To Suzanne Gunn, food is a way to share culture and create community.
Gunn, a Kansas City resident and founder of Afro KC, grew up in Kenya, where it was central to the community culture. No matter if you were visiting a friend, relative or neighbor, it was all but certain that you’d be fed.
“Even though they’ll tell you it’s already cooking, it may take four hours to be ready,” Gunn told KCUR’s Up To Date. But it was a signal of hospitality. “Food has always been really one of the utmost things where people come together.”
Ithar Hassaballa, a Kansas City resident, Sudan native and founder of Common Ground Advisors, agrees.
“You get to really understand the African culture of hospitality, generosity (and) kindness” through food, she says.
Immigrants from more than 30 countries in Africa call Kansas City home. And you can find many of their cultural cuisines at restaurants around the metro, and at pop-up festivals like Afro KC and the Ethnic Enrichment Festival, which aim to share culture.
No matter where you are in the metro, you can find delicious African dishes, from widespread West African favorites like jollof rice, spiced East African stews and stir-frys and perfectly sour, spongy Ethiopian injera.
Gunn and Hassaballa joined KCUR’s Up To Date to share their favorite spots for food from across Africa, and Wasim Khan, commissioner for Kenya in the Mayor’s Ethnic Enrichment Commission, sent in a few picks as well. Plus, we rounded up some of the other picks from Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Ithar Hassaballa:
Blue Nile Café in the River Market is a great place to begin exploring flavorful Ethiopian cuisine. I like to get the atiklet, a simple but satisfying cabbage and carrot dish served with misir wat, a spiced red lentil stew, and injera, the traditional Ethiopian flatbread.
Yasmeen Café is a great example of Somali food in Kansas City. Start with the spicy, crispy sambusas filled with vegetables or meat, then pair it with the flavorful Somali rice. A warm cup of tea is the perfect way to finish the meal.
Taste of Africa has wonderful food and a welcoming atmosphere. The fried whole tilapia is especially delicious – it’s crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and seasoned beautifully.
My Village Grill is my choice for fried plantains, a mild, starchy fruit that’s compared to potato and banana. I also like the fried tilapia and flavorful jollof rice. The puff puffs are like lightly sweetened donut holes, are delicious with coffee or tea.
Suzanne Gunn:
Fannie’s African Cuisine is a staple of Kansas City’s African food scene. The restaurant serves made-from-scratch dishes from all over West Africa. Be sure to try the fish, which is perfectly flavored, no matter if you choose the whole tilapia, mackerel or red snapper. Order ahead.
Teetasty Foods Nigerian Restaurant & Bar is the spot for jollof spaghetti, noodles seasoned with the traditional jollof sauce made from tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, ginger, hot peppers and other spices. The peanut butter soup with chicken also stands out.
Black Garlic Restaurant & Rum Bar is an elevated spot for Ethiopian and Caribbean cuisine, perfect for a date night. Try the sauteed lamb tibs, or the griyo, a Haitian dish with pork shoulder, black mushroom rice, plantain and spicy cabbage slaw.
J&K Ethiopian Restaurant serves meat that is perfectly tender and extremely flavorful to pair with injera. The restaurant also serves breakfast options, including Ethiopian-style scrambled eggs mixed with tomatoes, jalapenos and Ethiopian seasoning.
Tasty African Food KC was founded by two childhood friends from Liberia, but serves dishes from across Africa. Some of the offerings include pepper soup with fufu, a soft, starchy dough from west and central Africa and egusi, a dish of mixed ground pumpkin seeds cooked in sauteed peppers, tomatoes, and onions.
Wasim Khan:
KC Burgers bridges Kansas City and Somalia. Traditional American foods, like cheeseburgers, are served alongside Somali dishes like beef suqaar, a Somali stir-fry of meat, vegetables and spices. The restaurant serves many halal foods, and is a gathering place for the metro’s Somali community.
Bis Yan Catering serves the delicious flavors of The Gambia, the smallest continental African nation. Pair your meal with traditional homemade juices like wonjo, a Gambian juice made from hibiscus flowers. The business operates as a pop-up, at events, and does catering.
Kansas City’s Ethnic Enrichment Festival runs every year in mid-August and offers dishes from up to 70 diverse communities in the city. The event is truly a culinary adventure. Find several African nations represented including Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Senegal, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The weekend also features shopping and other cultural entertainment.
Mama Choma, run by my family, aims to share culture and bring people together across divides. The menu offers Kenyan and East African tribal dishes and blends them with Indian flavors, an homage to my father. Find Mama Choma at pop-ups and events.
Listener recommendations
- Arada Ethiopian Restaurant & Bar – Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine
- Wah Gwan – Jamaican and Nigerian cuisine
- African Dream Cuisine – West African/Cameroonian cuisine
- Maureene’s Heritage Kitchen – Kenyan food truck
- Doro Bites – East African/Kansas City barbecue food truck
