Marisa and Treva prepare a vegetarian curry dish at the Red Herring. All proceeds benefit Camp Uhuru. (Kim Nguyen, buzz Photographer)

You may have heard that the Red Herring is closed during these summer months; however, this is not the case on Sundays and some Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., because on these nights the Red Herring becomes the Lean Shebeen, serving vegetarian African cuisine along with live music, dance, film, discussion and a whole lot more. The proceeds from the dinner go toward funding a summer camp, Camp Uhuru, to help enliven the minds of children from our community, and an additional reward: the food is delicious.

I went to the dinner on a Thursday on which they served a coconut curry dish along with a salad made with cabbage and fresh cilantro. Upon arriving, the ambience was very relaxing with music playing while the chefs, who are all involved with running the summer camp, finished preparing the meal. I was greeted by my friend Marisa Manriquez, who is one of many people involved in running the camp and cooking the meals for the Lean Shebeen along with her boyfriend Nick Pelafas.

Aside from the positive influence on the community, it’s a good thing they’re doing the dinners because the food is scrumptious. It brought back memories of being at home and eating a real home cooked dinner made by my Vietnamese mom. The curry had potatoes, spinach, along with coconut milk and a slightly spicy finish. It was creamy, and it paired very well with the rice. Alongside the main dish was a salad of cabbage and carrots with cilantro, for freshness. The salad was also a nice contrast in texture to the soft potatoes in the curry, providing a crunch with a subtle hint of citric acid. There were also fried plantains, which I didn’t get a chance to try because I was full, but I will definitely try them next time.

The dinner was accompanied by a film showing of Afro-Samurai, an animated series that is akin to anime, with lively characters, much like the people hosting these dinners.