Rob Carterâs menu is on at Monday Night Foodball
[READER]( [Food & Drink]( September 9, 2023 Nanny Evon could throw down chicken and dumplings for her 21 siblings and cousins like it was nothing. âShe cooked for all of them,â says Rob Carter. âShe doesn't know how to cook for a small group of people.â Thatâs just one thing Carter got from his grandmother. I saw it myself earlier this summer when the chef pushed out hundreds of orders of Nigerian suya, jollof rice, and fried plantains and black-eyed pea fritters on one of the busiest, most hectic nights of the year on the patio at Ludlow Liquors. Carter was helping out, expediting [Dozzy Ibekweâs]( menu, but this September 11, itâs all his own when Diaspora plays [Monday Night Foodball]( the Readerâs weekly chef pop-up. Back mid-pandemic, after four years on the line at Western Springsâ great Vie, Carter was contemplating an offer to jump up to a sous chef position. And why wouldnât he? Paul Virantâs beloved temple of preservation and seasonality had a foundational impact on Carterâs own food. But so did Nanny Evon. Carter instead cut loose and founded [Diaspora]( dedicated to exploring the common ground among all the cuisines of the Black Diaspora. âI'd been noticing the same ingredients, the same cooking techniques, similar dishes, all the way across the board,â he says. âI figured it'd be cool to serve all of itâand even in some cases, try to make a fusion out of it.â Carterâs been synthesizing threads of the Black culinary experience ever since, creating menus inspired by Caribbean, African, and corner store foodâand even imagining and executing a West African taqueria. This Monday, heâs bringing a super-seasonal menu that pulls on all these threads, with a bit of acidic preservational balance. Thereâs a Nashville hot chicken thigh with a hot honey drizzle, mounted on a cheddar cornmeal waffle with sweet corn succotash; Cajun crab salad on johnnycakes; and melon with smoked feta, Publican country ham, pickled watermelon rind, and chorizo vinaigrette. Heâs got creamy potato salad too, and banana pudding for dessert, but Iâm most excited by the fried green tomato sandwich on French bread that doubles down on the nightshade with a green tomato chow chow, along with pimiento cheese and collard greens. âCollard greens are a super underrated sandwich topping,â says Carter. He's teamed up with events curation collective [@nobottleservice_]( and bringing in [Patricia of Chicago]( to DJ. Bar opens at 5 PM. Walk-in orders from 6 PM until sellout, this Monday, September 11, at 2959 N. California. And this is just the beginning; Carterâs kicking off a brand-new Monday Night Foodball schedule, which you can find below!
[Diaspora weaves together the threads of the Black culinary experience at the next Monday Night Foodball](
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[Issue of
Sept. 7 â 20, 2023
Vol. 52, No. 24]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)](
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