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.

Two soups followed soon after the above two dishes along with the banku (fermented corn and cassava dough) and the fufu (cassava), both starchy sides that are used to sop up the soup. One was the Peanut Butter Soup with Tilapia, which is also referred to as Groundnut Soup. I had high expectations for this soup, based purely on my experience with Kare Kare, a Filipino dish I grew up that’s also made up of a Peanut Butter Sauce. When I looked down at my bowl, it was seemed more like a tomato soup than anything else. Dipping a piece of fufu in it, I could taste a little bit of the peanut butter, but it was definitely overshadowed by the tomatoes. I actually still enjoyed the soup, but I just felt that it was misnamed.

The second soup was called simply “Light Soup” and came with Beef. While sometimes served as a starter to a meal with fufu, it’s also thought to help with those recuperating from illness when spiced appropriately with ginger chili. You can check out a couple of recipes at eHow or this Ghanaian Discussion Board I discovered. “Light” is definitely a good description. It’s the kind of soup that would be good to eat if you don’t want anything too hearty, but just enough to assuage a little bit of hunger.

Rice and Red Beans with Goat and Cassava Grains was the last dish of our meal. I couldn’t find any reference to the Ghanaian name for this dish. One thing I can say is that the rice and red beans tasted similar to what you would expect to get a Southern or Creole restaurant, although the rice in this case seemed more heavily sauced, perhaps tomato-based. I did find out that Cassava Grains are referred to as Gari and are very much a staple of Ghanaian cuisine. Basically, Gari is made from fresh cassava, which is grated with the excess liquid squeezed out. The remaining cassava is then fried with over an open fire, on a broad metal pan that has been greased with a little oil that could be palm oil or other vegetable fat. The resulting product is crunchy, stored easily and than can be eaten with stew or soup or meat or fish.

Overall, I really enjoyed the food. It’s not a cuisine I’d eat on a regular basis just because from what we had, the entire meal was very starchy and I like my veggies. However, the flavors were unique and everything tasted good and you can’t beat the price. Between the 5 of us, we spent around $12 each for the entire meal.

What we also go out of this meal was a tip from one of the other customers about a Belizean restaurant, not too far from Saaris where we were heading to next. That tip served as well because it turns out Saaris was closed, so instead we decided to check out Little Belize, which was a few blocks away.

Walking into Little Belize, it was interesting to note that there wasn’t a whole of seating. There were some booths on two sides of the restaurant and a bar with bar stools. The middle of the restaurant was empty. I think in the evening it turns into a mini night club. Since we had such a big meal at Nana & Naa, we decided to stick with ordering some of their appetizers and considering that they were between $1.00 to $3.00 each, it wasn’t that much of a financial hardship.

One thing to mention is that the names of the some of the appetizers were unfamiliar. When we asked the owner to describe them for us, it was easy to see that he took a lot of pride in his country’s dishes. As he was describing the appetizers, they seemed similar to other Latin or South American dishes. However, when we compared his description of the “garnarche” to a tostada, we were told nicely, but firmly, that no, the garnache is not a tostada, it’s a garnache. Also, the “panade” is not an empanada, it’s a panade and so on. To learn more about Belizean food, check out Belizean Journeys.

Anyway, we ended up sharing 4 appetizers and one dessert. The first one we tried was their Chicken Tamal. Wrapped in a banana leaf, the masa itself was moist and the chicken filling had a lot of flavor. Click here to learn more about tamale making the Belizean way.

Then I had my first taste of the garnaches, which were fried corn tortillas with black beans and cheese. Garnaches could also be topped with onions, but they weren’t that missed in this case. It’s amazing how a food can only have 3 ingredients, but still be absolutely delicious. That definitely speaks to good food preparation and quality ingredients.

Next were the Salbutes, which were flat round circles of fried corn masa with stewed chicken, tomatoes and cheese. I don’t know what ingredient was mixed into the masa to give it that orange color. Regardless, it gave that masa a different flavor nuance that was appealing and combined with the rest of the ingredients, 3 to 4 of these can make up a nice tasty light lunch.

