African restaurants in the U.S. have recently garnered recognition on a national level. Celebrate African cuisine at some of the most famous restaurants in the U.S.
1. Yassa African Restaurant
Chicago, Illinois
Owners Madieye and Awa Gueye are bringing Senegalese cuisine to Chicago with extended arms and gracious smiles. On the walls hang pieces of their heritage, including bright murals and African prints. Their restaurant feels like home to anyone who enters, even though the cuisine is anything but ordinary. The menu has been prepared with care by Awa and features her most beloved Senegalese dishes, such as Tiebu Djen, which includes fish, rice, and tomato sauce. Fufu, a popular side dish, is made from pounding cassava and unripe plantains until they form a dough. It’s usually eaten as a side along with meat or to mop up thick sauces.
2. Karoo Restaurant
Eastham, Massachusetts
Servers wear t-shirts with the slogan “From Cape Town to Cape Cod”, reminding chef Sanette Groenewald of her long journey from South Africa to Massachusetts. The outside of her restaurant, Karoo, features warm, bright orange paint and proudly displays the South African flag. Inside, the bright smells of unusual aromas clue you into Sanette’s origins. People return time and time again to experience a foreign world full of distinctly South African dishes such as chakalaka – an African vegetable dish – and others like paps & wors, a sausage and porridge dish. The creative menu also features uncommon meats like wild boar, antelope, and even camel.
3. The Shebeen Pub & Braai
Charlottesville, Virginia
Walter Theo Xavier Slawski spent his childhood roaming the rivers and agrarian tundra of Zimbabwe. After he received a degree in economics from the University of Virginia, he opened The Shebeen Pub & Braai to pay homage to his South African Roots. Their brunch menu is a hit, and their lunch and dinner spreads are also mouth-watering. Their vegetarian sadza cakes are cheesy and rich and served with kale and butternut squash. Carnivores can enjoy boerewors burgers and Camps Bay Calamari.
4. Injera
New York City, New York
Teff, a grain popular in Ethiopia, is the main component of their nation’s staple flatbread – Injera. Injera is synonymous with Ethiopian cuisine, which means expectations at this restaurant are high. Injera opened in the spring of 2014 and offers diners an authentic Ethiopian experience. Popular dishes served here are tibs – beef cubes sautéed in butter, hot peppers, onion, and garlic in the favored spice blend of the country, berbere.
