African in Detroit

At dinnertime, there’s just one way to order: the all-you-can-eat meat-and-vegetable platter for $16.90 per person or the vegetarian platter for $14.90. Patrons of the Blue Nile, Taste of Ethiopia or Windsor’s Marathon are familiar with the routine: Little heaps of fabulous dishes are placed on a giant circle of spongy injera bread, which everyone shares. More injera is alongside, folded like napkins, to use as your eating utensil until you’re ready to eat the tablecloth. At lunchtime, you can keep the meal smaller and order one meat with two vegetables for $7.95. But what makes Addis Ababa different from other Ethiopian restaurants is that it has a take-out menu. Twelve ounces of the vegetable dishes are $2.95, meat $3.75, injera free. You could create your own feast at home or for a picnic. It’s open every evening and for lunch Tuesday through Saturday.

Baobab Fare is owned and operated by Nadia Nijimbere and Hamissi Mamba, a wife and husband team, that came to the United States from Burundi in 2014, yearning to start a new life by taking advantage of the business opportunities in Detroit. More than just a restaurant and market, Baobab will serve as a safe space for other immigrants and Detroiters alike, knowing that it is a meeting place where all are welcomed and embraced. Baobab will help to fill a gap as it relates to African fare and culture in the city.

Kenny's Ribs and Chicken is home of the Chicago smoked ribs featuring the "St. Louis" rack and extremely popular rib tips. Kenny's was the winner of the 2004 Ribfest at Hart Plaza and has been winning Detroit every since. The restaurants are open and friendly with service that is inparalled. The ribs and chicken are married with Kenny Lewis' award winning spicy and mild sauces.

This storefront restaurant features the food of Nigeria, and the menu is organized around the starches: yams, cassava and rice, with a “stew” added. One popular dish, red stew, combines tomatoes, sweet red peppers, habanero chiles and onions, seasoned with ginger, thyme and curry powder — ingredients that repeat in Nigerian recipes, in various proportions. Finally, add in a meat (often goat, also beef and pork) along with legumes such as peanuts and beans. For the ridiculously low price of $1.25, try a meat, chicken or vegetable pie.

At Taste of Ethiopia, the temptation is not to dwell too long on the Ethiopian bread, injera, good as it is, but to see it as simply the vehicle for delivering the various we’ts (stews) and t’ibs (sautes) to your mouth. The flavors cooked up are so deep and so true, you may suspect you’ve never really experienced a lentil or a collard so intimately, and at unbeatable prices. A meat-and-vegetable platter for two, with salad, costs $17-$19.25 — less than the price for one person elsewhere. No booze, no smoking.