The last appetizer we shared were the Panades, what the owner referred to as corn turnovers with a tuna filling. These corn turnovers were made up of cornmeal. If I had a choice between an empanada and a panade, I’d go for the panade. What I liked about it was that just enough cornmeal was used to encase the filling and the cornmeal itself was light and crispy. The tuna filling was moist and with every bite, you got cornmeal and fish.

Our foodie journey ended with Little Belize’s Coconut Tarts. After a little reading up, I found out that the dried grated coconut meat, after you mix with water and squeeze out its milk, provides the basis for many Belizean desserts. For our coconut tarts, this grated coconut was more than likely sweetened with sugar and baked in this little mini tart. When it comes to any kind of coconut dessert, the artificial coconut that comes in bags, are definitely not my thing. Once you bit into this tart, it was obvious that only real coconut was used and that’s as it should be.

In looking at the menu of Little Belize, I definitely want to make a return visit. They offer a hash fish and egg dish for breakfast that looked interesting as well as weekend specials like Conch Soup and Pigtails and Pea Soup.

Overall, this was a day of true culinary exploration of two unfamiliar cuisines where although I didn’t recognize the spices that were used or the names of the dishes themselves, the food really stood out and left me craving more. On that note, it’s definitely time for a couple of repeat visits, although maybe not on the same day this time around.

By the way, if I identified any of the dishes incorrectly, please let me know.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157615654519563/

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

Little Belize
217 Nutwood Avenue
Inglewood, CA 90301
(310) 674-0696
http://www.littlebelizeres.com

If you’re into ethnic food, check out the Pleasure Palate blog for more tasty discoveries!

La Fonda Antioqueña~ 4903 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90029 ~ (323) 957-5164

Ever since a beautiful Colombiana stole my heart, and introduced me to her welcoming extended family in the birthplace of the cumbia, the process of seeking out Colombian restaurants in the southland has become a bit of an obsessive pastime. And, since going to one of these restaurants is a usually a special occasion, we tend to over-order, taking home the leftovers to make use of them for the rest of the week.

We started off the mini-feast with an appetizer of empanadas, in this case, spiced ground beef surrounded by fried corn-meal. If that doesn’t evoke enough of an idea, just think of it as the most delicious hot pocket you could ever imagine. And the condiments for this delicious hot pocket, you ask? Instead of what we might think of as pico de gallo or salsa, the equivalent Colombian condiment is a mix called ahí, which still has spicy chili bits in it, but is much lighter on the tomato and heavier on the parsley and green onion. Personally, I love the stuff and lovingly tilt a spoonful of ahí onto each bite of my empanada. Empanadas are frequently served with a lemon wedge, as many believe that a squirt of fresh lemon enhances the overall empanada experience

There was a bit of marine layer and a brisk breeze near our home base, which made us crave a hearty soup. The typical dish of the capital, Bogotá, is a chicken soup called ajiaco. Ajiaco seems to be what colonialists cooked up when they wanted to make a fancy, European-style chicken soup with the ingredients available in their New World. The broth is fortified by three varieties of potato and corn on the half-cob, and flavored with onions, bay leaves, and guascas, a herb that can be hard to find stateside. The flavor of guascas has been described as “grassy” by some, “special and indescribable” by others; I have read in several sources that you just can’t call it ajiaco if it doesn’t have guascas in it, and that there is no substitute. The soup is finished off with garnishes of heavy cream, avocado, and capers.

Lengua en salsa, or “tongue in sauce”, is another typical Colombian dish. It seems that nowadays in North America, beef tongue is something that we more often eschew than chew in restaurants. Back in the 19th Century, though, buffalo tongue was all the rage in the finest East Coast dining establishments; considered a delicacy by the Native Americans in the plains, a feast of buffalo tongue is an important element of the Sun Dance Ceremony of the Lakota tribes. Personally, I find it to be a very tender and flavorful cut of meat. In La Fonda’s version, the tongue slices are cooked with slices of tomato and onion, which is a nice departure from the typical puree or tomato sauce preparation.

