West African Food Is Heading to Lakewood

For a lot of money, world travelers can make the trek out to DIA for connecting flights to Accra, Ghana, or Lagos, Nigeria. Or, for a lot less money, they can make the trek out to DIA for a taste of both countries at African Grill and Bar on Green Valley Ranch Boulevard, where Theodora and Sylvester Osei-Fordwuo and their family have been serving up West African specialties (along with dishes from other corners of the continent, including Uganda and South Africa) since 2013.

And come late January, they’ll be able to skip the airport slog entirely to arrive at the same destination: The Osei-Fordwuos are opening a second location at 955 South Kipling Parkway in Lakewood.

“We’ve always trusted God for our own building and also expansion, so when the opportunity came, we decided to take it,” Theo said. “Although we know it’s going to be a lot of work, with our 15 years of experience in this business, we think now is the time to move ahead.”

The menu will be the same, which means page after page of spicy, earthy, meaty, starchy delights to discover. Black-eyed peas star in veggie-flecked steamed puddings (moi moi), crispy fritters (akara), rich stews such as red red, and the Ghanian rice dish called waakye. Yams, plantains, cassava, cornmeal, and other starches become the basis for pounded doughs and porridges like fufu, ugali, pap, and matoke, used — much like the Ethiopian flatbread injera is — to sop up soups and mélanges featuring greens, nuts, melon seeds, and more, such as Nigerian egusi, further laden with your choice of meat (goat, lamb, oxtail) or fish.

Classic, tomatoey jollof rice also comes with fish or meat, including excellent fried chicken. For dessert, the doughnuts known as bofrot are a must-try. It’s all washed down with imported beers and wines as well as fresh juices.

For updates ahead of the opening, here’s the link to African Grill’s Facebook page.