Patisserie des Ambassades

For nearly two decades this corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard has worked as Little Senegal's front parlor: croissants and pain au chocolat in the morning, a dining room that turns Senegalese by lunch, and sidewalk tables where French, Wolof and English drift between conversations. It is a reminder that Dakar is a francophone city, and that a Senegalese café is as likely to serve a good croissant as a good mafé.

Come hungry at midday for thiebou yapp — thieboudienne's lamb-based cousin, the rice stained red with tomato — or a peanut-rich mafé, then step next door for a pastry and coffee. On a warm afternoon the outdoor tables are one of Harlem's better places to watch the avenue go by.