Chef Dontaye Ball has been cooking delicious gumbo for the Bayview for the last five or so years. One time, he served a guest for free when they couldn’t afford a bowl; that guest came back three years later, Ball said, to express their gratitude.
It’s Ball’s favorite memory from running Gumbo Social, formerly a pop-up operation but now a brick-and-mortar restaurant located at 5176 Third St. He loves hearing from people who have tried his gumbo, he said, because he loves “leaving a lasting food impression on people.”
Ball, and Gumbo Social, did just that on Thursday evening at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center’s “Taste of Bayview” launch, aimed at uplifting small restaurants in the district. An audience of around 100 people crowded into the Southeast Community Center at Third and Evans streets to try Gumbo Social’s bowls, along with noodles, enchiladas and other specialties served by four other local restaurants.
“We love this community,” said Marcus Tartt, one of the organizers. “And we want everybody to know that we have great restaurants here.”
Kicking off the night was Old Skool Cafe, which serves “soul food with a side of jazz,” said organizer Christina Kenney. Located at 1429 Mendell St., the supper club employs formerly incarcerated youth to staff the Harlem Renaissance-themed, live-music-filled space. Director Dan Escobar said walking into the restaurant is like “walking into a different time,” calling it a “celebration of Black culture.”
As Escobar and Kenney introduced Old Skool Cafe, its young staff, alongside chefs from the restaurants, plated its specialties in the back-room kitchen. Soon, the staff was whisking about the guests’ tables with platters of fried chicken, collard greens and mac and cheese.
Next up was Soo Fong, a go-to Chinese spot that opened in Bayview in 1989. District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton’s chief of staff, Natalie Gee, presented Matthew Ow and his parents, Lillian Liu and Alvin Ow — who now own the restaurant, opened by the younger Ow’s grandmother and located at 3801 Third St. — with an award recognizing their decades-long presence in the community.
Then, out came Soo Fong’s chow mein and fried rice, filling the air with comforting smells. I later caught up with the younger Ow, who also recommended the salt-and-pepper chicken wings, broccoli beef, Mongolian beef and house wings. He’s been hanging out at Soo Fong since he was a kid, and has fond memories of running around the tables at the time.
Radio Africa & Kitchen, at 4800 Third St., served up salads with at least a dozen different ingredients, including bread and a dressing that Chef Eskender Aseged drizzled over the bowls with artistic flair. Aseged told the audience it was the kind of food he grew up eating in Ethiopia.
The chefs and youth staff bantered in the kitchen as they combined the ingredients. “A couple of these don’t have any beets!” one chef exclaimed — a problem quickly remedied by another, bowl of beets in hand.
Ball, from Gumbo Social, took the mic next. Bayview has the best restaurants in the city, he said, but no one knows about them. Before long, bowls of the restaurant’s famous gumbo in three different varieties appeared in front of the guests. (Ball later told me the chicken and sausage is a fan favorite.)
Renato Guerrero, the owner of La Laguna at 3906 Third St., couldn’t make it to round out the night; he was attending his son’s first football game, Kenney said. Kenney added that everything Guerrero makes is based on his mom’s recipes. Guests were treated to La Laguna’s chicken and cheese enchiladas and potato taquitos, along with salsa made from scratch.
To top it all off, guests went home with cookies from Hungry Crumbs, which Kenney called the “best cookies in the Bayview.” Mohamed “Mo” Ali, Hungry Crumbs’ owner, said he loves “adding a different flair to cookies.” (He insisted I try “one of the stuffed ones.”) Adding flair to things is Ali’s specialty; he also runs the Hungry Cafe in the Southeast Community Center where, with its sweet and savory offerings, he gets to put a spin on traditional Egyptian food while still paying homage to his heritage.
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center CEO Sharon Miller said the organization is all about helping people start businesses and supporting existing businesses, and is currently focused on building up the Bayview’s Third Street corridor. And she had happy news for food lovers: The organization plans to follow up on Thursday evening’s feast with events at individual restaurants.
“Taste of Bayview” is just beginning, Miller said.
