Game Night/Movie Night in Accra

This post is an unabashed departure from this blog's theme of encouraging you to get out and about exploring all of Accra' s nooks and crannies. Today's post is a celebration of 'homebodying'! I love cities but one should never undervalue the importance of date nights spent in the comfort of your own home.  :)

To facilitate your at home game night/movie night/Netflix binge/candlelight dinner,  I do recommend trying out the Hello Food delivery service. The ability to order food to your doorstep with the click of a button is a luxury that I have missed from the very bottom of my exotic food loving soul. Hello Foods was instrumental in preventing any hanger (angry moments entirely caused by severe hunger,  lol) episodes during our recent home movie night. 

The Hello Foods website is very easy to navigate and divides restaurants by area.  Once you enter in your location,  a list of nearby restaurants appears for you to select from.  You have the option of paying with cash on delivery or with mobile money (mtn,  tigo etc)*.   They promise to deliver the food within an hour and the delivery charge is a flat 5 cedis. They have consistently arrived in an hour or less each time we have tried them.

They have a variety of restaurants-Ghanaian,  Italian,  Chinese,  Thai,  Indian,  American fare (burgers etc) and many many more.  It is glorious.

Once we placed an order we received a call from Hello Foods confirming the details and within 40 minutes we had our pizza!  The first time we ordered the pizza was cold and the slices were a bit jumbled up  (I assume it got to us by motorcycle)  but it was still delicious and we had the option of heating it (we didn't).  I'm sure this won't be an issue with other foods that aren't as delicate as pizza. The second time  we ordered it was in perfect condition.

Beau thoughtfully bought along some of his favorite sweet red wine for me to try (he prefers dry,  tart wines) and to pair with our pizza order.  He also got a copy of a movie I have really wanted to see in theatres. We have gone to Silverbird twice to see it without success (details in an upcoming post on cinemas).

If you are in the mood for some locally produced Kumawood films or Nollywood fare you have a few options. There are traveling vans throughout the city that have been outfitted with subwoofers and M gaphones that specifically sell movies on DVD. They are quite loud and obnoxious but do fulfill a service.  One can also find such films for purchase at most major markets (Tema Station, Kaneshie, Makola, Lapaz etc) in Accra and even street hawkers on roadsides sometimes sell them. 

For an easy foreign movie night in Accra you can use any online streaming service such as Netflix,  Amazon,  Hulu,  HBO etc. You need to have accounts or have a visa/mastercard who can set up an account for you or share their details with you. On a desktop or laptop you have to download the Google chrome browser if you don't already have it and then download a browser extension called Hola.  Once you switch it on you can select america/UK and watch all the programs you want.

To have a game night instead I highly recommend classic Ghanaian games such as ludo or oware.  Ludo (called various other names) is played in a variety of countries as far away as India!  The rules for each are pretty simple and here are some guidelines for ludo and for oware. You can usually find these games if you inquire at any crafts market such as the Accra Arts Center. It can also usually be acquired at any big market such as Kaneshie Market,  Madina Market,  or Makola Market.  You may want to try the arts center though as they usually have a variety of engravings on the oware gameset and you may be able to pay a little more to get an animal/name/symbol engraving of your choice.  (Something symbolic for you and your partner perhaps?  :) 

Quick tip: For a game night on the town, Cuzzy Bros and Burgers and Relish both host game/trivia nights during the week. 

*A SUPER easy way to transfer money to anyone across the country with no fees associated.  All you need is the person's number to and service provider. Then you go to a service providers office where you can both send and receive the money. )

Note: I promise this is not a paid advertisement by Hello Food. I have no contacts there.  I just genuinely love the service!  :)

Under the July Tree: +233 Jazz Bar & Grill

Photo credit: touristswatch.com

Location: North Ridge, opposite Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)

Price range: Food 10-40 cedis, Drinks (cocktails available) 5-30 cedis. 

Cuisine type: Ghanaian finger-food and American fare (burgers, fries, khebabs, kelewele...)

Dress code: Casual (tip: wear jeans/longsleeves so you won't be bothered by mosquitos while seated outside)

Hours: Open Mon-Thursday 5pm-2:30am, Friday 5pm-4am, and weekends from 2pm-4am.

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit +233 Jazz Bar & Grill this week for a few drinks with a girlfriend. The place is so (cleverly) named after the international dialing code used to call Ghana when abroad. It is a large purple building with +233 written in neon lights. 

