By Things that don’t make sense. A square pizza box, but the pizza is a circle. Pressing hard on the remote when the batteries are dead. The dentist talking to you while their tools are in your mouth. (Pause) Last but not least. The DMV area (DC, MD, and VA) being predominantly black but has as many restaurants as I have fingers. (Don’t census bureau me) I always look for Black led restaurants and unfortunately there aren’t many in the area. You can understand my excitement when I dine at one because it always feels like a home-cooked meal. I’ve always said soul-food is top five foods in the history of food. Have you ever tried a collard green? The foods that are made within the Black community wouldn’t taste good without a bunch of experience and a plethora of seasonings.
I was able to dine at Kitchen Cray Cafe, who took over Instagram by storm with his elaborate cooking skills and extravagant creations, which is located in Lanham, MD. The location isn’t noticeable, as the restaurant is located inside of what looks like a doctor’s office. If you’re not great with directions, dining here when smarten you up.
I was able to dine on two dishes during my visit for brunch. Chicken and Waffles and Shrimp and Grits. These are two of the most commonly ordered dishes in the Black community. I have no idea why, but it is. Maybe because you can’t really go wrong with either. I’ll start off with the Chicken and Waffles. It consisted of Fried chicken breast over a house made mini vanilla infused waffles with a side fresh berries and whipped cream. Perfect flavors, great presentation, and good chicken. It’s challenging to expose a dish that everyone has had, but this dish was pretty good for its class. The vanilla really stuck out in the waffle, and the chicken breast, although good, could’ve been seasoned a bit more. With Chicken and Waffles you have to find a different way to present it each time and this was one of the best presentations.
The second dish that was ordered was the Shrimp and Grits. It consisted of Jumbo prawns over creamy cheddar grits topped with a Cajun turkey sausage and roasted garlic cream sauce. This dish was fantastic, but I have some challenges with understanding why turkey sausage was added to a Shrimp and Grits dish. I could understand if it was ordered with a Jambalaya, but not Shrimp and Grits. The grits were made with cream, which I loved, but a bit too much was given for a brunch dish. Adding old-bay seasoning to the dish was a good idea, because it went well with the Jumbo Prawns and complimented the garlic cream sauce.
Overall, this restaurant is a go-to if you’re in the area. I only went for brunch and I’m sure the lunch menu is much better. It’s good for a restaurant in its class, but it’s not eye-opening. I can’t vehemently tell you to go here for brunch without informing you of its unvaried menu. This one is your call. I’d wait until lunch when the menu expands.
SavoryTravels 