![]() With the jollof rice, I received firm, fleshy whiting soaked in tomato sauce. There is, for example, a goat pepper soup, but the fish was so meltingly tender that I don’t think you should pass it up. My general recommendation is to go for the fish. With the meat of your choice, it’s a delicious, wholesome, and hearty plate of food. The tomato-stained rice retained a nice bite, the pile of sautéed greens tasted fresh, and the plantains arrived caramelized to prime sweetness. I cared the least for the okra soup, which was the blandest of the lot, and its slimy texture also presented a logistical challenge - again, rice would make it easier to enjoy.įor those new to West African food, Ruth’s Buka’s jollof rice combo plates are approachable crowd-pleasers. The banga, a palm fruit soup, was sweet and savory, though its oily consistency made it extra challenging to scoop up with fufu. The efo riro, a combo of leafy greens and tomatoes, was simple and comforting. The egusi, a Nigerian classic thickened with pounded melon seeds, was complex and fiery. I was surprised it cost $5 extra - on the phone, Ogbe told me it should have actually been $3 - but it was some of the most delicious, nutty white rice I’ve had in awhile.Įvery soup I tried was tasty. If you’re not a fan of fufu and the like, you can substitute white rice instead. ![]() Ruth Ogbe opened her restaurant two years ago. You’ll also get a big bowl of water to wash off your hands. Regardless of which one you choose, you’ll rip off a chunk of the stretchy, elastic dough and use that to spoon stew into your mouth. Whether it was fufu, pounded yam, or amala, the overall texture and blank-slate flavor felt very similar - at least they did to me, someone with admittedly little-to-no prior experience with them. The other soups follow a mix-and-match format, where you can choose your meat and accompanying ball of dough, most of which contained cassava root or yam flour. As winter approaches, I’d return for this sinus-clearing dish. Pepper soup is the exception, and it was one of my favorite dishes - light, thin, and slurpable, intensely peppery and floral, with a mass of boney, skin-on tilapia swimming within the pool of grey. The bulk of Ruth’s Buka’s menu is devoted to soups, although the majority are more like saucy stews paired with a starch. These particular spice sensations are difficult to come by in the East Bay. Your rewards are potentially huge, though, especially if you crave West African flavors. If you come with a group, plan to share, as the dishes always arrived one after the other with a lengthy lag time. Everyone seemed to know each other, catching up in their native tongue before digging into their meals.Įven without many other customers, service tended to be a bit slow. closing one evening, though, I witnessed Ruth’s Buka transform into a real gathering place for the local Nigerian community. Despite checking the place out at different times for lunch and dinner, I always seemed to interrupt one of the family members eating or texting in the otherwise empty, burnt-orange space. Over the course of my three visits, I encountered the whole family and felt like I accidentally stumbled into their home - sometimes uninvited. ![]() ![]() Now, mother and daughter - and more family members - are working together again. Her mom also owned a restaurant back in Africa. Ogbe moved to Oakland from Nigeria in 1998, and food has long been the family business. Ruth Ogbe opened the place in late 2015, although her husband, mother, and children all help out. The small, bare-bones restaurant sits on a residential stretch of Foothill Boulevard in East Oakland - an easy-to-miss location if you’re not actively looking for it. In Hausa, one of Nigeria’s many languages, “buka” refers to a casual, local eatery serving traditional food. Jollof rice, plantains, and greens - a vegetarian feast.
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