Eat.Drink.Travel: Mama Rocks (Nairobi, Kenya)
FOLLY: I alluded to the Mama Rocks over eating incident in our Talisman review on Monday but we really went overboard with this one.
NOSA: Pureeeeee gluttony. Mama Rocks is HIGHLY recommended if you're in Nairobi. It's on every list you're going to come across.
FOLLY: Between the 8 of us that went to Mama Rocks, we had 13 burgers. I believe that will tell you everything you need to know about the “over eating incident”. In addition to the 13 burgers, we also had sides - sweet potato fries, regular fries, and multiple portions of chicken wings.
Oh, and the Alchemist Bar is in the same premises as Mama Rocks had a happy hour deal so naturally we helped ourselves.
FOLLY: Let’s just say that we were deprived after coming back from Diani Beach and so we went HAM.
NOSA: The less said about Diani Beach, the better. The place is like a commercialized Zanzibar and that's not a good thing. It has none of village charm of Zanzibar and all of the goats. There's tons of alcohol, but the seafood is not as good. I'm getting stressed just thinking about Diani Beach again.
Sigh.
FOLLY: Between Nosa and I, we ordered:
- Nollywood Suya: beef patty + red onions + nutty mayo + rocket
- Mango Masi Mama: beef patty + chili mango mayo + orange cheddar + pickles
- Desmond Tutu: pulled pork + cheddar + rich mayo slaw
- Ushoago.at: goat patty + mint sauce + feta.
L-R: Nollywood Suya, Mango Masai Mama, Flaming Desmond Tutu
“NOLLYWOOD SUYA SAGA (W.Africa)
A prime cut paprika spiced beef patty, sautéed red onions, mama’s special honeyed-nutty mayo, rocket lettuce and homemade Only The Brave Hot Sauce.”
Fries
FOLLY: If a Nigerian picked N50 from the road and was transformed into a burger (not yam this time), urban legend style, the Nollywood Suya Saga burger is what he/she would taste like. You know how Nigerians love stew? This was a stewy and peppery burger. The stew was so deep that it was like the patty had a thin red line through it like it was mixed with stew when it was formed.
NOSA: The Nollywood Suya burger tastes like what other Africans think Nigerian food tastes like.
They're not wrong.
FOLLY: I was disappointed that I had a very small helping of the nutty mayo because it only came through in one little section of the burger but my friend's burger had a more generous serving.
How cool are this shave down Ciroc bottles?
NOSA: Before we get into the other burgers, do you know what was really great? The wings.
“FINGA LICKIN’ HARISSA CHICKEN (N.Africa)
Fall of the bone chicken wings smothered in Harissa – a unique blend of roast peppers, chilies, garlic, coriander and warm spices.”
NOSA: Maybe it's because a lot of the stuff had been eating didn't have any "pepper" and it affected our taste buds, but EVERYONE in our group loved these wings. Absolutely delicious.
FOLLY: A couple of my favorite food bloggers hype up Harissa as a spice blend and it's LIT.
Finga Lickin' Harissa Chicken
NOSA: There are two types of burgers at Mama Rocks: African Style Gourmet Burgers and Sapeur Boutique Burgers. The gourmet burgers are their regular run-of-the-mill burgers (if you can even call them run-of-the-mill), while the boutique burgers are their burgers with a little more oomph. Because they have a little extra to them, you can get the boutique burgers as either full burgers or sliders.
FOLLY: Also the burgers also represent different regions in Africa.
“MANGO MASAI MAMA (E.Africa)
Prime cut beef patty, chili mango mayonnaise, orange cheddar cheese, mixed salad, homemade gherkins and a slice of sweet roasted red bell pepper.”
NOSA: One burger you must try at Mama Rocks is the Mango Masai Mama. You're might not find mango flavored mayo anywhere else on earth so you might as well try it at Mama Rocks. On a serious note, I'm massive hater of fruits. Like, I absolutely detest them, but I loved this burger. It's messy as hell, but it's so so yum. The saltiness of the bacon and the sweet kick from the mango mayo form the most perfect union.
“DESMOND FLAMING TUTU (S.Africa)
Braai style pulled pork, beef patty, cheddar cheese, summery apple-sauce, and a rich mayo slaw. Add extra cheddar to turn this spark into a flame!”
NOSA: Of all the burgers we tried, the Desmond Flaming Tutu was the one we could've probably skipped out on. Not saying it wasn't any good, because it was, but it wasn't worth being a glutton for. On its own, it's a solid burger, but compared to the others, it lacked a little something.
FOLLY: So the summery apple-sauce had a tinge of pepper and ended up tasting like sweet fried stew - it was so tasty and I made everyone use it as a dipping sauce for their fries.
The GOAT
Now for the Ushago.at, a boutique burger, as always mint and feta is a VIBE, you can never go wrong with that. The goat patty also vibed well with the fillings to match the alte burger vibes.
NOSA: Putting feta a burger, to me, represents a commitment to excellence. Like, you aren't here to play with anyone. Putting all your competitors on notice LOL.
Jokes aside, the Ushago.at tastes like pure sex. After a tedious flight from Mombasa, this burger was the perfect welcome.
“USHAGO.AT (Kenya)
A homey mouth-watering goat patty, Maziwa Lala and mint sauce, refreshing kachumbari, skuma (Mama Style), crumbled feta cheese (and optional Mama Jane’s Green Chilli sauce).”
FOLLY: The real shame that this was the last burger we tucked in to because I was already so full that I had to let Nosa eat most of it.
USHAGO.AT
NOSA: Whatever your itinerary is, if you find yourself in Nairobi, you MUST stop by Mama Rocks. You'd be a fool not to. You can skip on the other places like Talisman and Thai Chi. Just do Mama Rocks.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Ushago.AT - $11
Mango Masai Mama - $9.50
Nollywood Suya Saga - $8.50
Flaming Desmond Tutu - $11
Finga Lickin' Harissa Chicken - $6.50
RECOMMENDED DISH
Mango Masai Mama
Sweet Mother
Ushago.AT