Our quest for soup continued with an order of cazuela de mariscos. I’m a sucker for seafood, and this hearty chowder certainly had an abundant variety. It may sound kind of lame to rave about white rice, but the white rice that accompanied it was awesome. Maybe I was just in the mood for white rice or something, but it was well salted and each individual grain of rice burst open the way it does when you fry the uncooked grains in oil for enough time before you boil it, as in rice pilaf. I made liberal use of the avocado, lemon, tomato, and ahí garnishes before lapping it up.

Arepas are to Colombia what corn-tortillas are to Mexico. Arepas are made with corn meal, too, but they make it a bit thicker. I didn’t get a good shot of an arepa by itself, but you can see it resting next to the bowl of ajiaco or sitting in the back corner in the plate of lengua. The ones here at Fonda Antioquena were some of the thicker ones I have seen, about the size and heft of a uncut English muffin. I’ve heard that Colombians and Venezuelans can argue for hours on end as to the true national origin of the arepa, although I’ve personally never been witness to such a discussion.

Colombia itself has a damn varied terrain, with a tropical plain on the Caribbean coast in the North, areas of rain forest in the Amazon River basin, and chilly high-altitude of Andean locales that will give you a debilitating case of soroche (altitude sickness) that is only cured by copious amounts of coca leaf tea. Coca leaf tea is not available in the US, but customs does let through bags of frozen fruit pulp that can be diluted with water or milk to approximate the fresh fruit juices availible in Colombia. Even if your Spanish is good enough that you can remember that maracuyá means “passionfruit,” a lot of the juice is from fruits you’ve probably never heard of, like curuba, tomate de árbol, guanábana, lulo, or feijoa, to name a few. We particularly like jugo de lulo, which is green and in juice tastes a bit like kiwi.

The night we were there, the restaurant was well attended and the lights a bit dim (you can see the effects on the photos we took — sorry about that). The decor was punctuated with the standard signed photos of the KTLA news crew and Colombian celebrities you’ve never heard of — unless, of course, you are from Colombia. Also included are a number of paintings of rustic Colombian cottages and a boat load of Colombian flags. While to my eyes, it may not be the most beautiful way to decorate an eating establishment, the explosion of primary-color patriotismo has the benefit of allowing you — if you squint your eyes hard enough — to pretend that you might also be in an Ecuadorean restaurant or a Venezuelan restaurant, as the flags are just that similar. The three countries were all part of something called Gran Colombia, a result of Simón Bolívar’s efforts of decolonizing and dreams of uniting the Americas which only lasted for twelve years in the early 19th century.

I guess the point is that, if you ever do come across a Colombian and Venezuelan arguing about arepas, you can just tell them to shut up, squint a little harder, and pass the jugo de lulo.

656 N. Virgil Ave. ~ 323-664-7723 ~ Silverlake, CA 90004 (TACO Map)

Cha Cha Cha has major juice in this hood, as could be attested to by their locking down their entire Virgil block for a 20th Birthday jam. I don’t think Wolfgang Puck could get the street shut down in front of Spago as quickly as the Anaya family could in front of their Silverlake legend which has been serving home-style Caribbean eats with flair and heart for two decades.

Porkpie hats, chilly stunners, prestigious friends, buttoned Guayaberas, earthquakin’ booties, upscale suits, ghetto superstars, hungry freeloaders, and a very cordial Mayor Villaraigosa passed through, the latter even stopping for a peek at the ship-shape kitchen. Drummers pounded out a streetside jam with military precision and favella funk. Artwork by two Hola Youth Photographers hung from the corrugated tin walls. Carnivale dancers triggered nalgitas on bodies sprung so tight they raised temperatures in summertime Los Angeles. Then they were all dripping sweat and hyperventilating outside, which was slightly less hot….

Among the local stars and imported ritmo, we stuffed our bellies on plate after plate of finely shredded, stewed, sloppy, n’ spiced beef topped and infused with diced olives; crisp, thick-cut fries swabbed in diced garlic then served in Happy Meal-esque paper wrappers; thin margherita pizzas drizzled in a rich dark sauce and more beef; Moors and Christians, garlicky black beans and rice sticking together in Sno Cone cups; and my favorite, creamy guacamole swimming with chunks of palm hearts. Cha Cha Cha’s legendary empanadas and shrimp were not served unfortunately, though on the bright side their sangria was, leading to the faded brand of mingling my associate and like to call shit-talking.

