Cocktails With Dina by Dina Novarr
Since Black History Month takes place during the shortest month of the year, I’m still celebrating it and feeling inspired by the Afro-Latin diaspora, the communities whose ancestors were forcibly brought to Latin America and the Caribbean through the transatlantic slave trade. Afro-Latinos are making waves in the culinary world right now. It is like that cousin who shows up to the family reunion and somehow makes every dish better. You know, the one who turns basic beans into habichuelas, a transcendent experience that makes you question everything you thought you knew about legumes.
The one who is perhaps leading the scene in the Bay Area is Dominican-American chef Nelson German. You will find me in March at Meski, Chef Nelson’s newest spot, where Ethiopian cuisine reminds us that the Horn of Africa was influencing global tastes while Europe was still arguing about whether salt was too spicy. It’s where the Silk Road met the spice route, and somebody said, “Food can be interesting if we borrow and blend flavors and cultures.” And when we take a real look at Southern cuisine, it is essentially a culinary crime scene where all the evidence points to Africa. Okra, watermelon, black-eyed peas … the list reads like a manifest of ingredients that took the worst cruise in history and somehow still managed to revolutionize an entire continent’s palate.
Let’s take a look at Chef Nelson’s “Cast Iron Grilled Whole Branzino,” which is basically the Black diaspora’s greatest hits album on a plate. The peanut salsa macha sauce is what happens when South American ingredients get an African makeover. Chow chow, that tangy Southern relish, carries echoes of both African preservation techniques and European pickling traditions, a true child of the American South’s complex cultural heritage.
And jollof rice powder, perhaps the most direct connection to West African culinary heritage, reminds us that some flavors are so fundamental, so beloved, that they survive any journey, adapting and evolving while maintaining their essential character. Together, these ingredients paint a picture of resilience and creativity, showing how African culinary traditions didn’t just survive the Middle Passage; they transformed the entire Western hemisphere’s understanding of flavor. I like to think of it as culinary karma—the very system meant to destroy cultures ended up spreading them instead, like a nightmare that accidentally invented brunch.
And perhaps, like any decent beverage professional would do with a mouthwatering dish, is to find a perfect pairing. No winery pairs better with Chef Nelson’s vibes than Klinker Bricks wines, made by fellow Afro-Latino Joseph Smith. Joseph probably didn’t expect to become the wine world’s version of a cultural revolutionary when he immigrated from Belize. Starting as an apprentice at Gnekow Family Wines in 1996, Smith worked his way up in an industry that has rarely embraced diversity. But here’s the beautiful irony: he’s now making some of California’s finest wines, including the “Old Ghost Zinfandel” from 106-year-old vines, because nothing says “we persist” quite like making premium wine from plants that have endured for over a century.
These vines, like the many stories of the Black diaspora, have roots that run deeper than your average Instagram post. They’ve survived droughts, freezes, and probably more than a few questionable farming decisions, much like how African culinary traditions survived centuries of “well, actually …” from food historians who couldn’t tell plantains from bananas if their lives depended on it. The Black diaspora is like that distinctive wine blend—complex, layered, and probably too good for most people’s palates. It’s the reason your dinner tastes better and your wine has actual character instead of just alcohol content.
So, here’s to celebrating these stories, not just during Black History Month, but every time we raise a glass or fork to our mouths. We should be grateful for the cultural influencers who actually knew what they were doing with food and drink. It’s like history’s darkest moments accidentally created some of its brightest flavors—triumph, resistance, and a new kind of cultural fusion. And that, my friends, is something worth celebrating, every single day of the year.
San Francisco-based Dina Novarr enjoys sharing her passion for fine wines, spirits, non-alcoholic craft beverages, and more with others.
Cocktails With Dina by Dina Novarr
Published on February 27, 2025
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