Senegalese street vendors were the harbingers, and they soon set up kitchens in single-room-occupancy hotels around Times Square to meet their culinary needs. But a new wave of West African migration arrived more recently, beginning around 1980. Such dishes as collard greens, fried chicken, stewed okra, and hoppin’ john (black-eyed peas and rice) came from West Africa with unwilling immigrants on slave ships. West African fare has exerted a profound influence on America’s food culture. But new places have popped up to replace them, making our collection of West African restaurants better than ever - a hopeful light in a dark time. Yes, we’ve lost some important places in the last nine months, including Medina (Senegalese in downtown Brooklyn), Ebe Ye Yie (Ghanaian in Fordham Heights), and Chez Adja (Nigerian and Senegalese in Staten Island). It is alive as the full moon that shone on our walk home.The pandemic appears to have dealt a softer blow to West African restaurants than to many others, mainly because a wide swath of them always depended on carryout for a substantial part of their business, while the dining rooms often functioned as clubhouses for homesick immigrants. Africa Kine, an open, inviting, and friendly establishment (although with somewhat slow service) is a felicitous first step for those who believe - sincerely if mistakenly - that African is an culinary dark continent. Dinner for two was an almost impossible $30.00, particularly given the care that went into the preparation of the food and the elegance of the decor.Īccording to the menu, lunch has a greater preponderance of African dishes than dinner, although both lunches and dinner are a mix of African stews (lamb stewed in peanut sauce, chicken marinated in lemon and onions) and more Americanized-sounding dishes.Ĭhowists have not explored the many African cuisines to the extent these cuisines deserve. Given that the meal had not properly reached its close, we surely need to return again - and again. We also selected a homemade, and very sharp, Ginger Juice, a drink for which one needed a glass of water - a cool drink so hot as to demand relief.ĭessert, which at that point we were unable to order -or more precisely unable to consume - was Sweet Couscous with Soursopp. The plantain was fried and spiced to perfection, adding sugar to spice. This fish (a bony white fish) was as sweet and delicate as could be desired, and it too had a hot sauce to add complexity. My friend selected Grilled Fish with Sweet Fried Plantain in Mustard Sauce. Even the lagniappe of okra lacked the slime that so often seems genetically mandated. Surrounding this were the vegetables, prepared in various styles. Beautiful fish, cooked to fall-apart, in an almost-too-hot sauce, placed by the hill of rice. Oh happy Dakar! This was as complex as any Thai dish of my recent memory. This dish is considered the Senegalese national dish. We selected two entrees, although in truth one would have sufficed: Thiebu Djeun (Djol of Rice): Fish Stewed in Tomato Sauce with Eggplant, Carrots, Cassava, and White Cabbage, served on mound of short brown rice. Sparkling and complex with an equatorial burn. If one likes heat (and we do), they were inspired starters. And hewing to local custom, we began with egg rolls, appetizers that appeared to be thin Thai rolls, but were a meaty mix of beef, chicken, and shrimp, more highly spiced that Asian versions. Africans - Ghanaians and Senegalese - frequently prepare egg rolls and fried rice. One of the surprises of African cuisine is the way that Chinese cuisine has infiltrated. Senegalese cuisine has some of the elegance of French cooking with the heat of the tropics, and the food was a treasure in a restaurant that surely reaches the heights of ethnic cuisine in the city. The restaurant opened about a year ago, all art work and exposed brick, an upscale version of the now shuttered Africa Restaurant by the same owners across the street. (An increasing share of Harlem real estate is now well beyond my means). We selected a beautifully decorated establishment, Africa Kine, a few steps from the 8th Avenue subway on a street that, if not yet gentrified, felt warm and safe. The Senegalese community is particularly vibrant along 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Avenue. Harlem is the residence of choice for many immigrant Francophone Africans. Anglophone Africa is located in University Heights in the Bronx (Little Accra) and Fort Greene in Brooklyn. Hanging with an Africanist of my acquaintance, a woman who has spent much quality time in Accra, where she consults with museums and historical sites, we decided to dine under a full West African moon.
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