Food Post: Perry Americana

My grandmother asked me a while back to write some posts about food. It should not be hard to do as I am a DesJardins. I was lucky to have inherited by my father’s iron stomach as thus far, I have not gotten sick on that end. However, there has been a little reluctance to pull out my camera to take a picture of whatever it is I am eating in the Night Market as my camera costs a little less than the per capita GDP here. Not that I worry about someone stealing, I just thought it would be on some level insensitive.

Moving on, tonight I grabbed a meal from the Perry Americana. Known by their blue sign on a white background as well as their general lack of regular operating hours, Perry Americana is mainly smorgasbord as they simply fill a Styrofoam container with fried or jollof[1] rice, scoped fresh from a cooler. The best cooked with a succulent batter that reminds me of the India pecora’s outer texture is placed in the corner. A healthy squirt of Mayonnaise and ketchup follow which are interesting additions, probably a reflection of Perry Americana’s all male employees. Salad goes on next, a usually dry fare as fresh salad seems confined to the land of expats. A large scoop of green, sweetish sauce with beef is then plopped on the pile. Finally, a conservative spoonful of pepper sauce serves as a local cuisine reminder.

That meal starts at just three Cedis with an option for more food at four Cedis. That is somewhat expensive by Night Market standards where a typical dish eaten at the vendor costs usually costs less than the base meal at Perry Americana. However, the difference probably accounts for a in my opinion well deserved premium as well as the Styrofoam containers, and plastic forks and napkins. All other Night Market take out options are confined to eating out of a plastic bag, sometimes with fingers if the extra 10 pesawas spoon/napkin set is forgotten.

I will not begin issue a hard and fast rating until I am more comfortable with food but I would say that the Perry Americana is at the very least, a weekly favorite, sometimes twice weekly. That compares with my usual less concerned option of looking for a vendor who has the most rice, indicating that batch’s freshness.

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[1] Jollof is the local rice, similar in texture to Chinese fried rice but with a bit of spices thrown in for good measure.