Buka
“Every Nigerian knows one buka or another,” says Lookman Mashood, owner and head chef of Buka, when explaining the Nigerian restaurant’s namesake. “They’re usually holes in the wall. They don’t have names. But they cook the best food.”
Brooklyn’s Buka is less hole-in-wall and more cavernous industrial space — but the food is delicious. Mashood plays confidently with heat in a hurts-so-good way that’s wildly flavorful and makes you sweat. Probably why his fiery goat soup one of their most popular dishes. Other highlights: crispy black-eyed pea fritters called akara; and tomato-based meat or fish stews with fresh pounded yam, traditionally eaten in torn pieces as a vehicle for stew delivery (and for some of us, as a means for cutting the spice).
Mashood laughs as he describes the training he received at his first job upon immigrating to the U.S. from Lagos, Nigeria in the mid-90s. He worked at a popular Brooklyn restaurant that happened to be located in the back of a small Nigerian grocery store. “There I was the chef, the manager, the dishwasher, everything,” he says. “But it was the place to be. Nigerian senators, governors, everybody would come there.”
That early success fueled Mashood’s work at the his own Clinton Hill restaurant, which he co-owns with his partner Natalie Goldberg. With high ceilings, pops of art against aged brick walls, and space so ample it houses a big yellow VW bus for decoration, Buka is all about a vibe. The ambiance is so relaxed, you’ll finish your meal before realizing you’ve been bopping to the Afrobeats playlist the whole time.
“Every Nigerian knows one buka or another. They’re usually holes in the wall. They don’t have names. But they cook the best food.”
946 Fulton Street, 347-763-0619, bukanewyork.com
