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Africa Kine represents the peak dining experience in Little Senegal, a two-block stretch of 116th Street with culturally connected restaurants and grocers. The restaurant moved across the street in January 2005 to an airy, expansive second-floor space, where an attractive dining room welcomes patrons with wood floors, exposed brick, and large windows framed by billowy curtains. Dinner brings an assortment of above-average grilled meats and seafood, yet, as usual, the most exciting Senegalese food appears at lunch. Everything is shareable; most dishes arrive in deep bowls beside enormous piles of white rice. Thu Yapp brings tender lamb, green peppers, and onions simmered in a thick, vibrant curry. Suppa Kandjia, a stew of meaty fish and lamb, is made slightly slimy by chopped okra, then bombed with deep red palm oil. Africa Kine cooks the home country's national dish, Thiebu Djeun, too, although slightly differently than most: Here, delicate tomato sauce colors the typical heap of spiced broken rice, root vegetables, and garlicky fish. The more common tomato-free version is available as well. Either way, no Senegalese lunch is complete without it. — JJ Goode

Suppa kandjia, $10; mafe, $10; thiebu yapp, $10; thiebu djeun, $10