Regardless of the scrumptious eats, festive vibe, plus good looking, and occasionally obnoxious crowd (What’s wrong with a black shirt and blue jeans, lady? Get your own fucking drinks, Jack! And how dare you give your card to my fake girlfriend, I don’t care that you produced three movies with Treat Williams!), Cha Cha Cha has been doing things right to survive Los Angeles’ restaurant jungle and etch such a firm hold in the hearts of the neighborhood and city.

Known for eternal happy hours and breezy, social evenings, this is a Caribbean paradise in a concrete suburb, with great food and even greater spirit. TACO wishes the Anaya Family at least another 50 years of success as they branch Cha Cha Cha out to Las Vegas and beyond.

Cha Cha Chicken ~ 1906 Ocean Ave. @ Pico Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90405 (310) 581-1684

I’ve been to Jamaica over ten times in my short life and Cuba once, both possessing a bounty of beauty in land, culture and souls, despite brutal political and economic oppression. A place like Cha Cha Chicken does not exist in either locale, although oil drums, bright colors, handcrafted artwork and shady palms are legion.

Whereas Cha Cha Chicken is a tropical oasis in a small stretch of smog-choked cityscape by the sea, most Jamaican eateries are frames in the dusty earth, with a simple grill and maybe a counter where chicken quarters are cleaved by a scarfaced butcher like ganja on a surru board, the latter often available behind the kitchen. Cuba on the other hand, has very few commercial enterprises at all and the motherland itself is not currently known for its cuisine due to a shortage of most high-quality foodstuffs, though its recipes and culinary traditions are marvelous.

Authenticity aside, Cha Cha Chicken does give you that 96 degrees in the shade escapism that we dream of when going dun south. Brightly colored bamboo fencing and pastel barrels form a perimeter from the cars zooming along Ocean; Peter Tosh’s “Arise Black Man” and Bob Marley’s “Africa Unite” fill the space; banana leaf-fringed palapas shade diners while brightly painted masks, trinkets and artwork peek from the bushes. And the food is quite simply delicious and soulful.

Ropa vieja and jerk chicken enchiladas are soft and savory; the jerk is decent and good, though probably wouldn’t pass muster inna di yard; coconut fried chicken is crisp with its own subtle tang; and breakfasts are a scramble of soft eggs, mozzarella and hearty sauces… (continued below)

Our recent visit had TACO munching a famed Cubano Mulato and spicy black pepper shrimp. Our meal came fast with a smile, accompanied by overpriced, imported cola champagne and ginger beer ($3.00), which we imagine few yardies can deny. The Cubano Mulato ($7.35) was the superstar, a pressed sandwich in a crisp, but tender french roll stuffed well past the brim with soft shredded chicken, so juicy that it floods the roll, creating a supple mash with the gooey cheese, and trace prescence of pickle chips and lettuce that add a tiny compliment of flavor to the orchestra of succulence. As the chicken pours out of the simply prepared sandwich, a sweet, powerful and peppery Mojo sauce made of copious spices and pineapple gives a strong, stout flavor with a spicy kick in every dip of the fork.

Spicy Pepper Shrimp ($10.50) features durable shrimp busty with freshness and great texture, large and juicy swimming under a fine, generous layer of red-brown, piquant sauce, with a side of plantains which easily yield their fried crips skin to a chewy sweetness alongside Moors and Christians, the Cuban name for dirty rice and black beans. The quality of the shrimp and the complexity of the jerk spices make for an intriguing, thoroughly enjoyable dish with heart.

Cha Cha Chicken is a retreat in the city for those who want to feel like they are in the West Indies. It might not be the exact experience of rolling into a dust-clogged lot for finger-staining, scotch-bonnet-hot jerk straight off the grill, but it will transport you ever momentarily out of the city and into more peaceful climes. And you won’t get hit up to buy any gee-gaws crafted from coconuts or bootlegged cigars.