Last month, we wrote about the Lagos pop-up dinner series that was on its was to Pacifico’s Fine Foods in Crown Heights. Helmed by Detroit-based and Nigerian native Tunde Wey, the event celebrated the foods of his childhood. He and a couple of friends have been touring cities up and down the east coast while preparing midnight Nigerian goat dinners and making new friends along the way.
Here’s what the scene was like at 12:00 a.m. on December 18:
Pacifico’s Fine Foods hosted the pop-up. “This is exactly the type of thing we want to support,” said owner Shanna Pacifico.
The dinner was served family style. Clockwise from top left: egusi (seeds cooked with water, oil, leafy vegetables and seasoning), dodo (fried plantains), dun dun (fried yam slices), frijohn (black beans and coconut), isi eau (spicy goat head), and jollof rice (rice, tomatoes, onion, salt, pepper and sometimes meat).
Wey chose to serve the dinner family style as it would be served in Lagos.
Slow-cooked isi ewu (goat head stew) was the main event at Wednesday night’s midnight dinner.
This side dish, called egusi, is made from crushed seeds and leafy greens.
Jollof rice is ready to be plated.
The meal started off with a very spicy goat pepper soup.
Tunde Wey listens to music as he cooks in Pacifico’s kitchen.
Side dishes wait to be plated.
Wey tends to one of his stews.
Chef Tunde Wey fries plantains in small batches to make dodo.
Diners ate well into the night.
