Amandla

SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦

Rather quietly sometime in the middle of January, the section of Brooklyn that had lost its beloved South African restaurant Madiba just a year prior suddenly woke up to find another one open a few blocks east in Clinton Hill. Amandla gets its name from the days of apartheid in South Africa, where this word that means "power" was used by the resistance, and today still is employed in the ongoing struggle against oppression.

The mood inside this new space is less of struggle and more about chill. A mashup of textures and furniture are leftover from the previous bar that used to live here, while a bright new mural dedicated to South Africa has been commissioned for the front of the restaurant. During my first visit, the paint was literally still drying.

The comfortable bar (and tastefully worn bar stools) are holdovers from the last place and remain a nice choice to sit and enjoy drinks and a meal here. Draft beers for $8 are sometimes poured in pints and other times in 11 ounce glasses, while a few bottles and a decent wine selection are backed up by a full bar that seems to focus on agave-based spirits. There is still an oyster happy hour and oyster bar decor on the walls.

So far the vibe seems to be a relaxed neighborhood feel, although it appears that events will be common on weekends. Amandla is opening their doors to a lot of possibilities.

Ever since my first time being taken skiing as a child, I have been a big fan of bread bowls, and later in life was immediately taken by the first bunny chow I had the joy to eat. This Durban-style curry traditionally is served in a carved out loaf of white bread. Origin stories are still debated, but as can be guessed the large population of Indians in Durban had something to do with the evolution.

The lamb bunny chow ($24, above) can also simply be called "bunny" and is available in vegetable and chicken curries as well. A side of mango chutney can be added to bites as desired. Our version had terrific spicing and was very flavorful, but unfortunately the pieces of lamb were very dry. Much of what gravy does exist gets soaked into the bread, making these bites the true winners of the dish.

Bobotie is another well-known South African dish, usually prepared as a type of casserole with minced meat and egg. Here the chef offers a bobotie sandwich ($12, above and below), with curried ground beef and egg in a thin custard layer. The resulting sandwich is tasty and could be compared to a sloppy joe for people that have positive opinions of sloppy joes.

I had the pleasure of dining this second time with a man who has "Malva Pudding Expert" on his business card and who was super excited to skip straight to dessert. This South African favorite ($10, below) is a dense, sugar-filled dessert which has the texture of cake rather than pudding as it is known here. Taking a spoon to slice through the spongy cake will spring back the gooey insides.

The expert was a little underwhelmed, but it should be said the entire dessert was rapidly cleaned from the plate.

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CLINTON HILL Brooklyn
214 Greene Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Jonty Jacobs

SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦

Over three years ago, a small shop popped up on Christopher Street in the West Village with the bright, multi-color flag of South Africa. While they have scaled back their operation somewhat, Jonty Jacobs is still the place to go in New York City for the nation's very distinct style of biltong, a dried and cured meat that puts commercial North American beef jerky to shame.

Named partially after the owner's favorite butcher as a child and presumably rhyming with "jaunty," it somehow is a good description for the fun shop that also sells packaged and canned goods from South Africa for homesick expats.

The biltong ($40/lb, above and below) is sold in four different forms, both fatty and lean pieces can be both wet or dry. A 1/4 pound $10 bag like the one shown is just about the right size for a hefty snack. Unless you have a machine at home to do the slicing, have it cut up in the shop with theirs. If you want to "give it a little kick," accept the offer a sprinkle of peri-peri powder.

The beef cannot be eaten extremely fast, as it all has a good chew to it. The first note you will experience is vinegar, which is the main ingredient of the marinade. This is an extremely appealing complement to the natural beefiness.

Apparently the facility they make everything is down south, and they get fresh shipments weekly. The beef is all domestic, but the style is all South African, you won't find anything like it.

They stopped selling fresh meat pies and pastries, but you can still find some of these frozen if you are in the mood to bring some more treats home.

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WEST VILLAGE Manhattan

114 Christopher Street

Jaa Dijo Dom Catering

BOTSWANA 🇧🇼

I do not quite remember whether it was down a Google or Instagram rabbit hole that I first came across Jaa Dijo Dom and chef Charles Chipengule, who has the flag of Botswana next to his profile. This southern African nation is the country of his birth and first two decades, and also a place that has exactly zero representation in New York City.

Catering companies do not make up much of what is written about on these pages, but I knew I would have to make this happen somehow. "Jaa Dijo Dom" in Tswana means "a place to eat," and while they do not quite provide the place, they do provide plenty of options for eating. The vast menu spans the entire continent of Africa from Morocco to Mozambique and back.

