Dept. of Culture
Chef Ayo Balogun's intimate BYOB tasting menu in Bed-Stuy: a communal-table dinner of north-central Nigerian cooking where every course arrives with the story of where it comes from.
Dept. of Culture grew out of Ayo Balogun's IYA EBA pop-up dinners and settled on Nostrand Avenue in early 2022 with a simple premise: a set menu of north-central Nigerian cooking served at one shared table. Balogun cooks the food of Kwara State and presents each course himself, explaining the dish, the region and the family memory behind it. Expect pepper soups, homemade wara cheese in a spiced pepper sauce and pounded yam, with the menu shifting over time. It is BYOB with fixed seatings Thursday through Saturday, and it was a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2023.
Best for: A storytelling dinner at a shared table
Location
327 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11216
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