Akwaaba is not a take-out
restaurant. Well, you definitely can get anything on the menu to go, and they
will happily take your to-go order, but to really enjoy Akwaaba,
dining in is the way to go. Sibling owners Mohammed and Naima Ahamed named this African cuisine spot Akwaaba
because the word literally means “welcome” in Akan, a language spoken in their
native Ghana. Dining here is meant to be a community event where everyone is
welcome. The grills and fryers are situated so that you can watch them prepare
your food while you wait if you so choose. Both Mohammed and Naima love to cook and
have been cooking all their lives. They take time and care with all food orders
so that they meet their high standards, and it shows. Mohammed is always
sharply dressed when he cooks. I’m not sure if that is part of the charm of the
restaurant, but I do envy his wardrobe.
Akwaaba opened in September 2018 in the College Town area
of Mount Hope Avenue, in what used to be an India House Express before that
restaurant moved to the building next door. It’s a small place, but there’s a
good amount of seating. Often you end up conversing with other customers, which
is partially the intention. The last time I visited, an elderly woman was
regaling a pair of college students sitting adjacent to her at another table.
They were so riveted by her words that I thought they already knew each other,
but they’d only met a few minutes prior to my arrival. Eventually, they were
all at the same table, still sharing stories.
The food is
well worth the time it takes to make it, and all portions are big enough to
share. My favorite is the Somali samosas ($4), sometimes called sambusas. Similar to the Indian samosas, this appetizer is
a set of six lightly-fried, thin dough tetrahedrons stuffed with vegetables,
beef, or chicken. Instead of a choice of chutney, Somali samosas are served
with a dipping sauce of stewed tomato, pepper, and onion. I could eat these all
day, but then I would miss out on the fried plantains ($4.50) or the fried
chicken ($8) appetizers.
Plantains
are always hearty and sweet, so I can satisfy my sweet tooth and not feel like
I am consuming empty calories. When the fried chicken came out, I thought we
had mistakenly made a double order. Four huge chicken drumsticks, nearly the
size of turkey legs, were topped with the same tomato pepper onion sauce that came
with the samosas. This is an appetizer made for sharing, and I was glad I came
with a large party. It seems that all of the appetizers are made for more than
one person, or perhaps the environment got me into the spirit of sharing my
food as much as we were swapping stories.
The appetizers come in abundant portions, and the main dishes
even moreso. My first choice was the ampesi with fried fish ($14). Ampesi
is boiled yams (or plantain) served with a spinach stew. The digital picture of
this meal displayed above the cash register does not do it justice: I expected
a medium-sized filet with some spinach and plantains, but I was presented with
a slab of boneless fish on top of a wealth of savory-seasoned spinach and sweet
yams.
The second
entrée I ordered was the aboboi with plantains ($9). As
large a dish as the ampesi, this is a vegetarian
black-eyed bean stew with fried plantains on the side. The most popular meal at
my table was the jollof rice with chicken ($12). Jollof is rice cooked in the aforementioned tomato-pepper-onion
medley, and the chicken is also cooked in the same mix. The dish is simultaneously
sweet and savory, and the rice has a light red hue from being infused with the
vegetables and oil. And it took a lot of willpower to
not lick the plate clean.
One warning:
if Mohammed or Naima advise you that a soup is spicy, take them at their word.
The pepper soup ($5) is delicious, but I foolishly thought that I could handle
a heaping spoonful of it. The good news is I have a new go-to meal to consume
when I feel a bit congested.
There is
something to be said about going to a restaurant where you don’t feel rushed,
where they are not trying to get you out the door as quickly as you sat down,
where you can take your time and relax and chat with your fellow patrons while
enjoying a bounty of food made with care. I enjoyed the food there as much as I
enjoyed my conversations with Mohammed and other guests. Akwaaba
is a welcome respite from the world outside.
This article appears in Mar 20-26, 2019.
