Good Eats in Monrovia

I apologize in advance for not giving the exact locations of these places…but they’re all in/around Sinkor. I’ve only eaten out at 3 places so far, so I’ll rank them in order by preference.

Top Pick: Sajj—really good and cheap food. The seating is outside but you’re inside of a wall, but it provides for an escape…when you’re there, you feel like you could be anywhere in the world; but then you hear all of the car horns honking, and you remember you’re in Liberia. I’ve eaten here 3 times, and ordered different things every time, and I haven’t ever been disappointed. They have a good variety to choose from (mostly Lebanese, but they have other things too) and it’s easy to eat here for under $10! I recommend just about anything from the first page of the menu! Service is decent…we are friends with most of the wait-staff, which helps. And supposedly they have wireless internet.

Second Choice: Golden Beach—you can’t beat sitting on the beach, eating a decent meal, and watching the sun set over the Atlantic. You can sit at a table out in the sand, or on the covered porch area. The menu can be a bit more expensive, but you’re paying for the view. The menu has a wide variety to choose from (Liberian, Chinese, sandwiches, ‘American’ appetizers, etc). I had the Club Sandwich, which was $7USD, and it was alright….the Liberian dinner and the Chinese chicken were $12-$15, but it was plenty-o food. Pretty good service too.

Lastly: Delish—we had planned on going to The Royal this night, but apparently everyone else had the same idea! The parking lot was packed, and so we opted for Delish, which is right next door. It was a first for all of us. You can sit inside (slightly air-conditioned, large TV with Italian football games on in the sit-down section) or you can sit outside and watch the traffic go by. If you’re looking for Italian food, they’ve got lots to choose from…but since you’re in Liberia, it might not be quite what you’re used to. I got the spaghetti and ragu meat sauce for $12USD. It was a lot of spaghetti, and it tasted decent….but alittle salty. My coworkers got spaghetti carbonera and a chicken pizza….which were both sufficient in size, and had a decent flavor. The service was exceptionally slow (slower than usual Liberia) and we were the only people in the place eating dinner. The redeeming thing about the place is the ice cream! Banana and pistachio ice cream….and it was GOOD and COLD! Also, the bottled water was the coldest drink I’ve ever had in Liberia. Our bill was $44USD for the 3 meals, 2 large bottles of water and 4 scoops of ice cream.

I can honestly say that my best meals in Liberia have been the dinners made by our Liberian Ma. Anything Mary makes is good…and spicy! We usually sit around sniffling while we eat because Mary makes everything spicy! I think the main reason why it tastes so good is because of the love she puts into the meals. She usually wakes up early to go to the market to buy her ingredients. Then she usually gets here between 9-10am and cooks all day long so that dinner will be ready at about 5pm. She’s a hard-working woman with a servant’s heart and she takes good care of us! She also does all of our food shopping and food deliveries for our feeding programs. Mary has introduced my taste buds to some new Liberian dishes…and I think my new favorite is pumpkin! I’ll try and get some pictures of the Liberian dishes so that you will all be well-educated.