A line of yellow cabs is double-parked along Ohio Street, blinkers flashing. But they’re not waiting for passengers–they’re waiting for lunch. For the last three years, Nigerian-born Lookman Muhammed has been feeding a steady clientele from the back of his custom-heated truck, which is usually parked in one of the last few spaces at the east end of Ohio, just yards away from the inner drive. The food comes directly from the kitchen of his tiny Rogers Park restaurant, Toham. “We basically serve meats other countries don’t eat,” says Muhammed, smiling as he hands another cabbie a plate of spicy jollof rice with oxtail. But it just as well could have been cow foot, tongue, kidney, or boiled cow skin.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Ten years ago, as a student at Lagos State University in Nigeria, Muhammed, who’s now 36, was immersed in food technology courses, learning how to package and present food to customers. In 1994, realizing his job prospects in Nigeria were slim, he left his parents and moved to Chicago for the promise of work with his sister, Toyin, who owned the Sholly Bakery in Uptown at the time. For the next three years he worked in the front of the bakery and drove a cab at night.
Americans who sample the meat will almost surely think it’s overcooked, but for Nigerians it’s perfect. “We like to work a little bit when we chew our food,” says Damola Olumegbon, one of Muhammed’s regular customers and a fellow Nigerian. “Any time I’m downtown, I come here. Sometimes I get rice, or yam porridge, or fried plantain.” Muhammed says about 80 percent of his customers are from Africa, but he’s trying to change that. He thinks aloud for a moment about altering his cooking methods and serving the meat more on the juicy side, to appeal to the American palate. “I want to expand the business, put some more money into it and offer more choices, but doing that and getting all of the right ingredients takes money,” he says.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Eric Fogleman.
