At Dept of Culture, Balogun tells me that he wants to showcase a more sophisticated version of regional Nigerian food than is often found here, and he bristles against more generic terms like African or even West African, especially in a city where, he argues, folks can name regional Italian pizza varieties with ease. But the real triumph is that he’s created a high-end New York buka of sorts, a chic counterpart to the largely accessible social and culinary hubs of Nigeria, places where folks mingle under canopies or inside bare-bones restaurants, often for tasty street fare. Some patrons steal glances as folks react differently to the soup, watching their expressions as they tuck into something they’ve had hundreds of times as a daily staple - or never before.īalogun deserves credit for running a tasting menu spot with just two induction burners and a tiny, $400 convection oven. Almost everyone sits facing or within eyeshot of strangers.
But there’s another factor at play that heightens the experience: the communal table. The preparation here is partly what sets the dish apart: Balogun says he clarifies his soup more than others do, to the point where it’s only faintly cloudy. Pepper soup is a familiar enough dish at restaurants in Brooklyn and New Jersey, with rustic versions often studded with goat or tilapia. It strikes hard, then disappears.Ĭhef Ayo Balogun stands behind a counter, while a Naomi Clark mobile hangs over a Townsend Designs communal table. But really, this dish is about heat as a distilled flavor. A small filet of pink-skinned snapper adds a bit of neutral sustenance. Sprigs of cilantro inject the flavor of freshly cut grass. And the chiles start jabbing the front of the tongue too. It feels as if you’ve inhaled a speck of bonfire ash. The warmth in the back of one’s throat slowly grows to a flame. The light fish broth is the canvas for incendiary ata rodo peppers, among the world’s spiciest. This tame-looking rendition of eja tutu, as it’s known, breathes fire.Ĭonversation receded. And then, almost with the precision of a symphony orchestra beginning a recital, everyone began eating at once.Īll of a sudden, someone coughed. A few minutes later, chef Ayo Balogun began handing out bowls of pepper soup. Patrons carefully squeezed into place on picnic benches. The setting is distinctly cozier and chattier than more formal tasting menu spots.Ī host checked in 16 people, assigning most of them seats around a single communal table. on a recent Friday, a staffer unlocked the entrance to Dept of Culture in Bed-Stuy, a prix fixe dinner party of a restaurant that showcases the nourishing and spicy foodways of North Central Nigeria.
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