Cooking over a warm, crackling fire sounds like cozy fun when camping and it's a crisp 50 degrees outside.
Cooking over a hot fire everyday when it's 110 degrees sounds anything but fun. But everyday my neighbors start early in the morning preparing food for their restaurant at the nearby market. And nothing except the tomato paste comes out of a can. There are always mountains of onions and garlic and hot peppers to chop and various leaves for sauces to separate and sort.
Around 1pm they loaded up their pushcarts and moved all the food they'd prepared to the restaurant site.
Dishes and drinks went too.
My friend, Laura, and I arrived about 15 minutes after they had set up and the line was already long. The crowd at a restaurant usually means good food, right? After snapping a few pictures, we got in line to make our choice as well.
There were several rice dishes with different sauces, couscous (my choice), beans and rice, pate with okra sauce (Laura's choice) as well as pasta. We chose our base and then our sauce and then piment (hot pepper sauce) was added on the side.
We brought our own containers, as did many others, since we were eating back home, but the restaurant also had plates for those dining in and a small eating area inside the lean-to where clients could eat.
A place to wash hands before and/or after eating.
Several hours later all that was left was the stack of dirty dishes to wash and then loading it all up and hauling it back home...and starting over again for the next day.
Great food! I'll treat you to lunch if you come over.
