Dine Like an Expert: Somali Cuisine with Hoyo’s Mohamed Hassan
Plus, a beloved sandwich shop opens soon at Easton Town Center.
Dine Like an Expert: Somali Edition
By Bethia Woolf
At last count, Columbus had more than 25 Somali restaurants and coffee shops, which is perhaps not surprising since we are widely touted as having the second-largest Somali population in the country. But despite this wealth of Somali restaurants, the cuisine continues to be relatively unknown outside of the Somali community.
I asked our friend Mohamed Hassan, co-owner of Hoyo’s Kitchen, to meet me for lunch at a Somali restaurant so I could pick his brain about some of the questions I had regarding Somali cuisine. His restaurant pick was Calanley, a long-standing Somali restaurant on Cleveland Ave that originally opened in 2002. I had been to Calanley years ago, but there have been several updates to the menu and space since my last visit.
Ordering Somali Food
When ordering at a Somali restaurant, you have two main choices to make: which meats you want to order and which starches. “We are a carnivorous people,” Mohamed told me. Somali cuisine is not particularly friendly to vegetarians (Hoyo’s is an exception in that regard), and the traditional proteins are camel and goat. In Columbus, you’ll commonly find goat (hilib), chicken, beef and sometimes lamb. Pork is never served, as it is prohibited in Islam. Goat and lamb are typically served bone-in. Although Somalia has a long coastline, fish is not popular (but some Somali restaurants may offer it).
“Somali restaurants are judged on their goat and rice,” Mohamed says. The flavor profile of these two dishes, along with proximity, are how Somali diners choose where to eat. There’s not a tremendous variation in the menus, so it’s the taste and execution that decide people’s preferences.
Once you’ve decided on your proteins, it’s time to choose your starch. The menu will typically offer rice, pasta and at least one type of bread. Somalis will eat all three depending on the time of day, which part of the country they are from and their personal preference. Bread is generally preferred earlier in the day. Somali rice (bariis) is usually long-grain basmati rice fragrant with spices. The pasta (baasto) is always spaghetti andserved with a mildly savory red sauce called suugo.
Pasta’s place in Somali food culture reflects the East African country’s colonial history. A large swath of present-day Somalia was an Italian colony in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
It’s one of several influences you can see in Somali cuisine, with others being Indian, Yemeni and Ethiopian. I asked Mohamed why Somalis are so dedicated to spaghetti, given the breadth of pasta shapes available, and he shrugged. "That’s just the way it is," he says.
There’s a great option for those who are indecisive. It’s called “federation,” and it’s a plate with both rice and pasta. It symbolizes the unity of north and south Somalia. When ordering our meal, Mohamed asked for “federation” and “sport.” "Sport" refers to a larger sharing platter, similar to the sharing dishes you’d find at both Ethiopian and Yemeni restaurants. Most commonly, in addition to your meat and rice or pasta, you’ll be served a salad on the side.
Bread is a bit of a semantic minefield at Somali restaurants. There are discussion boards online where Somalis argue about what to call bread. There are a lot of different styles of bread, and different regional names for the same breads. Chapati-style, pan-cooked breads can be called kimis, sabaayad or roti. You may also find versions of injera called anjera, canjeero or laxoox. Or, you could be served a generic American bread bun.
Eating Somali Food
At a sit-down Somali restaurant, it is common to be offered a complementary bowl of maraq at the beginning of the meal. This is a brothy soup that whets the appetite. It may contain lentils or vegetables, but is primarily a spiced meat broth. You’ll find a similar maraq served at Yemeni restaurants as well.
While some Somalis do eat with their hands, using utensils to eat with seems to be much more commonly adopted than in some other African cuisines. If you decide to eat with your hands, you should use your right hand only, try to use your fingertips, and use your thumb to push food into your mouth. It takes some practice to do it gracefully.
As one of the primary crops in Somalia, bananas are an important part of the Somali diet and usually served as a key part of a meal.
You cut them up and add them to your plate, alternating bites of meat, starch and banana. Mohamed told me that some Somalis will leave a restaurant if there are no bananas available to have with their meal.
Pro tip: Your meal will likely come with a wedge or two of lime. This is to squeeze over the whole plate, not just the salad. It helps bring out the flavor.
Condiments, Drinks and Desserts
Somali food is generally spiced but not spicy. The most common condiment is bisbaas, a hot sauce made with green hot peppers (jalapeño or serrano), tomatoes, cilantro, vinegar and lime juice; it’s usually served on the side so you can add your own heat to taste. Everyone’s recipe for bisbaas is a little different. Calanley also has a creamy white garlic sauce that Mohamed said is very popular. It’s not uncommon to be offered ranch dressing for your salad!
Somalis primarily drink water and fruit drinks, most commonly mango, with their meals. Alcohol is not available as Islam considers drinking alcohol “haram” or forbidden. Somali tea is drunk throughout the day and perhaps after a meal, but not with a meal. Somali tea is a chai-like, milk-based tea made with spices such as cardamom and ginger, a reflection of Indian influence on the cuisine.
Another nod to India’s influence are sambusas, which derive from Indian samosas. Both are triangular savory pastries that can be filled with meat or vegetables. You’ll find them as a popular snack at Somali restaurants and coffee shops, and they can also be eaten as an appetizer.
You are unlikely to see dessert on a Somali menu: “We’re not big dessert people,” Mohamed says. However, if you ask, you may find the restaurant has some halwa available—a sticky cardamom-flavored sweet that is cut into squares like Turkish delight. At Calanley, they offer tiramisu—another relic of Italian colonization, perhaps?
Etiquette and Logistics
Somali restaurants tend to be busier on Fridays, as people often eat at restaurants after the Friday prayer at local mosques. It is worth noting that some Somali restaurants segregate their dining rooms, with a main dining room for men only and a separate dining area for women and families.
Somalis do not expect the same level of customer service that American diners might, Mohamed says. Some diners may find the service to be more perfunctory. As Mohamed told me, “We’re a straightforward people, we get down to business.”
More of Mohamed Hassan’s Somali restaurant recommendations:
Afra Grill (1635 Morse Road, 3922 Townsfair Way)
African Paradise (2263 Morse Road)
Ginevra Cafe (2285 Morse Road)
Hoyo’s Kitchen (inside North Market Downtown and North Market Bridge Park)
Safina World Restaurant (4431 Cleveland Ave.)
Notes
Around the Columbus Food Scene
Nearly 15 years after Guillermo Perez opened his first sandwich shop, Si Senor Peruvian Sandwiches & More is set to open a third location—this one at Easton Town Center. Si Senor’s grand opening at 4189 Weaverton Lane is set for Friday, Jan. 24, from 6-10 p.m. You can read Erin’s 2021 Columbus Monthly profile of Perez here.
Yet another AYCE Korean barbecue and hot spot restaurant, this one called Meetpot BBQ & Hotpot, has opened in Central Ohio. Meetpot is located in Crosswoods at 110 Hutchinson Ave.