Houston has witnessed a remarkable growth in its West African food scene as more immigrants from Nigeria and neighboring countries have settled here. This has led to a flourishing local restaurant landscape. Hannah Goldfield takes us on a journey through some of the best West African restaurants in the city.

Discover the Rich Tastes of Houston's West African Cuisine

Margaret Ukegbu: A Pioneer in Nigerian Cuisine

In the early 1990s, Margaret Ukegbu opened Safari, becoming a pioneer in the Nigerian restaurant business. Her son, Kavachi Ukegbu, co-authored a 2021 book called "The Art of Fufu" and is passionate about traditional Nigerian dishes. At Safari, one can find a variety of West African staples like fufu, which is usually served as a starchy accompaniment to soup or stew. Fufu is made from a steamed root vegetable or grain, in this case, yam, that is pounded and hydrated until it becomes soft and slightly stretchy.When the author visited Safari, Kavachi Ukegbu ordered for them, including a meaty whorl of land snail draped in sautéed onions and peppers, abacha (shredded cassava tossed with palm oil and hunks of stockfish), and the fufu with a bowl of nsala, a thick, fragrant soup filled with offal and various cuts of beef and goat. Ukegbu corrected the author's fufu technique, explaining that one should use only one hand to tear off a piece, roll it between the fingers, and then flatten it into a scoop to dip into the soup.

The Growth of the West African Population in Houston

Since the 1980s, the West African population in Houston has been growing. Local universities recruited students and staff from Nigeria and its neighboring countries, leading to a slow but steady increase in the number of people of Nigerian ancestry. According to census data, the number of such people more than doubled between 2010 and 2022, from more than twenty thousand to nearly fifty-three thousand. This growth has led to the opening of dozens of West African restaurants in and around Alief, an area of southwest Houston that borders Asia Town and encompasses Little Africa.A brief tour included the wholesaler Bukky Enterprises, which imports goods from all over West Africa, and Suya Hut, a tiny restaurant specializing in exceptional grilled meat perfected by the Hausa people and marinated in a mixture of ground peanuts and spices. This shows that the West African food scene in Houston is still in its early stages and there is much more to explore.

Amosu's ChopnBlok: Making West African Food Accessible

Ope Amosu, who was born in London and grew up in Houston, opened the first location of ChopnBlok in 2021 as a fast-casual stall at Post, a food hall in a converted mail-sorting facility near downtown. Armed with an MBA but little experience in restaurants, he wanted to make West African food more accessible. The new, expanded outpost in Montrose approaches this goal with even greater ambition.In the stylish dining room, one can find delicious dishes like the "chips & dip" (a bowl of silky and savory "Liberian greens" served with plantain chips) and the "reimagined" Scotch egg made with ground turkey and devilled-egg filling. The Black Star entrée, featuring grilled shrimp, Ghanaian-style waakye rice, and yassa curry, is a homage to Senegalese marinade and resembles Southern-style shrimp and gravy over grits.Amosu's success is inspired by the wisdom of "home cooks" in West Africa and across the diaspora. In his spare time, he embedded with the home cooks of Houston, including one of his cousins, and studied their techniques before developing his own recipes.

The Fusion of West African and Black American South Cuisines

Almost everything on the ChopnBlok menu nods not only to West Africa but also to the Black American South. Amosu's "smoky jollof jambalaya" is a mashup of the Louisiana staple and its West African forerunner. The elements of the Black Star come together to create a unique flavor that combines Old World recipes.This fusion shows the diversity and creativity of Houston's food scene. It also highlights the connection between West African and Black American South cuisines and how they have influenced each other over time.

The Importance of Community and Heritage

In 2023, Amosu organized a food festival called Chopd & Stewd to celebrate the many Houstonians with West African ancestry. The publicist, Marcel, whose grandparents moved from Louisiana to Houston before she was born, spoke about the importance of Black heritage and how it brings people together.At the Breakfast Klub, a restaurant serving daily brunch in Midtown, the conversation turned to the Michelin guide and the importance of Houston's sprawling dining scene. Miles of strip malls offer a variety of cuisines from all over the world, showing the diversity and richness of Houston's food culture.After decades of living in the US, Amosu is in the process of getting his citizenship. He sees Houston as a sanctuary for his community and believes that with more numbers, they will be able to amplify their voice and ingrain themselves in the fabric of the city.