Episode VII: Ghana

Palm butter and rice

We knew the day would come when one of the stops on the TCGC tour wouldn't pan out as hoped.  We just weren't expecting it to happen in Africa.  The quest for Nigerian food proved fruitless, as all restaurants that we could find that once served Nigerian food are now closed.

Christina tackling the fish

Our back up plan was a cafe near the Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis that specializes in Ghanishan style cuisine.  The menu had no recognizable dishes, which we were initially excited to see.  After a few minutes, the waitress slowly approached us.  Her demeanor made it clear that it was very, very unusual for people who don't frequent this establishment to go to it.

Zack eating the palm butter

Undeterred, we asked her to recommend the best Ghanishan dishes they had to offer.  She replied with an "...ummmmmmmmm, the Attieke (a fish, vegetable, cous cous type dish) and palm butter (a chicken and beef dish with a greenish curry sauce) would be ok."  We went for it.  We also went for a recommended Ghanishan beer that was large enough to be split.

The beer, called Gulder, was fantastic.  It's an extra matured premium beverage created in the Guinness Ghana Brewery.  The mouthfeel was "tingly effervescent" and finish "left without saying goodbye." 

Attieke

The palm butter came out first, with a plate of rice.  The meat was submerged beneath the greenish curryish sauce.  We had a hard time deciphering what exactly we were eating, and there was a noticeable lack of taste that really threw us for a loop.  There were also lots of small bones that were next to impossible to see before eating.  Christina fell victim to one which she accidentally swallowed.  She was quoted as saying, "It felt like it was slicing my throat all the way down."  We were hopeful that the Attieke would be more fulfilling... it was not.  The fish was actually pretty tasty, particularly when mixed with the cous cous and a sweet berry sauce, but after the skin and bones were removed, there was hardly anything left to enjoy.  The veggies consisted of a tomato, onion, cucumber and bell pepper combo that complimented the rest of the dish well. 

We ate as much as we could, but were ready to stop well before we were full.  As we left, we picked out two Indian malt soda pops in hopes of salvaging something unique and delicious from our experience.  One sip of the beverages and it was clear we had bottomed out completely.  As a result, we swallowed our pride and upon leaving the restaurant, we found the nearest McDonald's and ate away our disappointment.  We're not proud of this.

Our shameful conclusion

We're dedicated to doing more research for our next restaurant.  Morocco is scheduled though it seems a Moroccan restaurant is going to be as hard to find as Nigerian and Tanzanian food was previously.  If any of you loyal blog readers know of a place where a couple of hungry Minnesotans can eat some Moroccan chow, please let us know.

Ghanishan food brought McDonalds to our own St. Paul/Minneapolis.