Lobster Taco
All Things BLACK,  Chef Interviews,  DC,  Food,  Restaurant Reviews

New Black Owned Business: A Young DC Chef Creates His Own Path

You can never have too many wings, or too much sauce. When that Henny Mumbo sauce hit my lips I was beyond excited to try the rest of the menu. The kitchen at Unity Lounge has only been open a few weeks, but this will be my new wing spot. 

Originally from the Bronx, NY, Chef Jaquaun Blackwell started working part time at HalfSmoke while in school at Howard University. Though he majored in marketing, his love of cooking grew and he made the decision to stay on at HalfSmoke after graduation. He learned his professional work ethic at HalfSmoke and worked his way up to sous-chef. Chef Jaquaun then moved on to another well known DC restaurant, KitchenCray Cafe, where he was able to hone his skills in the kitchen.

Hennesy Mumbo Sauce Wings
Henny Mumbo Wings

After less than two years at KitchenCray, Chef Jaquaun was presented with a great opportunity to run the kitchen at Cloud Lounge. He was working at Cloud when the pandemic hit the DC area. While waiting to return to the workforce, Chef Jaquaun decided to stop waiting, and started his own catering company, TPK, in May, providing catering. He was not discouraged by the effects of the pandemic. As he says, “people are still eating everyday.”

Once restrictions began to lift around the city, Chef Jaquaun secured the head chef position at Unity Lounge. Chef Jaquaun is serving up five different flavors of wings, a variety of tacos, lobster, lamb chops, just too many mouthwatering dishes to name. The Henny Mumbo Wings are slathered with a scratch made sauce. The flavor is reminiscent of a classic DC mumbo sauce with a delightful twist. The wings themselves were moist and tender. (A regular order is eight wings.) The Fried Lobster Tacos are a customer favorite. Lobster claws in a toasted tortilla, topped with fresh pico de gallo made by the chef, and drizzled with a sriracha aioli. The lobster meat was nice and tender. The red onion in the pico gives these tacos a nice bite. (A full order includes three tacos, or you can mix and match.)

Lobster Tacos

Now for the entrée. I tried the Creamy Garlic Tuscan Salmon and Crab Pasta. This was such a generous portion, I almost didn’t know where to begin. The fettuccine pasta is full of mushrooms, spinach, and sun dried tomatoes. If that wasn’t enough, the pasta is topped with salmon, which is then topped with lump crab meat. The salmon was cooked to perfection, the crab on top was well seasoned, and sun dried tomatoes were a really nice touch. 

Since starting his own business Chef Jaquaun brought on partner and friend Ronnie Gipson. Ronnie handles all of the business while Chef Jaquaun handles the cooking. Ronnie loves the Henny Mumbo Wings, the lobster tacos are also a favorite, as well as the pasta when he’s craving something heavier. Chef Jaquaun’s favorite is the lamb chops because he can easily prepare them a variety of ways. Though he loves lamb chops, he enjoys cooking seafood, and aspires to open a seafood restaurant one day in the future. Chef Jaquaun had his first job at the age of nine and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. 

Unity Lounge is open for dine-in and carry out service. Takeout is also now available through UberEats. You can follow Chef Jaquaun at Kitchen at Unity Lounge DC. For catering services follow the Chef on his personal page.

Creamy Garlic Tuscan Salmon and Crab Pasta

Discover more from Flights and Foods

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

You May Also Like

10 Black Food and Drink Bloggers to Follow

February 11, 2021
Angolan Muamba Chicken Stew

Muamba Chicken Stew

January 29, 2023

Vegan Recipes for Your Next Cookout

June 12, 2022

5,592 Comments

  • backlink

    February 25, 2026 at 7:27 pm

    4 stars
    Let me tell you a story about an Italian guy I once met, whose name we’ll spin as Marco.

    He never expected crypto to become part of his job,
    yet destiny had different plans. His business in Italy relies heavily
    on international clients, and bank transfers constantly delayed his operations.

    One day things got really intense. His business nearly froze because a payment didn’t
    go through, and his entire workflow collapsed for days. He said he had never felt that much pressure in business before.

    Time-sensitive deals were jeopardized, and he realized banking couldn’t keep being the
    bottleneck.

    A colleague recommended he try Paybis, he was unsure whether it
    was the right path. With everything falling apart, he knew he had to try something new.
    He finally gave the platform a chance.

    To his surprise, things started moving quickly.
    Support didn’t leave him hanging. He managed to get crypto payments
    settled in minutes instead of days. He genuinely didn’t expect
    such a turnaround.

    But here’s the emotional twist. When his bank finally “found” the missing transfer, it was already too late — Paybis had saved his operations.
    He admitted that this crisis was a turning point for him.

    Now he relies on Paybis whenever he can’t afford delays.
    He values results, not trends, and Paybis delivered exactly
    that.

    At the end of the day, Paybis truly fulfilled his goal.

  • situs bokep no blokir

    February 25, 2026 at 10:58 am

    1 star
    What i do not realize is in truth how you are now not really much more smartly-preferred than you might
    be right now. You’re very intelligent. You understand therefore significantly in terms of this topic, produced me individually imagine it
    from so many numerous angles. Its like women and men aren’t fascinated except
    it is something to do with Lady gaga! Your individual stuffs nice.

    All the time maintain it up!

error: Content is protected !!