Aduke has been on my bucket list, and a free Friday had me meandering up to Inglewood. I've always wanted to try Nigerian food, and I'm told their takeout was fabulous...last year.
A lot can happen in a year, and things started going south here immediately when we stepped up to order. We stared, wide-eyed, at the overwhelming menu and asked whether a tempting-looking dish of baked chicken gizzards was supposed to be an app or an entree. The young man at the register squinted in confusion, mumbling, "We have a chicken gizzards dish?" as his eyes frantically scanned the menu behind him.
Conventional wisdom dictates that if the staff aren't even aware of the dish, you should order something else. So we asked what we should order and complied with the suggested combo plates. One was white rice, plantains, and Curry Goat, chunks of miserable meat like rubber with a watery yellow sauce that can only be described as an approximation of curry. It's like a person who has never seen, smelled, or tasted curry described curry to someone else who then tried to make it.
The Jollof Rice combo had potential - the red sauce, a tomato-based spicy almost-gravy, had such flavor and the side of greens was fresh. Unfortunately, the beef and the fish looked the same and both had turned to jerky from sitting in the warmers for what was probably several days. We arrived around noon and I can't imagine anything could get so dry in a single morning.
We also tried the meat patties, which were honestly no better. The beef patty was very bland with a pale, cooked but not browned crust, and the fish was mostly dry dough with a small swipe of salty stuff in the middle.
I don't know what happened between last year and now. I've only heard good things about Aduke, and even Eater LA has heaps of praise. That said, I am deeply disappointed with the very poor quality of the food and felt like we got handed a bunch of leftovers that should have been thrown away. I just can't imagine this is the best Nigeria has to offer, but after my experience at Aduke, I'm hesitant to find out further.
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