Immigrants from Ghana dominate the Bronx's West African diaspora, which is reflected in the overwhelming bent towards the country's cuisine among African restaurants in the borough. But as often as not, transplants from neighboring nations can be found working at these largely Ashanti-owned dinners, welcomed into the fold by a sense of transnational community. A few stars representing the region's other traditions, have joined ranks of the Bronx's fufu slingers. More

In spite of its generic name and imprecise storefront signage, which advertises a sprawling menu that jumps from "Chinese food" to biryani to bagels, Starling Coffee Shop manages to keep a tight focus on the streets of Bangladesh. Stick to the menu's left side and you can cover a wide range of filling Bengali streets snacks. More

Neerob in the Bronx does full service catering largely for weddings and other festive events. Distinguished by its more elaborate, traditional, and sometimes painstaking preparations and its ceremonial presentations, Bangladeshi "celebratory food" maintains the cuisine's fish-and-rice principles but elevates them to recognize special moments. It was some months back that, over fish and dhal in the dead of winter, chef and owner Khokon Rhaman first offered to cook me this food—that which is closest to his heart. More

Starling Avenue, a microcosm of Bangladeshi life in the Bronx, continues to cement its position as the premier cultural and commercial center for the borough's Desi community. In the 1990s, only a handful of families from the South Asian nation called the neighborhood home; today there are nearly 2,000. It was only a few years ago that the street was anointed with the honorific title of Banglabazaar, given in recognition of the dense concentration of Bangladeshi businesses that line it, and eating there has never been better. More

We've written about Estrellita before, praising their excellent cemitas in particular and their entrees, including a pretty exciting Oaxacan mole, more generally. The mini-chain, with locations in Allerton, Unionport, and Westchester Square, serves some of the best Mexican in the Bronx. Most days of the week they buffer their menu with daily specials. On weekends they call in the horses, offering a wider range of options like pork chops in green sauce, fancy tacos with bulb onions, barboaca, and chivo consomme among other dishes. Most of the specials are traditional fare; others are the kitchen's own inventions. More

When I was still a stranger to the bounties of the Bronx food scene, Papaye served as my introduction to the comforting promises of West African food. I knew little about Ghanaian cuisine then, and was content to bask in the blistering heat of my chicken soup spiked with shito, the Ghanian pepper sauce often just called "pepper." I've since had many more meals of rice smothered in potato leaf stew and Sauce Claire, as well as earthy fayoke and toothsome egusi soup. Shito has now taken its place as one of my most beloved condiments.* But one thing hasn't changed: Papaye remains my favorite of the Bronx's Ghanaian restaurants. More

At a time of year more synonymous with chocolate bunnies and egg hunts, one Bronx congregation gathered to celebrate a different holiday. Home to some 2,000 Cambodians, the borough boasts one of only two Khmer Buddhist Temples in the city: Wat Jotanaram. The temple, a two-family house tucked into a hill in residential Bedford Park, played host to the community's three-day celebration of their traditional Cambodian Buddhist New Year. Blessing and alms preceded a backyard gathering of grilling, fish sauce, and conversation. More

Long home to one of the city's largest Puerto Rican populations, the neighborhoods of Castle Hill and Union Port boast a sizable West Indian presence.Melanie's Roti & Grill is one of the many places that gives these immigrants a taste of home—alongside some surprisingly good American Chinese classics. More

At Neerob (reviewed in whole here), fish takes center stage. But not to the neglect of vegetables, which often appear in simpler guises. One of the best is their okra with green papaya ($3), a great gateway dish for those who have been turned off by the vegetable's notorious sliminess. More

If you ride the 5 train almost all the way to its northernmost stop, and get out at Gun Hill Road, you will find yourself surrounded by Jamaican and West Indian restaurants and grocery stores. Walking past the eateries hawking chicken, and markets offering such popular cuts of meat as "cow cod" (look it up), you might dismiss Katashe's as just another store, and one that doesn't look particularly well-stocked. In the back, though, you'll see a variety of patties piled up in a hot box. Behind the counter you'll see some steam trays, and you'll get a whiff of allspice. Ask the counterman what's available for lunch and he'll gladly lift the lids up to show you. More