The streets around the Grand Marché have the cheapest and most authentic food in N'Djamena. Small restaurants and food stalls set up from midday and serve the market traders, transport workers, and everyone else who does not have time for a sit-down meal. The staple is boule — a firm millet or sorghum porridge eaten with the right hand, accompanied by a sauce of groundnuts, okra, or dried fish. Grilled brochettes of beef or goat come off charcoal grills on every other corner.
Fish from the Chari River appears most often as a smoked or dried ingredient in sauces, but fresh fish is grilled and sold near the river end of the market in the mornings. For around 500 FCFA — less than a euro — you can eat a complete and filling local meal. The hygiene is variable; stick to stalls that are busy and where the food is cooked to order. Street food here is as much a part of understanding N'Djamena as any museum or monument.