Nana & Naa ~ 4248 W Century Blvd. Inglewood, CA 90304 ~ (310) 674-8052

Little Belize  ~ 217 Nutwood Avenue Inglewood, CA 90301 ~ (310) 674-0696

Ever since I had read Man Bites World’s post on his Ghanaian dining experience at Nana & Naa, I’ve been wanting to check out his delicious find and with Saaris, a Nigerian restaurant close by, some foodie friends and I thought we’d do a back to back African dining day of it. As you can probably tell from the title of this blog entry, the best laid plans of mice and men, etc., etc., but I’ll have to get into that later.

When it comes to African food, let alone Ghanaian food, I hadn’t a clue. Other than reading Man Bites World’s post, I didn’t do any other additional research, before going on this culinary jaunt. Sometimes, there’s something to be said for just experiencing without having to think too much about the ins and outs or ups and downs about the food you’re going to partake in; however, if you’d like to learn more about Ghanaian food, you can click here and click here and even here for more info.

However, I didn’t go completely uninformed about how things worked at Nana & Naa. I already knew that the market was inside the building and the restaurant part which consisted of tables and metal chairs covered by tenting was behind the storefront. I also knew that getting to the back of the restaurant meant walking through the kitchen and what delicious aromas we inhaled as we made our way to the back.

Once we sat down, our waitress asked how we heard about them. Once we mentioned Noah and Man Bites World, their eyes lit up. Given how Noah was so open to their food, I think they knew we’d be the same way. With no set menu, what we ended up ordered consisted of what was cooking in their kitchen and with 5 of us, we were ready to sample it all. In fact, my group ended up sharing 5 dishes and that didn’t include the fufu and banku.

Before I get into the food, I have to mention this popular Ghanaian malt drink called Malta Hatuey that we tried. Wow, that drink was thick. One sip felt like it coated the inside of your mouth. It had an interesting flavor. Of course, the malt was there, but it also tasted a little like black licorice. I’m a red vine kind of girl myself, so this isn’t a drink I’d get again. I just thought I’d mention it in case any of you would like to experience it for yourself.

As for the food, it’s hard for me to pinpoint what spices or herbs were used. The food tasted unlike anything I’ve ever had before. Nothing I had was spicy, but everything was seasoned well and overall really flavorful. We started with the Deep Fried Tilapia on a Bed of Spinach served with Yam and Egg. The yams were a little bit dry, but the fish, fresh off the frying pan, was nice and crispy. The spinach was definitely mixed with other ingredients and at the time, I was thinking tomatoes and something nutty perhaps, but I wasn’t sure. After doing some online research, I’m pretty sure that the spinach that came with the fish is referred to as “Palava Sauce.” You can check out variations of this recipe at The Global Gourmet and Home Foods Ghana.

The next dish to arrive was a Tilapia on a Bed of Black-Eyed Peas Served with Plantains and Egg. Again, the fish was crispy. The fried plantains had a nice sweetness to them and those black-eyes beans were hearty, meaty and with a little kick to them. This dish is referred to as Red-Red. Some sources I read referred to the Bean Stew as Red-Red or the plantains themselves as Red-Red. Regardless, this is a dish where the beans and plantains seem to be forever partnered.
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