Well, for starters, when I go to a buffet that is supposed to be African cuisine, I am grossly disappointed when I find items on there that are essentially American picnic foods, specifically a potato salad and cole slaw. Now, child foods present, I entirely understand, but that? Not a chance.
That and I have a hard time appreciting "African" cuisine, when let's face it, Africa is an entire continent, and I guarantee you that foods you would find in say Egypt or Morrocco are going to be FAR different than those say in South Africa or Malawi. (Sort of like calling a cuisine European... what you'd get in Greece and Denmark are two totally different horses.) You get a crazy mish-mash of different foods and styles that don't necessarily mesh, aside from the fact they're inspired by one continent.
That being said, we are normally pretty adventurous eaters, we love new things and variety. So when I stumbled across American fare with different spices/herbs, I was not impressed. I pretty much threw in the towel entirely when it came to the desserts. They were pretty much the most inauthentic parts of the entire selection of offerings.
Man, I realize this sounds exceptionally snotty ...and probably a lot of my problems with the place is that I went in with high expectations and walked away disappointed. For what it is, I suppose it's ok, but if we go to Les Chefs de France, I expect the cuisine to be fairly close, even if the veggie offerings are nothing like they are in France, and the portions are ginormous. Likewise, if I go to a restaurant boasting of a particular cuisine, I really want to see that fleshed out... unless the entire African continent eats an almost entirely Westernized diet with their own local flavor. Watermelon rind salad? Yes. Coleslaw? Absolutement non!
If I want a fix, I'll hit the charming little African restaurant down the street from my house that focuses on the cuisine of Northern Africa.
