Dinner & a Movie

As the New York African Film Festival unfolds at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side, the "Lower West Side" has been enjoying its own African arrival, with the recent opening of chef Marcus Samuelsson's Merkato 55 in the meatpacking district. Both the film festival and the restaurant's menu are cultural surveys of the continent, and both also happen to reflect the far-reaching European and American influence on the landmass.

DINNER

Mr. Samuelsson has traveled the globe by design and by his restaurants: An Ethiopian by birth, he was adopted and raised in Sweden. Making his culinary career in New York, he's best known for his Swedish restaurants Aquavit and AQ Café at Scandinavia House, as well as his Japanese-fusion eatery, Riingo. He comes full circle, as it were, at Merkato 55, his first African-themed venture. Continental Africa, including some emphasis on Moroccan flavors, is the basis of the menu. On offer are three selections of kitfo, similar to a tartare of raw meat, made with beef, lamb, or tuna and seasoned with berbere, a spice native to Ethiopia. Also worth trying is a mouthful of dullet-spiced tripe, which is simmered in clarified butter, as is the tradition. Three types of bread — benne, za'atar, and meali — are the perfect dipping utensils for this bracing stew. Still, as expected with Mr. Samuelsson's cooking, a flair for the European is never far from the plate: Foie gras makes an appearance alongside apricot and coriander in the chutney selections, and oysters are dressed with a mignonette (flavored with harissa) and melon granité. (55 Gansevoort St., between Greenwich and Washington streets, 212-255-8555)

MOVIE

The New York African Film Festival celebrates its 15th anniversary on Friday with a benefit reception, which follows the New York premiere of Sylvestre Amoussou's "Africa Paradis" (2007). The director introduces the film, which examines immigration by infusing the subject with geopolitical wit. A successful engineer (Oliver) and a teacher (Pauline), both French citizens, decide they want to immigrate to Africa. When the pair are denied entry visas, they hatch a plan to get there illegally, bringing about a host of unforeseen hardships. The movie is in French with English subtitles; festival ends Tuesday. (Film Friday, 7:30 p.m., FSLC, Walter Reade Theater, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, between 65th Street and Broadway, 212-875-5600, $11 general, $7 students, seniors, and members; benefit reception Friday, 9:45 p.m., Roy Furman Gallery, adjacent to Walter Reade Theater, 212-352-1720, $100 includes film admission)