All aboard the international cruise of flavors.......This crazy cruise ship has embarked upon a world tour, with curious and hungry cachers aboard. The itinerary is every country in the world, one restaurant at a time, all without leaving the confines of Central New Jersey. 78th Stop ... Côte d’Ivoire!
Join the Central Jersey Cachers as we venture to West Africa!
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Garden City Restaurant
985b Stuyvesant Ave
Union, NJ
Enjoy delicious food and good company as this wacky cruise ship voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire (aka. Ivory Coast)!
The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire is located in West Africa. It borders Guinea and Liberia to the west, Burkina Faso and Mali to the north, Ghana to the east, and Gulf of Guinea/Atlantic Ocean to the south.
Ivorian cuisine is the traditional cuisine of Côte d'Ivoire, and is based on tubers, grains, pig, chicken, seafood, fish, fresh fruits, vegetables and spices. It is very similar to that of neighboring countries in West Africa. Common staple foods include grains and tubers. Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading producer of cocoa (which is used to make chocolate), and is the third largest producer of coffee in the world behind Brazil and Columbia.
Despite varying diets and food customs, the people of Côte d'Ivoire generally rely on grains and tubers (root vegetables) to sustain their diet. Yams, plantains (similar to bananas), rice, millet, corn, and peanuts are staple foods throughout the country. At least one of these is typically an ingredient in most dishes.
Cassava and plantains are significant parts of Ivorian cuisine. A corn paste called "aitiu" is used to prepare corn balls, and peanuts are widely used in dishes. Attiéké is a popular side dish in Côte d'Ivoire made with grated cassava and is very similar in taste and consistency to couscous. A common street-vended food is Alloco, which is ripe plantain banana fried in palm oil, spiced with a spicy sauce made of onions and chili. It can be eaten alone as a snack or often with a hard-boiled egg, as well as a side dish.
Fufu is the national dish and is made from plantains, cassava, or yams pounded into a sticky dough and served with a seasoned meat (often chicken) and vegetable sauce called Kedjenou. Foutu banane, beaten until stretchy to the touch, might be matched with and used to eat sauce graine, which is made from palm nuts crushed into a paste and topped with bright red oil.
Grilled fish and grilled chicken are the most popular non-vegetarian foods. Lean, low-fat Guinea fowl, which is popular in the region, is commonly referred as poulet bicyclette. Seafood includes tuna, sardines, shrimp and bonito. Smoked fish is also common, as it is all over West Africa. Ivorian land snails are huge and commonly grilled or eaten in sauce.
Maafe (pronounced "mafia") is a common dish consisting of meat in a peanut sauce. Slow-simmered stews with various ingredients are another common food staple in Côte d'Ivoire. Kedjenou is a spicy stew consisting of chicken and vegetables that are slow-cooked in a sealed pot with little or no added liquid. This concentrates the flavors of the chicken and vegetables and tenderizes the chicken. It's usually cooked in a pottery jar called a canary, over a slight fire, or cooked in an oven.
Bangui is a local palm wine. Gnamakoudji is pulped ginger squeezed through cheese cloth then mellowed with pineapple juice, lemon and vanilla.
World Culinary Cruise Itinerary
1 - Mexico - July 16, 2012
2 - Greece - August 23, 2012
3 - Japan - September 12, 2012
4 - India - October 11, 2012
5 - Russia - November 14, 2012
6 - Poland - December 5, 2012
7 - Ireland - January 22, 2013
8 - France - February 26, 2013
9 - Spain - March 13, 2013
10 - Thailand - April 30, 2013
11 - Portugal - May 28, 2013
12 - United States of America - June 4, 2013
13 - Afghanistan - July 11, 2013
14 - Egypt - August 6, 2013
15 - United Kingdom - September 18, 2013
16 - Sweden - October 16, 2013
17 - Peru - November 6, 2013
18 - Germany - December 20, 2013
19 - Ghana - January 7, 2014
20 - Polynesia - February 19, 2014
21 - Sri Lanka - March 13, 2014
22 - Korea - April 22, 2014
23 - Jamaica - May 22, 2014
24 - Vietnam - June 25, 2014
25 - Mexico - July 23, 2014
26 - Mongolia - August 19, 2014
27 - Persia - September 17, 2014
28 - Philippines - October 15, 2014
29 - Dominican Republic - November 19, 2014
30 - Trinidad - December 10, 2014
31 - Nigeria - January 20, 2015
32 - Lebanon - February 18, 2015
33 - Cuba - March 24, 2015
34 - Brazil - April 21, 2015
35 - Turkey - May 27, 2015
36 - Hungary - June 6, 2015
37 - Canada - July 15, 2015
38 - Guyana - August 31, 2015
39 - Ethiopia - September 8, 2015
40 - Pakistan - October 14, 2015
41 - Columbia - November 24, 2015
42 - Malaysia - December 8, 2015
43 - Argentina - January 20, 2016
44 - Cameroon - February 17, 2016
45 - Taiwan - March 22, 2016
46 - Morocco - April 26, 2016
47 - Costa Rica - May 18, 2016
48 - Uruguay - June 15, 2016
49 - Angola & Mozambique - July 12, 2016
50 - Haiti - August 30, 2016
51 - El Salvador - September 21, 2016
52 - Uzbekistan - October 19, 2016
53 - Puerto Rico - November 29, 2016
54 - Bangladesh - December 13, 2016
55 - Scotland - January 24, 2017
56 - Guatemala - February 22, 2017
57 - Venezuela - March 28, 2017
58 - Indonesia - April 26, 2017
59 - Syria - May 23, 2017
60 - Italy - June 13, 2017
61 - Ecuador - July 18, 2017
62 - Jordan - August 24, 2017
63 - Liberia - September 21, 2017
64 - Cyprus - October 25, 2017
65 - Israel - November 29, 2017
66 - Belize - December 12, 2017
67 - Slovakia - January 30, 2018
68 - Saudi Arabia - February 27, 2018
69 - Ukraine - March 9, 2018
70- Grenada - April 24, 2018
71 - Senegal - May 22, 2018
72 - Australia - June 12, 2018
73 - Honduras - July 24, 2018
74 - Chile - August 7, 2018
75 - Armenia - September 15, 2018
76 - Panama - October 30, 2018
77 - Georgia - November 14, 2018
78 - Côte d’Ivoire - December 18, 2018
Follow our culinary adventures throughout Central New Jersey with "The Suitcase of Destiny" and chart our virtual cruise around the world with the "World Travel Geocoin."
Where will this ship pull into port next? Only the pink flamingo knows....
