#56 – DEBE (LAMB CHOPS) at AFRICA KINE

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

Just a quick subway ride up to West Harlem (depending on where you’re coming from) and you will find yourself in what people call “Little Senegal”, a community around 116th Street that plays home to many African immigrants, restaurants, shops, and restaurants. It’s not the only neighborhood in New York to get some West African food, but it might provide the most authentic.

And Africa Kine is a restaurant/take-out/banquet hall that caters to the West African population in this area. I don’t have too much experience with this type of food, but have been up this way before and enjoyed my experiences. So I was excited as we entered the surprisingly large restaurant just outside the subway station. As soon as we entered, we noticed the take out window (which looked more like a bank teller than a food cashier), but followed signs upstairs to dine in.

Immediately, we were transported to another country and I think we were the only non-Africans in the place. We took a seat at a window booth, suffered through some horrendously slow and apathetic service, enjoyed the funky music and strange vibe (the place had a lot of character and color, but was supported by cheesy diner-type tables), and ordered carefully.

The Debe (although the menu spelled it Dibi) was our Time Out list item and since the last time I had West African food, I had an amazing tilapia, we also ordered a grilled fish. I found it strange that the fish was actually fried then grilled. It wasn’t quite as flavorful and tender as my last experience, but the fish was fresh and nicely spiced. The waitress took it away once before we got to taste it because somebody put the wrong side dish on the plate (we ordered plantains but got rice).

The list item were the lamb chops. There was quite a hefty portion for the $11 price tag. But much of the meat mass were bones and fat. The chops were very thin and cooked through to well past medium rare. But they had a nice char on them and the meat I did pick out had lots of interesting seasonings. It was tender and flavorful, although slightly greasy.

Both dishes were served with fried onions and a delicious mustard onion sauce. I also got a nice mound of red cous cous and some hardboiled eggs, just in case the meat wasn’t rich enough. It was definitely a unique (and generally flavorful) meal in a most interesting atmosphere. And while it’s just a subway ride away, it feels like a whole other country. Only in New York.

Would Africa Kine’s Debe (Lamp Chops) make my Top 100 of the Year? The lamb had lots of flavor, but was fatty and full of bones inhibiting the amount of meat that was possible to extract. It gets a 6 out of 10.