It's similar to what you get when you order a goat dish at an Indian restaurant. With the goat you can either try to dissect it or pick up a piece, chew out the good bits, and put the rest back on your plate.

What's listed as Waakye on the menu is waakye stew with rice and black beans, topped with spaghetti, with a hard-boiled egg and lettuce and tomato. It comes with cassava flakes (gari) and a sweet hot sauce. The waakye sauce is delicious and unique, and pairs well with the goat and the rice. Unfortunately we found that the black beans and rice had no seasoning we could detect, so were pretty bland. The boiled egg and spaghetti were interesting touches.

The Ghanaian Jollof Rice is jasmine rice cooked in a tomato sauce, accompanied by a serving of waakye stew, a boiled egg and plantain. We got the fish on this one. Again the sauce was great, but the fish not so much. Two fish pieces, both ended up cooked very hard. A little edible protein on one piece, none on the other. Also seemed like it had some goat in it. But the waakye sauce worked particularly well with the jollof rice. The boiled egg was good, and the plantain was cooked just right.

The restaurant is painted in warm and appetizing African colors, with complementary decor. The restrooms (gendered but identical) were spotless. Our server was warm and friendly, we really felt at home there. But the actual process was a little spotty--we picked our own seats and it seemed like the server would come back to collect our check, but that didn't happen and we ended up bringing it to the front. My overall impression was that these are folks that can cook but might be new to the restaurant business. Some attention to quality control and perhaps a restaurant service consultation would do them well. I've heard good things about the turkey wings on the menu, might try those in the future. This is a unique offering in our area and I hope they get the issues worked out soon. They deserve to succeed.

My Yelp Review

Subway at Panther Creek

Stopped in here for a quick lunch on the way to an event. Got the meal of the day, which on Sunday was the Spicy Italian sub. Got the combo and chocolate chip cookies with it.

All was good and not super remarkable. The lone employee was friendly and helpful. Not busy so I had my food quickly.

The tables inside were clean and ready. The bathroom has notes. Two identical, gendered restrooms with code locks on them--you have to ask for the code. The bathroom was not super clean, though not bad enough to leave. I like Subway as a reliable and competent fast food place, and this location is fine.

My Yelp Review

Popeye's at Panther Creek

I stopped in to this location the other day for a quick lunch. But it wasn't quite so quick--they place was very busy (good for them) but it seemed like they had a manager and two experienced people working with two trainees. The fry cook was killing it--lots of chicken available to fill orders. But they were struggling on the front end.

I ordered a 3 piece dark meat combo, upgrading my soft drink to a strawberry iced tea. Got a strawberry cream cheese pie with that. What I got was a two piece mixed order. The chicken was OK, though I really only like white meat on the chicken sandwich--should've gotten that maybe. The pie was OK, probably done awhile (the cook was ahead).

The ambiance was as usual, and bathrooms were clean and ready. I love Popeye's chicken but maybe not this location so much.

My Yelp Review

Bamburger

This new Bamburger location just opened about two weeks ago. We went to try them on a busy Saturday night. We got the Bamburger with a bacon patty, the spicy Bamburger, regular fries and sweet potato fries. Chased it with chocolate and vanilla shakes.

The Bamburger with bacon patty is a must-try. I've never seen a bacon preparation like this. The bacon is minced and formed into a patty and fried on the grill, which gives it a crisp outside and a strong smoky flavor. It was absolutely great with the burger, I would never order a burger without one now. Bamburger singles are on the small side, just bigger than a slider, but you can order them with double or triple patties to fit your appetite. The fries are fried in beef tallow, which made both the regular and sweet potato fries nice and crisp. They were well seasoned and are worth getting. The shakes were the thinner variety so they worked as drinks. Mine was not fully mixed but was still just fine.

The Bamburger menu is quite small--just the two burgers, a chicken burger, grilled cheese for the kids and a vegan patty. I do have to wonder at the last. Obviously vegans can't order a combo with fries, and they have no other sides.

The restaurant has comfortable booths and tables, and all were full the night we went. They are off to a good start! Some cute alien decorations for the walls. The two restrooms, identical but gendered, were clean and ready. Service was a little odd--we ordered the shakes at the same time as the meal and the shakes came first. You are encouraged to order at a kiosk. It wasn't too bad since the menu is short, but I still struggled a bit to get the right items in the combo. But overall we really liked it and I am sure we will be back.

My Yelp Review