Tipsy Taxi to Africa
It is my belief that food tastes good when it's spicy, fresh, and makes you sweat a little. It's sloppy, and snobs may call it "peasant food," but it's delicious. This is why Ghanaian food looked so good as it was shown on No Reservations: Ghana. Danny had lived in Ghana for a couple of months before college and agreed that we should look for a restaurant that serves traditional West African food. Coincidentally, on our way back from fireworks on July 4th, drunk, and tired, we found out that our cab driver was from Sierra Leone. He suggested Sumah's West African Cafe in Shaw. He then managed to con Danny into tipping him $8 out of a $13 cab ride.
Quick geography refresher: West African coastal countries include Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, and Cote D'Ivoire.
Walking the few blocks from the partially gentrified U-Street to Shaw, I noticed stark differences. Trendy bars and boutiques have not yet replaced the low-income apartments and the small mom and pop establishments.
Set in a modest shop at the bottom of a building, the first thing you notice about Sumah’s is the friendly service. The second thing you notice is that they also sell reggae DVDs. We were greeted, I later realized, by Sumah himself. We seated ourselves and he suggested that before we order anything he would bring a sampler plate. We tried chicken with tomato, peanut, and okra sauces. We also tried green potato leaves and jut leaves with fish and chicken. Because the dishes are sauce heavy, they are perfect accompanied with a starch like rice or pounded starch balls made of yams, cassava root, or rice. Cassava is a potatoey root common in West Africa.
In the end, we ordered a pepper soup, pounded yam with peanut sauce, chicken with green potato leaves cooked in palm oil, and chicken with tomato sauce.
So with Bob Marley in the background, we went for it. Pinch a little yam ball off and dip it in the sauce. Soon I started to sweat because some dishes, like the pepper soup, pack heat. But the heat doesn’t last long and you are left with a pleasant aftertaste. The peanut sauce was both savory and sweet was Danny's favorite and reminded him of his meals in Ghana. The chicken in the tomato sauce was either roasted or deep fried first. But it was the potato leaves that did me in -- I was on my way to finishing a whole plate of rice, mixing in the greens, when I felt my pants pinch and got the hint that I should probably stop. The only thing that keeps me from going back every week is the amount of oil that is put into everything.
While waiting to pay the check, Danny learned from Sumah’s daughter that the place had been open since 1994. Although it’s been over a decade, I can’t imagine much has changed. That night we were the only ones eating in, but there were plenty of people coming through for carryout. In the end, we were stuffed but Sumah still brought us a delicious plate of caramelized plantains.
Like in any region, I'm sure there are subtleties and differences in food from each West African country that I am ignorant of. Sumah was genuinely interested in promoting his food and African food in general. I just hope that, having been here for more than a decade, Sumah's cafe continues to contribute to the ethnic richness of Shaw and will not be replaced by another Cosi.
Sumah's Restaurant
1727 7th St, NW
Washington, DC 20001
