This story appears in Birmingham magazine's May 2016 Issue. Subscribe today!

When Rafiki's Grill opened in 2014, owner Charles Gakumo worried Kenyan cuisine would not appeal beyond Birmingham's 5,000 or so expatriates from the equatorial east African country. But the curious tried the novel food and returned with friends or family. To Gakumo's delight, some American customers even spoke his native language, Swahili.

"I came to realize how many people have traveled to Africa," says Gakumo, who also ran a restaurant in Nairobi, Kenya's capital. "They ate our cuisine and it reminded them of where they had been."

Gakumo wanted to bring together the African and American cultures that shaped his life. After all, rafiki is Swahili for "friend." "This is an international place for everyone," he says.

Because Kenya has long been a commercial and strategic crossroad, its cuisine combines indigenous, Indian, and Arabic influences, along with New World foods like corn and tomato, introduced by Portuguese traders.

At Rafiki's, the Indian influence is found in spicy samosas and the flatbread chapati. Spices from India and Arabia are common in its dishes. Pilau, buttery rice with aromatic spices, showcases the Arabic influence. The Indian-spiced Masala Fries is the menu's culinary bridge from Kenya to American favorites like chicken fingers and wings.

African Sausage, offered as an appetizer or snack, features finely ground meat in a juice-trapping thick casing, with a sweet-savory flavor unlike any sausage in Birmingham. Pressed for details, Gakumo provides hints but no more. "I won't give the secret," he says.

Rafiki's stewed and grilled dishes nod to traditional Kenyan cooking methods, although grilling generally was for special occasions. Goat, available stewed (Mbuzi Karanga) or grilled (Mbuzi Choma), is a cultural and culinary touchstone for Gakumo, who raises goats on his farm near Pell City.

"Goat was eaten by my forefathers for generations," he says.

The Nairobi native tells a story about how his grandfather, a traditional medicine man, would watch and follow a Billy goat leading a pack, picking leaves for his own medicinal preparations from the same shrubs the goat ate. "Goats eat all kinds of shrubs that have health value, even for man," Gakumo says. "The Billy goat had learned how to medicate himself without even knowing it."

The goat at Rafiki's is not gamey. Grilling adds smoke flavor to the ribs, which are crisped before serving. Slow-cooked bones and tender goat meat add extra depth to the broth in the stewed version.

Other stews include chicken (Kuku Karanga) and beef (Ng'ombe Karanga). Kuku is lighter than the goat stew, but still full-bodied from tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and other herbs with a generous amount of cubed chicken breast.

Grilled steak (Ng'ombe Choma), tilapia (Samaki), and chicken (Kuku Choma) also are available. Main-dish prices are $10.99-$12.99. A sampler plate with two entrees and three sides is $17.99.

Just as a bowl of collards is comfort food to a Southerner, Sukuma Wiki--a side dish at Rafiki's--plays a similar role in Kenya. It is collard greens and kale, stewed with onion and tomato and seasoned with curry-powder blend and coriander. The main difference: sukuma wiki is meat-free.

The dish's name translates as "push the week," Gakumo says. The backstory may sound familiar to Southerners:

It is made from greens that are plentiful year-round and the cheapest thing in Kenyan markets. "They named it 'push the week' because if you didn't have much money for food you could at least get some vegetables to push you through the week until you got more revenue," he says.

Other meat-free side dishes, which come with the entrees or can be combined into a $7.99 vegetable plate, include rice (pilau, plain, and tomato-onion), vegetables including steamed cabbage (Mboza), and breads (chapati and ugali).

Ugali is made from ground white maize--Kenyans use that word to distinguish white corn from yellow corn. Maize flour is stirred into boiling-hot water until it solidifies.

Kenyans serve ugali in the middle of the table. Diners pull off a bit, mash it flat and make an indentation with their thumb. It's now an edible spoon to scoop and eat stews and vegetables.

Ugali helped stave hunger for laborers, slaves, and the poor. "It's very filling," Gakumo says. Rafiki's is open for only dinner on weekdays; all day on weekends. When walking through the door, lay aside expectations for the kind of service and pacing common in restaurants here. Transport mentally to a restaurant in Nairobi. And stay for the music, like patrons do in Kenya. The restaurant transitions to a nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights, where the DJ blends African music with Motown.

"After people have filled up, they want to enjoy themselves," Gakumo says. "So they dance the night away."

Gakumo has come full circle since he left his restaurant in Kenya and arrived in Birmingham on his birthday in 1996. He attended the University of Alabama at

Birmingham, where he met his wife, Ann, before graduating with a finance degree.

A few years later, Charles took Ann--a Florida native--on her first trip to Kenya. "She fell in love with the place and in particular with the food," Charles says. "She wanted to share that with everyone else."

Ann urged him to open another restaurant and name it Rafiki's.

"She is my inspiration," Charles says, flashing his trademark friendly smile. "It's amazing how significant others will make you climb mountains."

Rafiki's Grill; 367 Valley Ave., Birmingham; 205-942-0700.

Hours: Mon-Fri 4 p.m.-midnight, Sat, Sun 11 a.m.-2 a.m.