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.
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.)
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.
Discover more from Flights and Foods
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
5,592 Comments
lastPostAnchor
There’s a piece of my life I rarely talk about after my dad walked out of our home.
We lived in Berlin and our house used to mean warmth.
But when the bills started to overflow, we began to lose control.
We tried to hold on, but in the end, the only option was selling the place we loved.
My mom tried to hide her tears, but I always noticed. I knew I couldn’t just sit there.
I spent evenings learning anything that might help us.
That’s when I came across stories of people using cryptocurrencies and
converting them safely into money through trusted platforms.
I told my mother she could explore that—even though I was just 14 and hardly knew anything.
She looked into it, researched for days, and eventually
chose Paybis (Paybis). She said it felt straightforward enough for her to try.
Her voice trembled when she whispered “I hope this works”.
When it went through, she looked at me with the softest smile.
From that moment, it felt like we finally had a direction. My mom handled everything
herself, but she always said my encouragement gave her courage.
I discovered that small ideas can change everything.
Today, we’re healing slowly but steadily. And every time my mom looks at me and
smiles, she reminds me how everything changed the day she found the strength to use Paybis to convert her crypto
into something we could actually live on.
These moments taught me strength.
55jogo
This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!
비아그라 시알리스 차이
Simply want to say your article is as astounding. The clarity on your submit is simply cool and
that i can assume you are knowledgeable in this subject.
Fine together with your permission allow me to seize
your RSS feed to stay updated with imminent post.
Thank you 1,000,000 and please keep up the enjoyable work.
petirgacor
Hi my loved one! I want to say that this post is amazing, great written and come with almost all significant infos. I’d like to see extra posts like this.
hptoto link
Some times its a pain in the ass to read what website owners wrote but this site is really user friendly! .
hptoto
I gotta favorite this site it seems very beneficial handy
promote
Truly tons of terrific material.
apk slot
When someone writes an post he/she retains the image of a
user in his/her mind that how a user can understand it.
So that’s why this piece of writing is amazing. Thanks!
Vin88
I am really pleased to read this web site posts which includes plenty of
helpful facts, thanks for providing such information.
Vin88
Greetings from Idaho! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided
to browse your website on my iphone during lunch break.
I enjoy the info you present here and can’t wait to take a
look when I get home. I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone ..
I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, fantastic blog!