The ambience of the place resembles that of jazz clubs I have frequented in NYC and other parts of the USA. However, I am happy to report that  +233 is happily devoid of any of the smoke or ever so slight seediness that sometimes accompanies such spots. This can largely be attributed to its large outdoor patio and upstairs terrace.  It affords you the opportunity to dine and sip cocktails while listening to the live band outdoors rather than in a dark basement. While the band plays outdoors you may choose to seat yourselves inside or outside. You are still able to view the band when seated inside because the back half of the building is a clear glass wall. 

When my ladydate and I arrived around 6pm we had the entire space to ourselves but other people steadily trickled in and settled on the lower terrace.  There is a certain amount of privacy associated with the upper terrace (where we sat) and it provides an excellent view of the stage. There is an enormous tree that sort of wraps itself around the staircase to the upper terrace and provides you with some shade while you are seated up there. The band started setting up before we even arrived but, to our amusement, they did not start playing until 8pm. This worked out in our favor as we were primarily interested in catching up with one another and it was impossible to hear each other once the band started playing. Overall, we had a great time! 

The band was very good and the crowd of dinners on the lower patio showered them with the appropriate amount of praise. There was no singer for the night, just instruments and good vibes. I have heard there may be an entrance charge sometimes when the band is playing but we were not asked to pay anything. 

Due to the noise level of the band, this is not a place I would encourage you to patronize for first dates where you are trying to get to know one another or nights when you just want to chat. However, it is perfect for a mellow evening where the goal is to grab something off the grill and sip drinks while letting the music help you both unwind from a long day. I look forward to going back on a night where a singer will be accompanying the band. I am not aware of many Ghanaian jazz vocalists but I am looking forward to discovering some with the help of +233. 

I don't have a great review of the food here because we only sampled the finger-food. We ordered the chicken kebabs, french fries, and kelewele. I don't think either of us enjoyed the chicken khebabs much but the french fries and kelewele were fine! My custom cocktail was delicious though. :)

The only Ghanaian jazz performer I am aware of is Jojo Abot but she is based outside of Ghana right now. If you haven't heard any of her songs before I highly encourage you to give her a try as she so incredibly conscious and eloquent while being both visually and acoustically riveting. She infuses jazz with her Ewe heritage beautifully: some of Jojo Abot's music.

*Today's post title is a homage to +233's tree, our current month of July, and Nina Simone's (my favorite jazz queen) beautiful love song July Tree. 

Directions: It is a large purple building with +233 in neon lights.  It is directly opposite of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation on the road to Asylum Down/Circle but you cannot drive there from the main road. 

(Sorry for the fuzzy photos)

Travel the World with Me: La Tante DC 10 Restaurant and Bar

Photocredit: PapJeff https://www.flickr.com/photos/papjeff/10749859996 

Location: Airport, near the Marina Shopping Mall
Price range: 10-40 cedis per dish
Cuisine type: Ghanaian (vegetarian options available)
Dress code: Casual Dressy or something thematic if you want to have fun with it!

*Full disclosure: Beau was not present for this adventure. It was a lovely friend-date with a girlfriend.  

This restaurant is a delightful twist on the traditional evening dinner. Instead of a traditional brick and mortar establishment, this venue has been created out of a refurbished Ghana Airways DC-10 airplane! It is definitely a date that will help gauge your partner's sense of adventure and explore topics concerning the domestic and international places you both have travelled in the past and where you hope to visit in the future!

After walking up the tarmac and ascending the airplane staircase you will find yourself in the belly of the plane.  To your right will be the bar and to your left is the dining area. Much has been done to preserve the look and feel of the old plane. The place has a bit more of a vintage feel as our much maligned,  yet beloved, Ghana (Maybe) Airways (hehe) ceased operation sometime in the early aughts.

The waiters and waitresses are gamely dressed as flight attendants. The seats are refurbished airplane seats but are quite spacious compared to what we are normally allocated on flights these days.  We picked a set of four seats which were set up to form a booth.  From the oval airplane windows we could see a little of Airport City.

I had heard reviews of the service as slow and the food as mediocre but I was quite happy with my meal and so was my companion. I had the tilapia and jollof while she had vegetarian couscous jollof. 

Overall,  it was an amusing time which I recommend for a fun date to break up any monotony. I recommend it more for the novelty of the experience rather than food although the food is perfectly fine. It is on par or better than Papaye  in terms of taste and price. 

Directions: Most directions list it as across from Marina Mall.  This is accurate but misleading as you have to access it from a different road. You cannot just cross the street and access it.  You have to drive through the airport as if you are going to the Landing Restaurant but then drive past it without taking the immediate right turn that leads to the Landing Restaurant.  The plane is huge and a cheerful green and will be located on your right after about a minute or two's drive.