Rahama’s: West African Food in the U Street Corridor

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Africa food U street, DC African Food, DC African restaurant, DC ginger drinks, DC Hausaphones, fufu with peanut soup and goat, palava sauce, Rahama's, Rahama's African Restaurant, West African restaurants in DC

Last night, I dined at Rahama’s, ‘authentic and upscale African cuisine.’  Somehow, I had managed to go several months without knowing about the existence of this establishment that serves Nigerian and Ghanaian delicacies.  All in all, the food was quite

African Food Wholesalers in DC & A More Authentic Africa in DC

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African culture in DC, African Food in DC, African grocers in DC, Choice International, DC African Food, Nina International

I’ve been fairly critical of several DC African experts on this blog, most noticeably Todd Moss of the Center for Global Development.  However, I suspect I may be susceptible to some real criticism myself.  To date,  the majority of my posts have covered policy events and offered analysis that would mostly appeal to intellectual elites.

I also want Africa in DC to explicitly cover cultural and social material – I do not want to exclude the physical presence of Africa(ns) in DC in favor of relaying what beltway bandits (as well as more legitimate experts) have to say about Africa.  As the summer kicks off and the academic year comes to a close, I hope to increasingly turn my attention to Africa’s cultural presence in the DMV (particularly in July and August).

One area in which I must confess to not knowing much about – the presence of African food distributors in DC’s Maryland suburbs.  I ventured to the Red Apple Farmer’s Market (which I have previously written about) to replenish my depleted stock of canned palm butter yesterday.

Two frozen food items that I also purchased were imported by niche African importers based in Beltsville and Hyattsville, Maryland.  Nina International has its own website, though its sparse on details, and the other company is Choice International.

Do any readers know if their products can be found across the US, or are they primarily based in this area?

East African Food in DC

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DC African Food, Kenyan food, Masai Mara DC

UPDATE – JULY 2013.  AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.

On my walk along Georgia Avenue last weekend, I noticed a new African restaurant, Masai Mara.  I’m not a big fan of East African food (DC has a lot more west African restaurants and I prefer that region’s cuisine), but I’ll try to at least grab a drink there shortly (when I popped in around 7:30 pm on a Friday, they did not have a single customer, so I suspect they could use the business).

Prince of Petworth has a short piece on the opening and a much better picture than I do above.

The African Presence in Maryland’s International Corridor – Grocery Stores

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African grocery stores, DC African Food, Red Apple Farmers Market, Takoma Park African stores

Per the image above, Maryland is apparently billing the New Hampshire Ave./University Blvd crossroads as the state’s international corridor.  As soon as one leaves DC, New Hampshire Ave is transformed into a highly commercial thoroughfare, loaded with various international retail outlets mostly catering to the Latino community.  There are however, several African grocers, restaurants (which double as night spots), and fabric shops in the area (pics inside).