Chef Kwame Onwuachi at RSVPPosted by Nosa O on Feb. 26, 2018It's not every day that we get a proper famous chef in Lagos. The odds are even longer when said chef is cooking in a Lagos restaurant. But over the weekend, Top Chef alum, Kwame Onwuachi, took over the RSVP kitchen. A lot of people might not get the hype, but it's very rare to find a chef of color navigating elite culinary spaces. His first venture post Top Chef, the uber-expensive Shaw Bijou, got panned by DC restaurant critics unfortunately. “Other taste memories — a sliver of beet-cured hamachi on avocado puree; honeynut squash veloute poured over Parmesan foam and pickled squash— resemble what a lot of other chefs are doing. While there’s nothing incorrect about either offering, there’s also not an ahhh moment as you eat them. Both courses are merely pleasant. ” The bad reviews came in fast and each one was more scathing than the previous. Sadly, Shaw Bijou closed down in less than three months. “The warm host who sees you out will make it clear, as all her colleagues have, that they were very glad you came.
You can't hold a Nigerian man down though. He has since bounced back with his new spot, Kith/Kin in the InterContinental Hotel at The Wharf DC. We're definitely checking it out for #EatDrinkTravel later this year. We slacked a bit on making reservations because, for some reason, because we thought we could get a walk-in table. Maybe we got a bit carried away, eh? Anyway, we called a couple favors and friend of the blog, Chef Imoteda, hooked us up. 
A lot of people get hung up by the portion sizes on tasting menus but we don't know about you but if you're eating seven courses there's a limit to how much of everything you can eat so you don't tap out at 5. Further, the chef doesn't want to have you feeling so stuffed and uncomfortable that your experience of the later courses is marred. (Ed Note: A tasting menu is a collection of small portions of several dishes served by a restaurant as a single meal. It is not supposed to have "regular" sized portions by design)  Cucumber Marinated cucumber, whipped ricotta, red stew marmalade  Brussel Sprouts Suya spice, chilli honey, roasted tomato souhise  Salmon Escovitch sauce, plantain, smoked carrot yoghurt  Corn Torched corn, toasted garri, veloute  Lamb Chop and shoulder, confit potato, braised celery, curry jus  Mango & Soursop Sorbet, granita, herbs  Rum Chocolate, carrot Anglaise, honey comb The dining room was very dimly lit (ambiance lighting you know) so bear with us on the picture quality. On the food, the first two courses were definitely standouts. The lamb and the dessert were excellent as well, but the cucumber and brussels sprouts were just so good. Apparently, Kwame made the ricotta himself. The corn was our least favorite of the lot. It had too much cream and could have done with more garri.
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EDL Weekender: Plantain Fest at WorkstationPosted by Nosa O on Feb. 23, 2018NOSA: This week went by ridiculously fast or maybe it's just me. Anyway, here's this week's playlist. Folly got my an Amazon Echo for my birthday and that more or less forced me into getting a Spotify account. Nobody brings it up, but Spotify is absolutely fantastic for music discovery. This week's playlist is littered with a couple of songs i stumbled on this week. As for what to get up to this weekend, here's a bunch of stuff to do this weekend:
EATThe Plantain FestNOSA: As part of Folly & I's little mission to drive the culture of eating out in Lagos, we're always open to support any Lagos chefs hosting pop-ups. If you're doing a thing, just shoot us an email. 
This week, we have a plantain pop-up by Rima Tahini of the Creole Kitchen at Workstation this evening. R.S.V.P Lagos 'Kitchen Takeover' by Chef Kwame
NOSA: If you ever watched the American version of Top Chef, the face is probably familiar. If you never did, Kwame Onwuachi was a contestant on Top Chef some seasons past and he has done some pretty interesting stuff after Top Chef. He's in Lagos this week and he's taking over the RSVP kitchen tomorrow. New restaurant alert: The Grill by Delis
FOLLY: If the price of the meats in their butchery is anything to go by, I can imagine that the meats here will cost a mini fortune. LAGOSDance Gathering Lagos 2018EMEKA: Heyyy! Longest time. So I'm back to share some weekend vibes to look out for. Dance Gathering is back as well and they're taking the party to Broad Street! “The countdown is on Lagosians, this one is for you. From 22nd to 25th February, we are taking over Broad Street for you and for us to experience arts alternatively. Whether you are a fan of live music, DJ set, contemporary or urban dance forms, experimental theatrical performance, something challengingly intellectual, or simply hip to the idea of connecting performance to visual arts, design and creative writing. Dance Gathering isn’t just about dance and performance, it is an Anti-festival that designs a space where creative ideas network.” Anytime you can chill on a typically busy street and have a wonderful experience is always special!
See you out there! 
The Film & Society Presents: Some Like it Hot
“The Film and Wine Society Presents: |