The oxtail dish by itself satisfied our hunger, but of course we didn\u2019t stop there. We also ordered the whole fried pompano \u2014 a flat fish, vaguely flounder-like in appearance, with delicate flesh and a rich, earthy taste. It was incredibly satisfying picking that fish clean \u2014 dunking strips of it into the bright, searingly hot housemade pepper sauce, and dipping the eye sockets (don\u2019t knock it \u2019til you\u2019ve tried it) into a tub of suya spice mix. The plate came with a heaping portion of the same excellent jollof and fried plantains.<\/p>\n
Finally, we dug into the fragrant, spicy, palm oil\u2013based stew known as ayamase, which 9jaGrills\u2019 friendly owner had tried to steer us away from, warning us that it came with a kind of \u201clocal\u201d Nigerian rice that Americans don\u2019t tend to like, and asking, with some concern, whether we\u2019d eaten Nigerian food before. With that kind of introduction, of course we had to order it, and it may have been the most memorable dish of the night. Ayamase consists mostly of beef offal: the liver, the intestines and especially the skin, cooked until it\u2019s so tender and slippery that it practically melts in your mouth. The stew was studded with flat, toothsome locust beans and a hard-boiled egg \u2014 all delicious when mashed into the sauce, then ladled over the nutty whole-grain ofada rice, which was perfect for soaking up the stew\u2019s oily richness.<\/p>\n
Crouched over our feast in the semi-darkness of 9jaGrills\u2019 backyard patio, we shoveled rice into our mouths like we hadn\u2019t eaten for days, and held the oxtail bones in our hands, inspecting each one to make sure we\u2019d picked it clean. Then, utterly stuffed and hyped up on Naija beats, we stumbled back into the bright lights of the restaurant proper, like we\u2019d just woken up from the most beautiful dream.<\/p>\n