Press Release

AFRICAN FARE AWAKENS PHILADELPHIA’S PALATE
Authentic Dishes Around The City Allow Diners To Savor African Flavors

PHILADELPHIA, February 5, 2007 - The growing popularity of culinary and travel shows have inspired Americans to explore the countries of their ancestral heritage and the cultural traditions of their neighbors. Philadelphia and The Countryside™ adds to this global sense of community with a number of pan-African restaurants, enabling epicureans to use their plate as a passport and dine across the Diaspora. Here’s a look:

Dahlak

Photo courtesy of Dahlak

University City/West Philadelphia:

• Once voted the number one ethnic dining destination by the Philadelphia City Paper’s Dish Magazine, Abyssinia is a hit with vegetarians and the meat-eaters in their lives. Their authentic Eritrean/Ethiopian preparations of lentils, beans, chicken, beef and lamb dishes are a fun match for the bar’s assortment of beers. 229 S. 45th Street,(215) 387-2424
• Families and groups of friends will particularly enjoy feasting from a communal dish of Eritrean and Ethiopian entrees at Dahlak, now with two locations in the city. The breaking of injera, a large spongy pancake used to eat the stew-like dishes, and the shared use of one plate signifies loyalty and friendship. Diners are encouraged to follow tradition and eat with their fingers. The flagship restaurant in University City is open seven days a week. 4708 Baltimore Avenue, (215) 726-6464; 5547 Germantown Avenue,(215) 849-0788, www.dahlakrestaurant.com
• Just a short stroll from The Bridge movie theater near the University of Pennsylvania campus, Senegalese restaurant Fatou and Fama offers a fresh twist on the classic “dinner-and-a-movie” night. Vegetarians can indulge in a peanut butter and vegetable stew or curry, while patrons looking to challenge their palates can order chebujen, the Senegalese national dish. Visitors can also enjoy a glass of Mama Fama punch, with ginger and bissap, a tea brewed from hibiscus flowers. 4002 Chestnut Street,(215) 386-0700, www.fatouandfama.com
• A few blocks from scenic Clark Park, Gojjo (pronounced “go jo”) serves Ethiopian fare and promises delicious injera with every entrée. Located close to public transportation, Gojjo attracts many Penn and Drexel students. 4540 Baltimore Avenue, (215) 386-1444, www.gojjo-philly.com
• An inviting atmosphere awaits patrons at Kaffa Crossing, an Ethiopian café and restaurant with luminous hardwood floors, local art on the walls and board games. Socially conscious diners will appreciate Kaffa’s use of fair trade products. For breakfast, a popular choice is ful, a crushed fava bean dish served with bread. 4423 Chestnut Street, (215) 386-0504, www.kaffacrossing.com
• Tucked inside a shopping center along the Chestnut Street corridor, Kilimanjaro is an intimate West African eatery serving sauce feuille, a lamb entrée cooked with spinach or cassava leaves and mixed with palm oil. Plantains are also on the menu, as is tiakry, a Senegalese dessert similar to rice pudding, but made with African couscous and sour cream. 4317 Chestnut Street, (215) 387-1970
• Atteke, essentially fried fish with an onion and tomato gravy, is a staple of the Ivory Coast and available at La Calebasse, where it’s cooked just the way diners’ request. For patrons in a hurry, traditional fast food—fried plantains, or aloko, are also available. 4519 Baltimore Avenue, (215) 382-0555

Germantown:

• Geechee Girl Rice Café (pronounced with a hard ‘g’) pays homage to the Geechee people—enslaved West Africans who lived along the American southeastern coastal areas. As experts in rice cultivation, the Geechee are credited with designing tools to simplify the harvesting process. The brunch and dinner menus emphasize a fusion of cultures, including the Charleston (S.C.) red rice, the fragrant grains of Jasmine rice and the honey-red color of Wehani. 6825 Germantown Avenue, (215) 843-8113, www.geecheegirlricecafe.com

Center City:

• Located near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Era bar and restaurant serves Ethiopian/Eritrean fare so quietly that most of its neighbors haven’t caught on yet. With two vegetables accompanying each entrée, it’s likely that any post-dinner attempts at a “Rocky” run up the museum steps will result in little more than a waddle. 2743 Poplar Street, (215) 769-7008.
• Noted for its amazing seven-course feast, Marrakesh is celebrating its 30th anniversary, yet remains inconspicuous to much of the South Street crowd. Believed to be the first Moroccan restaurant on the East Coast, the staff assists diners in a hand-washing ritual prior to the meal, which includes assorted meats, flatbread and couscous accented with hints of coriander, cinnamon, raisins, olives, dates and other Mediterranean flavors. The lavish treatment continues until the tea ceremony finale. Two dinner seatings are available on the weekends. 517 S. Leithgow Street (between 4th and 5th streets), (215) 925-5929

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676. 

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.

CONTACT:

Leha Anderson-Rhyens, GPTMC
(215) 599-2298, leha@gptmc.com

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