Papaye Restaurant
“Papaye is a pretty small place serving up some Ghanaian food up in the Bronx.”
“They also enjoyed the banku with fermented and cooked corn balls in a stew.”
“The groundnut soup with goat was also delicious!”
Papaye Restaurant
Take-out: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
1 review
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When reviewing restaurants of cuisines that are beyond the 'mainstream diet' of residents of even our country's most cosmopolitan of cities, it can be easy to let the establishment serve as a proxy for the culinary merit of the country as a whole. That's problematic, because a restaurant serving the traditional, or even modern takes on a particular regions, shouldn't be held to account for the entire agricultural and societal development that has evolved over hundreds or even thousands of years.
That's why I'm happy to have trekked up to the South Bronx recently with ten friends to try not one but three different Ghanaian restaurants. This wasn't my first time with the cuisine, I'd had it three times before, and certainly some of the elements that were present are available in other West African and Caribbean traditions. But for everyone else, this was their first exposure to the food of Ghana.
There are two locations of Papaye in the Bronx, the first a small countertop, and then this one, a boisterous corner location that was almost full on a Saturday afternoon. Televisions showed African soccer matches, while most tables were occupied by groups of young men using the place as an alternative to a bar. This gave me a great reason to head over to the next door bodega and return with a dozen bottles of Guinees and a chance to explain the East African predilection for stouts.
The thickness of the beer helped wash down the food here, which tends to run a bit more towards West African classics, with a touch of the Caribbean mixed in. Fried fish and fired chicken weren't particularly distinctive, but the boney fish and moist meat of the poultry both were big hits at the table. We also polished two big plates of jolof rice. This dish, with its original in Senegal, uses tomato paste pepper, and spices to create a mixture that's closer to fried rice than briyani. It was a hit with the vegetarians at the table. They also enjoyed the banku with fermented and cooked corn balls in a stew.
Papaye is the heaviest of the options we tried in the Bronx. Many things touched the fryer making for a caloric but satisfying meal. It was a bit dangerous placing it in the middle of a three restaurant experience, but the friendly and loud environment were a hit with the crowd.
This place also serves many traditional Ghanaian recipes, including the stew and suya that we sampled earlier in the day at Ebe Ye Yie. To avoid duplication, I focused on things that we didn't try elsewhere.