Aicha: New Senegalese Restaurant on Nostrand

There’s a new Senegalese Restaurant on Nostrand Avenue, just south of Atlantic Avenue.

Aicha is the newest Halal buffet addition to southwestern Bed-Stuy, a small, brightly lit, restaurant with four small tables and a buffet of options, at a cost ranging from $3.99 to $5.99 a pound. I just ate so much I thought I wouldn’t make my walk home, and the total was $5. That’s hard to beat.

Not to say that Aicha emphasizes quantity over quality. This restaurant has a slightly smaller selection than other halal buffets in the area. But I would venture a guess that sometimes, a larger variety means each individual dish isn’t as good.

When I was young, my mother (my favorite cook) always told me that the way to start every meal was by frying an onion. Aicha reminded me of that, with the delicious smell of sauteed onions wafting through the room, and that familiar, wonderful flavor in almost every dish.

The owner, Bocar Ly, recommended the fish and rice, the main Senegalese dish in the restaurant. I had red rice, sweet from it’s tomato topping, with blue fish stuffed with parsley, onions garlic, and crushed red pepper.

I highly recommend this dish -- that is, if you can stand the spice. The fish stuffing is extremely hot, and if you are not tolerant of the spice, it will overpower the whole dish.

But I thought the spicy filling went perfectly with the fish, which tastes strongly of the ocean, and the slightly sweet but mild rice which cools down your mouth after each bite. Be careful of bones, though, they are small and sharp!

I also recommend the chicken yassa, a dish made of grilled chicken and onions. I love the flavor of grilled chicken, but it is often too dry. Yassa is a saucy dish, which has the grilled flavor and texture in the chicken, but adds some moisture with spices, oil and sauteed onions.

Sides include kidney beans with onions and yellow peppers, and sweet plantains, both of which are extremely tasty. The kidney beans are only slightly cooked, and add a mild, cool texture to some of the more flavorful and heavy dishes. The plantains are decidedly sweet and moist, which I love, and almost taste like a dessert in comparison to the other foods.

If you don’t recognize the dishes, and have not eaten Senegalese before, I recommend that you get a different dish each time you go, and don’t try everything at once. Because the individual flavors are strong and unique, mixed together they all start to taste the same.

I still have to summon the courage to buy the grilled tilapia, a whole grilled fish with slices of onion on top.

Bocar Ly, who grew up in Senegal, has been in the United States for the last 20 years, but is still very attached to the Senegalese community.

When asked why he opened the restaurant, he said, “My community lives here, and I wanted to give something to my community.”

Whether you are Senegalese or not, eating at a halal buffet in the area is an absolute must if you live in Bed-Stuy. And once you try it, with prices this low, you may find yourself visiting one on a daily basis.