D’Angelo's Diner

The mythic spot between heaven, the hood, and the heart. Paying homage through our favorite vernacular: food.

You’ve reached Ghetto Gastro. Jon, Les, and P can’t come to the phone right now but subscribe and they’ll get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime: the Ghetto Gastro tribute to D’Angelo through our favorite vernacular: food.

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Illustration: Ferry Gouw

D’Angelo been heavy on my heart. Ever since he had to cancel Roots Picnic, I been praying for his health and peace. My first argument about music was over Brown Sugar. My aunt told me it was about weed. I put my camp counselors on game and they said that wasn’t true. I was 9 and I called cap! When I was ten, I was playing Lady for my crush. This shit is in me, not on me.

When Belly hit and Voodoo dropped, I just started high school. I wanted them Prada cups on my feet, so I hit the streets. But D’s lyrics reminded me what you can lose chasing that chicken.

Years later, Black Messiah dropped just as Ghetto Gastro started bubbling. That record’s Blackness kept me centered. There’s no Black Power Kitchen without Black Messiah. Below, the Ghetto Gastro homage through our favorite vernacular: food.

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Welcome to D’s Diner. The mythic spot between heaven, the hood, and the heart.

Boom — you’re trying to spin the block on your ex. You’ve grown, healed, and learned your lessons. They oblige mostly out of curiosity. You pull out the voodoo menu. Here’s the first of an eight part. Watch this space. The first recipe:

ONE MO’ GIN GINGER BEER

INGREDIENTS

MAKES 1 GALLON (4L)

FOR THE BUG (the fermented starter culture)

• 1 (1-inch/3cm) piece fresh ginger, plus additional to feed your bug

• 2 teaspoons organic cane sugar, plus additional to feed your bug

• 1 cup (240 ml) filtered water

FOR THE GINGER TEA

• 4 quarts (4 L) cold water

• 1 hand of ginger (you can use less but the Gs like it spicy)

• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) organic cane sugar

• Juice of 2 lemons

CHOP IT UP

• First, make the bug. Grate ginger into a mason jar. Add the sugar and the filtered water, then stir. Cover the jar with a cheesecloth and rest it on the counter away from sunlight, but in a warm space. Each day, feed the bug by adding the same amount of sugar and ginger. After 2 to 3 days, it will begin to bubble. When the bug becomes vigorously bubbly, it’s ready to mix with the tea.

• Next, you’ll brew the ginger tea. Fill a pot with 2 quarts (2 L) of the cold water and bring to a boil. Grate the ginger into the water and add the sugar; stir to dissolve. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes to infuse the ginger into the water. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and the tea to infuse for 1 more hour.

• Strain the ginger tea. Add the lemon juice. Strain the ginger bug and add that liquid to the cooled tea. (When you add the probiotic juice from the ginger bug to the ginger tea, you’re adding the beneficial bacteria and yeasts so the brew will begin fermenting.) Add the remaining 2 quarts (2 L) cold water to the combined ginger liquid.

• Sanitize clean clamp-top bottles. Place a small funnel at the mouth of each bottle, one by one, and fill each bottle up to within 1 inch (3 cm) of the top. Clamp the bottles shut and leave them in a warm, dark place for 10 to 14 days.

• As the yeasts and bacteria in the ginger tea begin to digest the sugar, the by-product they generate is carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 means your ginger beer is carbonating. The longer it ferments, the bubblier it becomes. Pierre recommends that first-timers use a plastic soda bottle for at least one serving of the ginger beer. As the carbonation increases, the plastic bottle will become firmer and harder to the touch, giving you a reliable way to keep tabs on the developing carbonation. Alternatively, just crack open one of the bottle periodically to gauge the developing pressure. Make sure to check its progress every day after the first 5 days.

• Once the ginger beer has reached the carbonation level you desire, put the bottles in the fridge and keep them cold until ready to serve.

REST IN POWER

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KEEP DIGGING