After meeting the chef about a month ago and sampling a range of foods, an event with some lovers of world cuisines was inspired and recently about 20 of us got to enjoy some of his passion. We limited the dishes to mostly those of Botswana, with a couple additions from neighboring southern African countries. Reactions to the food were even better than expected, and I think everyone left with a very positive feeling about lunch. If you are inspired to hire Jaa Dijo Dom from this, do let us know what you ordered and how it was please!

One of the most beloved dishes at this meal and in Botswana is vetkoeks (above and below), also known as amagwinya. These fried dough balls might be more commonly associated with South Africa, but are just as delicious in either country. The dough is fried with a slight crisp on the outside while the interior remains superbly chewy and moist. It is stuffed with a minced beef curry (below) and eaten by hand.

Lovers of Caribbean food might notice some similarities to how many islands prepare johnny cakes. A vetkoek can be eaten with different types of meat, but also served sweet with jam or honey.

In Afrikaans, this translates to "fat cake"

Seswaa (below) is a special occasion dish, slowly cooked beef shoulder that you might see men standing around an iron pot and tending for many hours. Traditionally this is simmered with only salt and water.

Listed on the menu as "stampa" (below), this dish has a more common name of samp and beans. Samp are dried corn kernels similar to hominy that have been stamped and chopped until broken and cooked with beans. This paired well with the chakalaka below.

Some flavors of India have made their way into the cuisine of Botswana much like South Africa. Waves of immigration from their southern neighbor and from India directly have led to dishes like the chicken vindaloo devtani (below), cooked with garam masala, tamarind, and cumin. From the feedback I received, this was certainly a crowd favorite.

Possibly the most widely known food item originating from southern Africa is peri peri sauce, which originated in Mozambique but was dispersed around the world by the Portuguese. Jaa Dijo Dom does this spicy red pepper sauce excellently, and a plate of peri peri chicken wings (below) is possibly some of the greatest party food around.

South African chakalaka (below) is a salad or chutney made of mangos and carrots with spicy pepper sauce. The freshness and crispness of this dish was a good break from an otherwise very meaty meal. Jaa Dijo Dom has many vegetable and non-meat dishes, they were just not selected for this catering.

While pairing well with the samp and beans as mentioned above, chakalaka also goes well with the wings, something you may see in the future at a summer outdoor market.

For dessert we were treated to mandazi (below), a sweet delicacy well known in the region around the African Great Lakes. This version is from Malawi, with subtle hints of coconut, cardamom, and nutmeg. It is barely sweet, but perfect with a splendid chewy texture. I saw most people going back for a second if not third one of these.

Mandazi, also known as Swahili buns

Pick the right dishes, and various homemade sauces will be unlocked

Have a desire for something new at home or for catering an office lunch? We're pretty sure we found your man.

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JAA DIJO DOM Catering

(347) 592-6956

[CLOSED] Madiba

SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦

[Original post updated 22 December 2010]
[Post again updated 08 February 2018]
[UPDATE: CLOSED]

In South Africa, Nelson Mandela is referred to as uTatu Madiba, an honorary title given by elders of his clan. This should be enough to tip you to the cuisine inside, and if not the giant South African flag overlaid on a map of Africa might just do the trick. They're certainly proud here, but I wonder what other countries on the world's most diverse continent might think of this artistic statement. I am sure it is good-intentioned, but it really weirds me out.

They have a nice selection of South African wines, and even mulled wine in cold weather, I opted instead for a refreshing guava juice ($4, below) which complimented the meal nicely.

The starters menu is filled with appetizing options but we limited ourselves to one since we had our minds set on two entrees. The farm-raised ostrich carpaccio ($14, below), at first appears like a pile of arugula and spinach on top of a burgundy-colored sauce, but it turns out that the burgundy color is actually the meat. Carpaccio is similar to prosciutto, but this meat is very juicy and oily, the dark meat gamier than other birds.

That's not sauce on the plate!

To come here and not order the bobotie ($16, above) would somehow be a terrible shame. The dish originates from Dutch East Indies influences, but also seems to show relation to Indian food. Since the country has a large Indian population, this makes sense, but upon further research it is completely of Southeast Asian origin. Either way, the minced meat, rice, and five sauces that could be mistaken for chutneys, make for a nice array of ways to eat the dish. The meat could stand on its own but certainly improves with these surroundings.

Other more well-known influences are present in the Kalk Bay fish parcel ($16.50, below), a delicious fish n' chips that includes very nicely fried calamari as well. The fish, squid, and chips are all bundled in a wrapper and served with ketchup and tarter sauce.

Great food and atmosphere make this a really nice spot for dinner for two.

A second meal at the beginning of 2018 included the following options:

Mozambican prawns $26

Pap & boerewors $20

Chicken curry in bunny chow $22 (below also)

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FORT GREENE Brooklyn
195 Dekalb Avenue