Africanne on Main

Reviews 5

SA

Sai muh

I just moved to this city .. and decided to find an African restaurant ..where I could get fufu and peanut butter soup(my favorite). When I walked in.. I approached Ma musu and asked for fufu and peanut butter soup. She called the order in before I could tell ber what type of meat I wanted in my soup. She told me that I automatically get shrimp and chicken..that was a shock to me because of family and where I use to get my food..I had a choice. I asked her to not out seafood in it.. and she started to tell me..it had to be that way. She then with an attitude..said fine.. you can get chicken. Itll be 30 minutes. I had my dog in the car.. so I was back in forth.. I returned inside her restaurant ..where I stood in line to pay for my food. After waiting with money in hand .. she called the young lady behind me ..taking her order.. I sat there as" mama musu" ignored me.. until my food came out. (Before the thirty minutes) then she called me up. While putting my food in the bag.. she looked at me and asked me if I was Liberian??? And I said no... she continued to question my nationality.. I told her I was Trini.and she smirked.. she charged me almost 20 dollars !!! For the poison they tried to feed me. I usually pay no more than 12/13 dollars for soup and fufu... I took my food to my car where something told me to look at it before I got home.. and the fufu looked like old mashed potatoes... and it tasted worse.. !! The soup wasnt even soup... it was piled up chicken with a thick uncooked gravy... I took my food back inside ..to tell her It wasnt cooked. She got an even bigger attitude and immediately tried to give me my money back. Not ever offering me something to replace it with. As I held my hand out to receive my money .. she tossed it on the counter. Never have I been disrespected.. like this. And as a business owner.. no matter what the persons background is ..you should always treat them with kindness and respect. This womans attitude does not reflect her staff.. they were very nice. I will definitely blog about this place. And send food critics its way. Its disgrace to our culture.

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HO

Ho Anh

The last time I had Ghanese, it was at a catered lunch for my chief resident up in DC. It tasted like dirt on dirt with a side of garbage. And that was borderline depressing, because I love Ethiopian food. This place renewed my faith in African food. The moment you walk into this place, you get a home grown feeling. African food as whole can be oily, which was both surprising and confusing to find that this food wasnt. The owner came by and gave us the lowdown on the food. Hes essentially an ex-NFL player that wanted to serve food that was both healthy enough for a grade-A athlete, well-priced enough for the common man, and made from ingredients as fresh as the from the farmers markets in Shockoe Bottom. Theres even a weight-loss meal program that they serve, 7-days, 7-meals, $35. The best part was probably the home-made drinks. Ginger "beer". Watermelon tea. Etc. They all tasted fresh. Even the fruit drinks didnt leave a sugary, gritty feeling in your mouth like most all processed juices. And theyre made without any extra sugars at all. Be warned though. Theyre served in sketchy-looking bottles. Theyre actually used plastic water bottles that they repurposed by pulling the labels off and cleaning. They do a good job though; theres no "label-glue" on it at all. They did put a plastic seal on it to let you know that even though the bottle was repurposed, the current contents were "sealed". I would have to say that it keeps in line with the greenness of RVA. I honestly cant believe that its been here for almost 20 years and it hasnt blown up on yelp. The service was great. They even gave my buddy a complimentary bottle of the ginger beer he loved so much, when they found out it was his birthday. The owner were hella friendly and by talking with him, you get a real sense that hes passionate about his food, and delivering a food that is natural and healthy. I mean, hes an athlete! I would definitely come back here again, if not for the food, but for the drinks and just hanging out with the owner(s).

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MI

MICHAEL BANEGURA

Wow... What can I say. Ive been in living in the area for the past 3 yrs. The whole time Ive been looking for a decent African restaurant. I came across Chef Ma Musas website and decided to give it a try. They also had some great reviews. Well when I got there and walked through the door walking passed the buffet bar, I have to say I wasnt impressed. Before I continue let me put out this disclaimer. Im African and Ive been cooking and running food service operation for 20 yrs in the military alone. So after looking at the food on the bar and not being impressed by the appearance and variety. I was shocked to find out the cost. She told us (Wife and two kids) that it would cost $6.99 a lb for the food from the buffet. Even though I did agree with the price we decided to support this Black Owned business. We got the food and ended up paying basically $40 per carryout tray. So since Im a cook and if we eat somewhere new I tell my wife and kids to eat first and critique the food. Then I eat and verify or disagree with whatever they said. I have to say this time they were spot on. The food wasnt even very African. There was some beans and rice that I know for a fact came from a box (at least the rice did). The curry chicken and oxtails had no flavor what so ever. The macaroni was ok but needed a little more salt. The fried fish was ok and its hard to miss up fried plantines. All and all the food wasnt horrible but it wast worth $10 a plate. She seems to do well in the area shes in as far as business maybe because theres not that much competition. She better pickup her game because Im thinking that might be a great area to open up my restaurant when I retire from the Army.

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AL

Ali Faruk

2016: Food is still awesome and on point! Love this place! I always try to go on a thursday or friday so I can get the Oxtail and cabbage stew. That stuff is unbelievable! It melts in your mouth. I basically spend the whole time huddled over my food vacuuming everything down. ------ from 2010: The food is delicious and always tastes fresh. There are plenty of Vegetarian options. The collard greens are amazing. The rice & beans are always delicious. Although the Jerk chicken can be dry at times, its still quite delicious. The pinnapple bbq chicken meat balls are also amazing. Its buffet only so its fast and easy. The only downside is that this place is open for lunch only :(

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CH

Chrissy Son

Just ate here. Food was good, not what Im used to as far a African Food ( which is a board advertisement because I did not see anything on the menu that represented even majority of the African countries). There was red beans and rice, fried rice, oxtails, fried trout, curry chicken, akara (fried bean cake), vegetable, and a few other things. Again food was good. Also as a side not, the owner/chef was a little nonchalant borderline rude when asked how everything worked and if I could order off the menu. She said "6.99/lb, no menu" and proceeded to hand me a flimsy styrofoam plate to help myself at the buffet.

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