Accra

"Steam trays spill over with bone-rich stews filled with chunks of goat, fish, and chicken at Accra Express, a counter-service spot in East Harlem. The narrow, casual eatery is an offshoot of the older Accra Restaurant in the Bronx, and it’s a great spot for picking up a filling meal of various thick Ghanaian soups and stews—all swimming in layers of perfectly spiced palm oil. You can ask for samples, and the ladies behind the counter will ladle a bit of anything you want into a plastic cup to try. Get some swallows to go with the soups, like tangy, gooey cassava placali, or a starchier plantain fufu, served in tight, plastic-wrapped balls. You can also get plain rice or waakye cooked with beans, but Accra does a first-rate, salty-savory jollof rice, which demands a sweet, fizzy drink alongside. You’ll find several options including Vimto in the fridges, alongside pillowy loaves of butter bread. Food Rundown Turkey Tail Smokey, fatty turkey butt. Get this as a snack if you’re into well-textured bits of meat. photo credit: David A. Lee Jollof Rice The jollof here has won awards—according to the golden rice bowl-shaped trophies on the counter—but it’s not an ostentatious dish. Served plain or with your choice of stew, the rice is subtly but consistently spiced: a low-frequency buzz of flavor that keeps you coming back for one more bite, after one more sip of soda. Pepper Soup You can pick out which meat you want—chicken, goat, fish, or a mix. Perfect for a sick day, this pepper soup has a pleasant building heat, rather than a sharp kick to the back of the throat. Peanut Soup A silky, nutty soup that we especially like to eat with fufu. Get it with chicken or goat, which is tender and boney at the same time. Okra Stew A mild stew of chopped, slippery-textured okra, this is a nice green counterpoint to the red and yellow soups. Get this or some bitter spinach stew to complete the colors of the Ghanaian flag. Sweet Plantain You might find yourself pulling off the blackened edges of these soft, sweet plantains and eating them first. We wouldn’t blame you." - Sonal Shah