'225 Dine': West African cuisine comes to LSU area

Published Sep 14, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Sep 14, 2012)

It's a delicious mix of beans, onions and spices carefully shaped into a hearty patty, then fried. It's sold as a meal at roadside stands and made in kitchens across West Africa. Nigerians call it akara, but Caroline Collins, native Nigerian and proprietor of the new BB&PF restaurant on Highland Road, calls it a "bean burger." "It's very similar to a hamburger," she says, "except it's healthier and has far fewer calories." That's a claim often made by meatless burger purveyors of patties that later turn out to be dry, pebbly or otherwise unsatisfactory. However, patrons who dine at BB&PF—named for its signature dish, the bean burger with a side of hot and tasty plantain fries—may not even miss the meat. The bean burger patty is juicy, slightly spicy and very savory—and dressed with lettuce, onions and mustard on a whole-wheat bun. It makes for an incredibly tasty burger alternative. Check out the full story and read the rest of the new 225 Dine e-newsletter here.