Sunday, April 12, 2009

Iyanze Now Open On Broadway

Judging by the crowds of people inside and outside "Iyanze" Saturday night (in the 4600 block of Broadway), the grand opening was a success. The banner out front mentions a $4.99 grand opening lunch special and colorful balloons celebrating Iyanze's opening are outside the storefront. We aren't sure of their hours yet, but you can call 773-944-1417 to inquire. Hopefully this restaurant will bring the foot traffic needed to continue improving this blighted section of Broadway. Trees in the long vacant sidewalk cut-outs (visible in this photo) would also improve this stretch. We wish Iyanze all the best.

12 comments:

  1. It's actually "Iyanizé" -- you know it's a classy establishment, because the name has a completely superfluous diacritic tacked randomly onto one of the letters.

    Personally, I would've used an umlaut in there somewhere...

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  2. Or it, more possibly, is an African word with an accent mark added to help us know how it's pronounced in its original language. The same folks who own Bolat own Iyanize... how 'bout giving them a call and telling them that you think they're pretentious?

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  3. Bolat is a great restaurant... can't wait to check out Iyanize!

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  4. Wow Candice- all all Canadians as remedial as you?

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  5. From Metromix: "Uptown’s newest African restaurant, a 100-seater from the folks behind Bolat African Cuisine, also might turn out to be its fastest. Instead of table service, Iyanze, which means good luck, will have a cafeteria-style setup, with a la carte options dished up from steam tables. Expect mostly Nigerian and Ghanian dishes, with a few couscous-based selections from Francophone countries such as Ivory Coast in the mix too. Though you’ll recognize many favorites from the Bolat menu, including jollof rice, chef-owner Beatrice Ade says there’ll be more emphasis here on grilled fish and meats than fried fare. Iyanze also will open early for breakfast, offering juices, pastries, muffins and African options like meat pies and boiled yams."

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  6. Did you have to use a thesaurus for that inane post, Candice?

    Yawn.

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  7. Why would I have used a thesaurus? I'm not sure that diacritic has any synonyms (if that's the particular word you're referring to). It just happens that linguistics and typography are both particular interests of mine, so I have certain words in my vocabulary that others may not. Here's a good one: tittle.

    I'm guessing Iyanzé is a made-up word, since there are only one or two search results for the word that don't relate directly to the restaurant. Either way, I don't give much of a damn. I'm not about to call every band that's guilty of using a "metal umlaut", either, though I might make a comment about it if it comes up, and I'm trying to find a good excuse to take a break from work for a minute or two. I just think it's silly, in the same way that beauty products with foreign-language affected names, i.e. Tresemmé, are silly.

    And no, all Canadians aren't [most any generalized description goes here]. What does my nationality have to do with anything? Do you have a particular prejudice against Canadians, James?

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  8. BTW Iyanize" translates to "Mother who cooks".Is an African (I think from Ghana).
    The restaurant was named this as a mother and son own it and the mother does the cooking.
    Wow- Candice you need to do your homework- took me all of two minutes to find this out.

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  9. Candice,

    Are you from Saskatchewan?

    Glad to have a fellow Canadian in the 'hood.

    I enjoy your comments. Keep
    'em coming.

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  10. i am glad to see that the African cuisine is mentioned -- missed that in the post. (and what the name means -- thanks, Nash)

    My wife & i walked by...seemed like a nice place...lots of money poured into it, with at least 2 big flat screen TV's, and an upper level loft.

    Unfortunately, it seems empty. Any Uptown Update readers visit it yet?

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  11. We went again tonight, it is amazing. Go. Eat. Now.

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  12. Candice,
    An umlaut is Germanic, not African, and any rat-infested hot dog stand could sell hot dogs with an umlaut. Personally, I prefer to judge a restaurant on taste and food safety over meaningless and inappropriate accent marks. Here's a news flash: Iyanze has been VIOLATING city health codes. Don't believe me? Stay tuned...

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