Sweet potato accras and fries (l.), interior wall of the restaurant (r.) – ©Boukan
Boukan, it's not noise! In Creole culture, “boukan” refers to a way of smoking meat or fish using a small grill called “boucan”, or “boukan”, which gives a delicious taste to the cooking – for example chicken. “boucané” that we buy on the side of the roads in Guadeloupe or Martinique. The young chef Meidhy Galas chose this popular expression to designate his restaurant, although it is more of a bistro than “street food”.
©Boukan
This young chef has just set up on rue Dupetit-Thouars, one of the liveliest streets in the marsh. Alongside Parisian bistros and Italian restaurants – not to mention the creperie and l'écailler at the other end of the street – this exotic address has its place perfectly. Moreover, it also replaces a Latino address.
If West Indian food is underestimated, the chef reshuffles the cards here to take a step further, with dynamic and “peppy” recipes, which tend towards bistronomy.
©Boukan
An example ? The accras – a classic often poorly treated – are particularly successful, spicy, but not too much, without excess fat, with smoked cod not mixed but “chiquetaillé” (crumbled), like in the best houses. The dog sauce (onion, garlic, chive, parsley, vegetarian pepper, oil) that accompanies them is just as impeccable.
The smoked cockerel or braised sea bass with colombo are served with raw vegetables, sweet potato puree and white rice, like in the West Indies. A duo of plantain gnocchi and sweet potato gnocchi served (in the same dish) on a creamy sweet potato and Creole pesto are both comforting and surprising, with their sweet-salty contrast.
All its flavors serve as a reminder that in the West Indies, food is simultaneously serious and joyful.
▼ BOUKAN | Caribbean Bistro
16 Rue Dupetit-Thouars, 75003 Paris
Tuesday to Thursday from 12 p.m. to 15 p.m., then from 19 p.m. to 23 p.m.
Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 23 a.m.
Sunday from 12 p.m. to 16 p.m.
Closed on Mondays
Tel: +09 73 39 93 63
©Boukan
Text: Katia Barillot
20.10.23
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