The scene at 2017’s Chop Bar. (Photo by J3 Photography courtesy of Dine Diaspora)
By DCist contributor Holley Simmons
A chop bar is a makeshift, come-as-you-are restaurant found throughout Ghana and—this Sunday—in Ivy City.
Inspired by Africa’s diverse culture and traditions, three D.C. residents founded Dine Diaspora, an events company through which they host a variety of meals that unite people through African diaspora cuisine.
Chop Bar, now in its third year, is the group’s largest and most inclusive event. The pop up, held Sunday at the normally New Orleans-themed bar Big Chief, will feature dishes, music, and a marketplace designed to resemble what you’d find at markets throughout Africa.
“It’s modeled after restaurants that are not pretentious, where you don’t have to wear a certain thing or dress up,” says Nina Oduro, who co-founded Dine Diaspora with Maame Boakye and Nana Ama Afari-Dwamena in 2014. “You’re going to feel like you walked into a chop bar. You’re going to see things that are hand-painted and not like your typical American restaurant.”
D.C. is recognized nationally for its proliferation of Ethiopian restaurants, and Dine Diaspora is hoping to broaden and deepen the city’s interest in African food. Previous Chop Bars have highlighted Trinidadian and Caribbean dishes, including jerk pasta. “People are interested in trying more diverse food,” says Oduro. “We bring in a different chef every year, and these chefs tell a unique story about where they came from through food.”
Following 2016’s inaugural event with chef Jonathan Harris, and last year’s with Jerome Grant, executive chef of the Sweet Home Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, this year’s featured chef is Hiyaw Gebreyohannes, co-owner of Gorsha, a modern Ethiopian eatery in Union Market. His menu at Chop Bar will marry elements of East and West African cooking.
The five-course menu includes dishes such as grilled prawns with labneh, 48-hour short rib with ginger cabbage and spicy awaze sauce, and a honey wine pudding with mango and toasted coconut flakes.
“[Gebreyohannes] is looking at what Ethiopian cuisine could be,” says Oduro. “It doesn’t always have to look like injera on a plate with different sauces.”
In addition to the meal, there will be a DJ playing hip-hop and music from the islands, and a marketplace where guests can shop for art, packaged food, spices, apparel, and handmade kitchen items.
Dine Diaspora has seen its community grow and strengthen over time. The founders have seen plenty of meaningful connections form at their events, turning strangers into new business partners and travel companions.
“It’s a testament to a community that’s welcoming and embracing,” Oduro says. “We’ve been bringing people together for a long time. Chop Bar is a place where anyone from anywhere can come.”
Chop Bar will take place Sunday at Big Chief, 2002 Fenwick St. NE, 2 p.m.-6 p.m., $50
This post has been updated to indicate that Dine Diaspora began in 2014, and to clarify that the dinner will feature West and East African dishes.
