To eat at Fu-Fu Cuisine on Phoenix's west side, is a journey far from the sprawling Arizona desert. The new restaurant owned by Esther Mbaikambey, who was born in Nigeria and spent her high school years in Jamaica, offers a culinary journey to Africa and Caribbean.
Here's an excerpt from this week's Cafe review: Imagine mashed potatoes. Then imagine a pile of mashed potatoes -- smooth and sticky -- shaped into a starchy dome. You pull a piece and mold it into an indented marble-size ball, a flat disc, or perhaps a thumb-pressed oval to scoop up a richly flavored soup or stew. The experience, personal and comforting, seems to have been born of a sculptor, a baker, or a precocious 6-year-old with an aversion to utensils.
Esther Mbaikambey serves this fun-to-say-and-eat centerpiece, fufu, the starchy staple of Africa, at Fu-Fu Cuisine, her months-old restaurant on the city's west side.
Check out the full review of Fu-Fu Cuisine from this week's print edition.