Exterior Two Hommes
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Our team recently went on a five-day non-stop eating tour at Los Angeles’ Black owned restaurants a part of our quest to find the best of the best Black owned nationally. From sunup to sundown, we ate soul food, Mexican, African, and even Caribbean cuisine, experiencing the good, bad, ugly of LA’s Black food scene. You can follow our L.A. series and more by subscribing below or on our social channels @thehungryblackman.
Two Hommés was most definitely the good. In fact, if you’re looking for one of the most flavorful Black owned, chef inspired restaurants in Los Angeles, head to Two Hommés, located at 902 N La Brea Ave, Inglewood, CA 90302. It’s a new concept created by two friends, culinarians, and Los Angeles natives, Chef AB and Chef Mando. The restaurant turned two months old in October and is churning out some of the best food in Los Angeles.
Our experience started with exemplary customer service and an incredibly vibrant, and spirited dining room. The menu selections are best described as diasporic fusion for dinner service and brunch.
We started off with the Honey Berbere Chicken Bites with a citrus aioli dipping sauce and house made pickles. I asked Chef AB, who was also serving as cashier, if the Ethiopian spice and honey were compatible and he politely said, “if I put it on the menu, then believe me, they are.”
Well, let’s just say these outstandingly delicious, tasty nuggets surpassed my expectations. If you’re unfamiliar with Berbere, it’s the central spice in just about every aspect of Ethiopian cooking and has a very distinct, incredibly aromatic flavor. Hints of chili, coriander, garlic, ginger, basil and other exotic flavor profiles yield a smoky, bold, and memorable taste that married with the raw honey for one of the most culinarily beautiful bites we had the entire trip.
The constitution of the fried chicken confirmed that these brothers did not come to play. With a through and through crunch that left room for the tender poultry’s presence, they earned their spot as our favorite chicken bites to date! Yes, they are now our reference for chicken bites moving forward, with spice and honey merger forever engraved in our palates.
Next up was our entrée. I had a hard time deciding between the Shrimp and Grits with Lamb or the Jollof Platter. Lord Jesus, thank you for guiding me to select the Jollof Platter with Lemon Garlic Salmon served with Ghanian Jollof rice, black beans plantain, and an arugula.
Similar to African American mac and cheese, you will never have the same Jollof rice from two different cooks. This chef’s jollof was the most pronounced I’ve enjoyed in my seven years of food writing. It was smoky and not spicy at all with an expert infusion of herbs and seasonings, producing multiple layers of flavor with a hint of sweetness from tomatoes.
Paired with adorable culinary pals, lemon and garlic, the salmon was destined to be delicious. Tender and blasting with citrus and slight acidity from the lemon and further lifted with a dab of pungent and savory notes from the garlic, this salmon had my right leg doing the Holy Ghost foot shaking. Don’t mess around and eat the salmon along with the rice. You just might go into a fit inside those people’s restaurant.
The black beans’ texture is similar to the way they’re prepared by Cuban cooks in my hometown of Miami, but the flavor was completely different from anything you’re probably used to from any Hispanic culture. They had a distinct, sweet almost licorice-like taste that’s similar to aniseed or possibly star anise.
Because of their sweetness, they should be enjoyed separately, not with the Jollof. The honorary Afro-Cuban in me wanted to pour these beans over some white rice. (Hopefully, these brothers will consider providing a side of buttery white rice to the menu.) The plantains tasted like a Jamaican grandma who had a good day cooked them, with their caramelized texture and natural sweetness that had me coming back bite after bite.
I gave this restaurant a solid 5 out of 5 stars. From service, menu options, flavor profiles, and portion price ration, this space knocked everything out of the park. It’s one of those spots that you miss tremendously when you get back home. You won’t be able to get it off your mind. You will wonder what the salmon is doing and be tempted to call but realize that the long-distance relationship will never work. You will try to find a substitute but come to realize that no one can compare. You will think of her, I mean, it and just wait for the next time that you two can meet again for what will certainly be a joyous reunion.
You can reach Two Hommes at (323) 388-3581.
