Our New York Table

When Lookman Afolayan came to the U.S., the only thing bigger than his dreams was the flavor in his goat pepper soup. He risked it all to build a Nigerian restaurant he could be proud of.
In this episode, I sit down with Lookman and Abiodun Afolayan, owners of Buka. As I sweat my way through a bowl of pepper soup, we talk about Nigerian food, family, and what it takes to build a restaurant from the ground up.
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Community isn’t always built in public spaces — sometimes it begins in kitchens, around simmering pots, shared stories, and the foods and traditions we carry with us.
In this episode, we gather with friends in Harlem, in Saba Hamidi’s cozy apartment, where she teaches us to make some of her favorite Persian dishes. As we cook and eat, Saba talks about her journey from Iran to the U.S. as a Bahá’í refugee — and how she’s using food to build community and give back.
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When his photography studio stalled during the pandemic, Giovanni Cervantes turned back to his first love: tacos. What began as impromptu lunches and parties with friends slowly revealed itself as something more.
In this episode, I sit down with Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar, the duo behind Taqueria Ramirez in Greenpoint and Carnitas Ramirez in the East Village. We talk about growing up in Mexico, surviving New York City, and making the leap from photography to food.
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As a child in Addis Ababa, Hibist Legesse used to dread the impossibly large gurshas her grandmother would feed her. Years later, she came to understand just how much can be communicated in a single bite.
In this episode, I share a platter with Hibist Legesse, owner of Bati Ethiopian Kitchen in Brooklyn. We talk about her journey to the United States and the Ethiopian traditions — like gursha and mahaber — that have shaped her relationship to food, community, and caring for others.
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When Benyam Ethiopian Cuisine first opened in Harlem, people weren’t always sure whether they’d walked into a restaurant or an art gallery. And in some ways, that was exactly how owner Beniam Asfaw and his siblings wanted it.
In this episode, I sit down with owner Beniam Asfaw to talk about his journey to New York City, berbere basics, and how food, art, and atmosphere come together to create a place meant for lingering.
Read more about what we ate!