Cravings: Casual Meals
.jpg "Sogal Café's Somali beefsteak, rice and a bowl of goat and pepper soup. The N. King Drive cafe has been open about a year.") |
Sogal Café's Somali beefsteak, rice and a bowl of goat and pepper soup. The N. King Drive cafe has been open about a year. |
It's not everywhere in Milwaukee that you can find Somali food. In fact, Sogal Café on N. King Drive right now is the only Somali restaurant.
Not that the remarkable flavors will be unfamiliar. The little restaurant has curries much like those you'd find at an Indian restaurant; the rice is perfumed with cardamom.
Owner Aziz Ahmed opened this casual cafe a year ago; he emigrated from Somalia in 2001. Customers order at the counter and find a seat in the small, pleasant space in an updated building, and the food is delivered to their tables. In warm weather, a little courtyard patio between buildings provides extra seating.
For appetizers or simple lunch, Sogal serves a thick hummus with pita ($4.99), and sambusa ($1.49 each), the filled, savory triangles of pastry that are like Ethiopian sambusa, or Indian samosa. Sogal's are filled with either ground beef or tuna and seasoned with onion and spices. The pastry is soft instead of crisp, but it's a tasty bundle.
It's not an overbearing heat that spices up its fare, but Sogal isn't shy with it, either.
The goat and pepper soup ($5.99), for instance, had plenty of kick from ground black pepper in the broth, and that broth was one of the best things I've tasted all year. In it was a chunk of rich goat meat on the bone, and a small bowl of that scented rice was served on the side - altogether, a satisfying dish. (Goat also appears in an entrée.)
Curry pops up in mahanazi ($5.75), pinto beans in coconut milk and tomato, served with rice. The dish could have been served warmer, but it was delicious. And curry's flavors are found in a breakfast dish, available all day - suqaar ($2.99), chopped chicken with carrot, peas and potatoes.
A small mound of thinly sliced Somali beefsteak ($5.99) with sautéed yellow bell peppers was tender and thoroughly tasty, with plenty of spice from black pepper. Order it as a meal ($9.89), and it's served with rice or spaghetti, a small salad of greens, a banana and a small beverage. It's a delicious deal.
The few sandwiches I tried weren't as memorable; the Reuben Rebel ($5.75) with paper-thin pastrami isn't likely to siphon customers from Jake's Deli. But the chicken salad wrap ($5.75) had an untraditional, interesting take; spices and pesto flavored the chicken assertively.
Sogal makes very good espresso drinks, and serves juices, shakes, and soda by the can. Those coffee drinks are nice with the house-made cookies Sogal sometimes sells, thick and crunchy and flavored with cardamom (five for $2).
Sogal is worth the visit for its Somali dishes and their compelling flavors. And a nice bonus? The satisfying meals made me feel as if I'd had something nourishing while spending $10 or less for my lunch or dinner.
Cravings is an occasional column visiting casual but noteworthy restaurants for inexpensive to moderately priced meals.
Milwaukee, WI
(414) 231-9727
sogalcafe.com
Fare: Somali dishes, American sandwiches, espresso drinks and shakes
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday
Prices: Entrées, $3.99-$9.89
Parking: On street
Wheelchair access: A step at door; restroom accessible
Payment: MasterCard, Visa
Of special note: Vegetarian and vegan options; warm-weather patio, smoking allowed; takeout; Wi-Fi; restaurant can be rented for private parties
Source: JS Online
Not that the remarkable flavors will be unfamiliar. The little restaurant has curries much like those you'd find at an Indian restaurant; the rice is perfumed with cardamom.
Owner Aziz Ahmed opened this casual cafe a year ago; he emigrated from Somalia in 2001. Customers order at the counter and find a seat in the small, pleasant space in an updated building, and the food is delivered to their tables. In warm weather, a little courtyard patio between buildings provides extra seating.
For appetizers or simple lunch, Sogal serves a thick hummus with pita ($4.99), and sambusa ($1.49 each), the filled, savory triangles of pastry that are like Ethiopian sambusa, or Indian samosa. Sogal's are filled with either ground beef or tuna and seasoned with onion and spices. The pastry is soft instead of crisp, but it's a tasty bundle.
It's not an overbearing heat that spices up its fare, but Sogal isn't shy with it, either.
The goat and pepper soup ($5.99), for instance, had plenty of kick from ground black pepper in the broth, and that broth was one of the best things I've tasted all year. In it was a chunk of rich goat meat on the bone, and a small bowl of that scented rice was served on the side - altogether, a satisfying dish. (Goat also appears in an entrée.)
Curry pops up in mahanazi ($5.75), pinto beans in coconut milk and tomato, served with rice. The dish could have been served warmer, but it was delicious. And curry's flavors are found in a breakfast dish, available all day - suqaar ($2.99), chopped chicken with carrot, peas and potatoes.
A small mound of thinly sliced Somali beefsteak ($5.99) with sautéed yellow bell peppers was tender and thoroughly tasty, with plenty of spice from black pepper. Order it as a meal ($9.89), and it's served with rice or spaghetti, a small salad of greens, a banana and a small beverage. It's a delicious deal.
The few sandwiches I tried weren't as memorable; the Reuben Rebel ($5.75) with paper-thin pastrami isn't likely to siphon customers from Jake's Deli. But the chicken salad wrap ($5.75) had an untraditional, interesting take; spices and pesto flavored the chicken assertively.
Sogal makes very good espresso drinks, and serves juices, shakes, and soda by the can. Those coffee drinks are nice with the house-made cookies Sogal sometimes sells, thick and crunchy and flavored with cardamom (five for $2).
Sogal is worth the visit for its Somali dishes and their compelling flavors. And a nice bonus? The satisfying meals made me feel as if I'd had something nourishing while spending $10 or less for my lunch or dinner.
Cravings is an occasional column visiting casual but noteworthy restaurants for inexpensive to moderately priced meals.
SOGAL CAFÉ
1835 N. King DriveMilwaukee, WI
(414) 231-9727
sogalcafe.com
Fare: Somali dishes, American sandwiches, espresso drinks and shakes
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday
Prices: Entrées, $3.99-$9.89
Parking: On street
Wheelchair access: A step at door; restroom accessible
Payment: MasterCard, Visa
Of special note: Vegetarian and vegan options; warm-weather patio, smoking allowed; takeout; Wi-Fi; restaurant can be rented for private parties
Source: JS Online
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