Kith and Kin
The cooking that Kwame Onwuachi is doing at Kith and Kin “puts him in culinary conversation with a small cache of game-changing restaurants around the country,” said Bill Addison in Eater .com. The 28-year-old chef, a closely watched talent since he competed on Top Chef, is calling attention to the roots of African-American cuisine by exploring his own diverse Nigerian, Trinidadian, and Creole heritage. “To plunge straight into the heart of Onwuachi’s synergistic, autobiographical cuisine,” diners should share the goat roti as an appetizer. Marinated in a Trinidadian green paste, then seared and slowly braised, the goat curry is home-style cooking that has been pulled by classical European technique into its “own unique and wonderful dimension.” Every table should also share at least one of Onwuachi’s variations of jollof rice, topped with either jerked mackerel or steak and crab stew. The beef patties are the sole disappointment—too dry—and the “very beige” dining room provides an odd contrast to the vibrant cuisine. But so what? Onwuachi’s creative engine is “firing at peak level.” 801 Wharf St., (202) 878-8566 pelling ancient cuisine,” said Adam Platt in New York magazine. In a bright, tall storefront space in Brooklyn, the chef, whose menu is inspired by the elegant home cooking she remembers from her Tehran youth, likes to wander among the tables, “greeting customers and dispensing bits of wisdom about the glories of Persian cuisine.” Her enthusiasm is backed up when the food arrives. “As you would expect, there’s an emphasis on small shared plates”— meatballs garnished with sour cherries; sliced roast beets with olive oil, honey, and pistachios; a noodle and lentil stew. Move on to entrées and “similar exotic combinations keep popping up.” The crisp-skinned roast chicken is smothered in a complex sauce of saffron and mashed Persian plums.