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Americans don't know a lot about Nigeria, other than the fact that it's oil-rich, the soccer team's called the Super Eagles, and every single person is an ex-prince who will send you checks if you promise to wire some of the cash back to his trusted associate in Lagos. For Nigerian food that actually is too good to be true, hit Suya Joint.

Wisely filling the void left by the shuttering of Hyde Park's African Cuisine, the Nigerian-born chef behind SJ's turned her local catering biz into the Hub's only West African eatery, slinging authentic sub-Saharan skewers, dumplings, and soups in Rozzie's former Bangkok Cafe, now transformed into a beige/brown 35-seater rocking an artistic giraffe graphic. Starters include thinly sliced beef/ chicken kebabs (Suya!) dry-rubbed in a blend of Nigerian tankora spices (like groundnuts, cayenne pepper, paprika), baked ground beef pies, a spicy signature stew of slowly simmered oxtail (say that 10 times fast!), and crispy deep-fried fritters made from peppers, onions, and black-eyed peas -- order these early as they tend to sell out quickly. Entrees mean meaty rice dishes like the lamb/ goat/ fish Jollof in a savory tomato sauce w/ fried plantains, or opt for a choose-your-own culinary adventure pairing dumplings called fufu (made from yam, rice, corn flour, cassava, fonio) with dipping soups like egusi (melon stew w/ spinach), dried okra in chicken broth, or ogbono made from crushed African mango seeds and bitterleaf, which clearly isn't equipped to see the forest for the trees.

To wash down that fufu, they've got exotics like bottles of Malta (a carbonated malt drink, natch) and Kunun-zaki, the sweet fermented Nigerian beverage made out of cereal, as well as a standard selection of beer and wine, though hopefully not the kind that starts with, "This extremely genial prince stole $22,000 from my checking account!".

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Succulent food pics and a rundown of the entire menu await you at SuyaJoint.com