Ceebu yapp (Cheh-boo Yap) is a lot like ceebu djeun, the national dish of Senegal, but with yapp instead of djeun, that is, lamb instead of fish. Vegetables might differ; the default with fish includes cabbage, carrot, and cassava. But the "cheb" — the rice — is just as tasty.
Previously: At your local diner, "two eggs any style" will get you eggs from a chicken, not a quail or an ostrich; there's no need to ask for clarification. At a Chinese noodle shop (unless the business expressly keeps halal), "meat sauce" implies pork meat. So it is, at a Senegalese restaurant like Chez Alain, when you order "dibi" — by default, you'll be served chopped, seasoned grilled lamb.
Only with the addition of a qualifying word, as in the case of my "dibi poulet," or grilled chicken, does the menu depart from that basic understanding. (Compare Puerto Rican chicharrones de pollo.) This broad plate included sides of buttery vermicelli and just-ripe plantain, half a hardboiled egg and a hodgepodge of vegetables, plus that essential accompaniment to the West African grill, onions in mustard sauce. Your principal conundrum: spear onions and chicken together, with a fork, or just dig in with your fingers.
Chez Alain Restaurant
2046 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (122nd-123rd Sts.), Manhattan
212-678-7600
