Many years ago in Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria, there was a hotel called Boolat, owned by a woman who created the name by combining the first letters of the names of her ten children–Bimpe, Beatrice, Bolade, Oluyemisi, Olumide, Omolara, Olashile, Layi, Adeniji, and Taiwo.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
The sixth eldest, Beatrice Hardnick, moved to the States in 1991 in an attempt to gain independence from her well-to-do family. “I wanted to make it on my own,” she says. After working briefly as a nursing home assistant, she realized there was something else she wanted to do. “I decided to open my restaurant because I love to cook and I love to share my experience, plus I would be my own boss.” As a tribute to her mother, Hardnick took the name of the old family hotel, altering it slightly to “Bolat,” which also tied her name to the names of her three children, Ola, Tumi, and Tokunboh. It opened on the 4800 block of North Sheridan.
Many Chicagoans are probably not familiar with the strange-sounding foods on Bolat’s menu: fufu, egusi, jollaf rice, efo. Actually, the staples of African cuisine are not that mysterious. Many Nigerian dishes consist of meats like beef, chicken, lamb, or fish mixed into various stews with familiar vegetables like tomatoes, spinach, and onions and seasoned with thyme, curry, garlic, and ginger. Located on Africa’s western coast, Nigeria was a popular stopover for European explorers, who introduced peppers, peanuts, and corn into the traditional cuisine. The Nigerians, who brought their foods along on the slave ships, had a great influence on much of Central America and the southern U.S.
“I think I’m a pacesetter, because everybody who comes here says, ‘Ooh, this is the best I’ve ever tasted,’” she says. “I don’t want it to remain just like that, I want to grow. As long as the sky permits me, I want to keep flying.”
