Appioo African Bar & Grill

West African Standby Appioo Reopens for Indoor Dining With Two New Dishes | Eater DC

"I can already imagine the familiar aromas of spicy tomato sauce and ginger wafting out onto Ninth Street NW as Appioo, a Ghanaian staple in Shaw for the past seven years, reopens for half-capacity indoor seating on Friday, August 21 — reservations will be required and the restaurant will log customers for contact tracing. The full menu of staples remains intact, including red red, jollof rice, and egusi stew, and the kitchen is adding two new dishes: a minced goat burger (goat ground on-site, spiced with a blend that includes hints of cinnamon, served with yuca fries) and a seafood okra stew made low and slow starting with salt-encrusted tilapia dried in the sun, a tomato-onion-habanero base cooked with portions of grilled shrimp, octopus, and crab, finished with fresh okra and flavored with sustainably sourced palm oil. For vegetable-forward diners there are options like the spinach stew or vegetarian akrako (seasoned plantain dumplings served with black eye peas), and stews can be ordered with extra protein choices such as chicken, croaker fish, oxtail, beef, or goat. Owner-chef Prince Matey draws on his grandmother’s Ghanaian recipes while adapting flavors for local Washingtonians; before the pandemic Appioo was a communal spot where expats gathered and danced to Afrobeat late into the night, and for the past four months it has been missing its regulars while offering takeout and delivery through Grub Hub, Post Mates, and Door Dash. The restaurant’s hours are 4:00 p.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday and 4:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, promising home-cooked Ghanaian dishes, drinks, and live bands to help you forget your 9-to-5." - Vinciane Ngomsi