[e-Shegz]

Originally Posted by Suleimana

Thanks for provoking me this morning. You are absolutely right about the ‘good food of Nigeria’, very much like ‘good people of Nigeria’. I had the benefit of a culinary vacation starting October 2008 and Ending May 2009 (with work tucked somewhere in between). In the period, I sampled restaurants in London, Banjul, New York, Philadelphia, DC, San Francisco, Dubai, Lagos, Abuja, Accra and Cape Coast. The only conclusion I reached from this experience is that Nigerians simply can package, don't innovate and won’t serve. In London, Tayyab (Indian) and Saddaf (Mediterranean) were excellent. The Restaurant at the Sheraton in Banjul had good service but I barely remember the food. In the US, eating in San Francisco was unforgettable though a tiny little restaurant perched on a cliff in Half Moon Bay remains my most memorable eating experience. The place is called The Distillery and God, what a meal. New York also offered some worthwhile experiences. Dubai is all glass and no spice, Cape Coast had nothing edible. In Accra, Bukka (Nigerian owned, I am told) had decent food but when it came to service, it was the Maquis Tante Marie that came tops.

In my dearest Lagos, Yellow Chili carried the day! La' saisson gave us excellent service but had a 'bad chef' day. I still go there frequently because they know how to serve and on most days, the food is divine. Abuja has Wakkis (I wish they served more Nigerian dishes though) and that will suffice. As a devout Shagalinku adherent, I rushed my American friend with whom I had sampled most of these Restaurants to the place I had spoken about so many time, they place I must 'visit' every time I go to Abuja, but behold a grand disappointment of a lifetime. The environment was as drab as usual, but service was unusually delayed. As for the food, let’s just say that I will wait till I get to Shags in Zaria for my next religious culinary experience.

If Nigerian food are served in places like Yellow Chili and Wakkis (very African, world class atmosphere), people will go there without any preaching. Have you ever seen a Chinese man advertising Chinese food? It just happens because they have put it together. I think it was Pastor Adeyemi that once wrote about how we still cook beans the same way our grandparents did. I was at 805 Restaurant & Bar in Peckham and how exciting it looked until the food came. Nigeria has beautiful attractions but no tourists, excellent opportunities but few investors, amazing food but few world class restaurants, talented footballers and a rubbish national team, gifted scholars and a nonexistent educational system. The story goes on and on. Now I am hungry, time for my favorite pounded yam and okra soup with smoked fish-nothing quite like it.

Hear...Hear, Shags is the place sir and hey never forget to wash the portion down with specially brewed fura .hmmm...juicy! But please when next you go to Zaria, do not bypass Mama Tessy, Peters or Tonia's...top of the range African cuisine with all the attendant "weapons". Hygienic environment and all the good news! I went, I tasted and i am Hooked!

I'm out of here, Dinnertime!!!