A Taste of West Africa 🇳🇬

Dozzy's Grill takes over Monday Night Foodball [READER]( [Food & Drink]( July 21, 2023 There would be no jambalaya without jollof rice, and yet Dozzy Ibekwe figures most people in Chicago can’t name one West African restaurant. “[West African food has] been around since the beginning of time,” he says. “So it's really not something that's foreign. In fact, it's been a part of the American journey since the beginning of America as we know it today.” Here’s a restaurant name to remember: Dozzy’s Grill, a concept that’s been nudging West African cuisine onto the city’s culinary consciousness since late 2020—and an anticipated brick-and-mortar, soon to ensnare your unquestioning devotion at the next [Monday Night Foodball]( the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Ludlow Liquors. Ibekwe was born in southeastern Aba, Nigeria, but grew up in the south suburbs like any teenager, playing Nintendo and absorbing the diversity and malleability of the American diet. His mom, a nurse, cooked creatively for five kids—for instance, adapting her Filipino colleagues’ pancit with Nigerian seasonings like dried crayfish for funk and fermented locust bean for umami. As Ibekwe came of age, he was seduced away from a computer science degree by the hospitality industry, first bussing at a suburban steakhouse and eventually working as a concierge at the then Allerton Crowne Plaza hotel, and later the Ritz-Carlton; followed by stints as the director of events and catering at the late, great Bonsoiree; and as a manager at Chicago Chop House, just before the pandemic. About 16 years ago, he began investigating the relative scarcity of West African restaurants in the city. “At every opportunity, when taxis were still a thing, I’d ask the driver ‘Where do you go for West African food?’” Turns out most didn’t. “We mostly cook at home,” he says. “The majority of our restaurants serve our community—gathering places—but we haven't quite had the population to bring a broader awareness to the cuisine.” Ibekwe set out to change that, first launching [Dozzy’s Grill]( in a South Loop ghost kitchen, where he balanced tradition with innovation; he met western eaters halfway with dishes like the Jorrito, a flour tortilla-wrapped bundle of jollof rice, shredded mozzarella, peri peri mayo, and a choice of protein. This was followed by a six-month residency at the [Currency Exchange Cafe]( and a host of catering gigs and pop-ups, all leading to this glimpse at the menu of his first brick-and-mortar opening in Bronzeville this fall. Earlier this summer, I submitted to the irresistible Gospel of Dozzy at this new spot, expressed as a sprawling multicourse lunch that included stacks of beef, chicken, and shrimp suya—the peanut- and pepper-rubbed kabobs that are Nigeria’s quintessential nighttime drinking food. There were also mountains of akara and dodo, springy, fried black-eyed pea fritters and plantains dipped in peppery ata dindin sauce; and there was a vivid, refreshing “Afrobeet” salad, tossed with citrus and fennel. Just after Ibekwe tried to bury us with a platter of thick goat burgers, he sent us all home with containers packed with jollof rice enriched with goat and chicken braising liquid, a recipe that conquered all at a jollof rice competition at [Boxville](. You can test your eating endurance with all of those dishes this July 24 on the sprawling Ludlow Liquors patio, and finish yourself off with a gold-dusted single origin Ghanaian chocolate cupcake—if you haven’t already filled up your tank on Star Lager (the ideal pairing for your suya). Ibekwe starts slinging suya—and [DJ Mwelwa]( starts spinning Highlife and Afrobeat—starting at 5 PM this Monday at 2959 N. California. Walk right in and place your order. Meanwhile, the Foodball summer schedule abides: [It’s West African street food with Dozzy’s Grill at the next Monday Night Foodball]( Preview his forthcoming Bronzeville brick-and-mortar at the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Ludlow Liquors. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [From the finest kitchen scraps in the city, Wilson Bauer summons the best worm poop]( Flour Power’s pasta chef rescues nearly every bit of food waste his kitchen produces and composts it into plant magic. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → January 2023 [Say yes to Bendición Dry Bar]( When Cristina Torres got sober, she couldn’t find a place to socialize, so she created one herself. by [JT Newman]( | [Read more]( September 2020 [Gone but not frog-otten]( A zinester remembers Rainforest Cafe. by [Megan Kirby]( | [Read more]( [Issue of July 13 – 26, 2023 Vol. 52, No. 20]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. 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