First look: New restaurant from Bala's Bistro owners brings West African BBQ to Memphis
Bala Tounkara left the West African nation of Mali for the United States almost 25 years ago, with no intention of being in the restaurant business.
"In our culture, men don't really cook, we don't do any cleaning," said Tounkara, 44. "So it's funny where I find myself these days. That's life."
Tuesday, March 12, Tounkara and his cousin, Mady Matgassa, opened a second restaurant that fuses the flavors of Mali and Memphis.
Located alongside a tax preparation service and a body-piercing shop in a modest strip mall a few blocks east of the famous cross-wielding Statue of Liberty outside World Overcomers Church, Mande Dibi West African BBQ-Grill at 6825 Winchester will complement its predecessor while also providing what Tounkara calls a more "authentic" African taste experience.
"We're not going to shy away from the spices," Tounkara said. "Here, when you start eating, you're going to feel it."
The partners' other restaurant, Bala's Bistro, opened in 2019 at 4571 Elvis Presley Blvd. in Whitehaven, a neighborhood with a growing African immigrant presence. Promising "A Taste of African Soul Food," Bala's offers a buffet and a menu that balances such dishes as jollof rice, lamb saka saka and egusi soup (which includes smoked chicken and melon seed) with cheeseburgers, Philly cheesesteaks and salmon po' boys.
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Prepared mostly by Tounkara and members of his family (including his wife, Fatou), dishes at Mande Dibi will be made to order, and less "speedy" than at Bala's, where many customers take advantage of the buffet. The new menu boasts "Traditional West African BBQ." Said Tounkara: "We make our own jerk seasoning," which is applied to the rotisserie chickens, the lamb and the smoked brisket.
As with Bala's (where Matgassa will remain based), vegan items are a specialty, and side dishes include fried plantains and fried yams. Also on the menu is attiéké, a signature West African delicacy described as: "Granulated And Fermented Cassava Served with Chicken Magi Cube and Onion & Cucumber Relish."
Occupying a former Mike's Hot Wings, Mande Dibi — "Mande" refers to a former West African empire, while "dibi" is a word for "barbecue" — has a tidy dining room, brightened by large windows, that can accommodate about 40 customers. A refrigerator contains bottles of juices that are made by the staff: "Baobab," "Honey Hibiscus," "Lime Ginger." The walls are decorated with images and artifacts of Africa, including a map of the continent, cut from wood like a jigsaw puzzle, that will enlighten Memphians as to just where Mali is located (inland, within the bulbous upper West portion, a stretch that connects southern savanna with the Sahara Desert).
"When people say 'It's a Third World country,' we don't look at it that way," said Tounkara, who comes from a farming family near the city of Kayes, in the Western tip of Mali. "We have a rich culture."
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Nevertheless, Tounkara followed his father to the U.S. in 2000, joining other relatives who left Africa for what he calls largely economic but "complicated" reasons. Originally based in New York, Tounkara traveled by Greyhound bus to Memphis at the invitation of a cousin a couple years later, and soon found himself working in the kitchens of Tunica casinos, where he worked with such celebrated chefs as Kelly English and Jimmy Gentry. Discovering an unexpected flair for cooking, he worked through the ranks (lead cook, sous chef, and so on) until he and his cousin decided to open their own restaurant, "for people in Memphis who want to try something different," Tounkara said.
So far, he said, Memphis has responded favorably, with an appetite for food — and information. "Since we're a different food, a lot of people have a lot of questions," he said. "We've been very blessed."
Mande Dibi West African BBQ-Grill
Address: 6825 Winchester Road
Hours: Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
Details: Visit mandedibi.com or call (901) 672-8995.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis restaurant Mande Dibi brings West African BBQ to Bluff City
