Paris Chicken!

I for one had no idea that the future of food in Paris, the culinary center of the universe, is the same as its actually been for decades now - American soul food:

These restaurants were a reflection of the city’s standing as an adopted home for African Americans during the 20th century, from former soldiers who stayed after finding less discrimination abroad to Black intellectuals who had intentionally expatriated themselves. As such, Paris was intertwined with the development of the civil rights movement in the United States. And yet today, with one of Europe’s largest Black populations, France faces its own questions over discrimination, police violence, social and economic inclusion, and what it means to be French.

But despite its imperfections and contradictions, this particular concept of individualism and equality meant that metropolitan France historically offered Black Americans an openness that was denied to them in the United States, even while maintaining a colonial empire at its periphery. Paris was where W.E.B. Du Bois and Blaise Diagne — a Black, French-Senegalese member of France’s parliament — hosted the first ever Pan-African Congress in 1919 over the objections of the U.S. government. It was where Josephine Baker could step onstage and sing. Where a Black American expat like Richard Wright could debate with Sartre and Camus, become a French citizen, and say that his adopted country and city were “a land of refuge” from racial tensions and conflict. And where Leroy Haynes, the soldier and restaurateur, could marry whom he pleased.  

This history is perhaps one reason why Paris, alone among continental European cities, has persistently harbored soul food restaurants. It is resonant on Lainé’s menu, which features a variety of “Afro-” plates, each attempting to reflect a cuisine that has fairly direct connections to West African traditions, but was forced to adapt when, as Lainé says, “our parents got here … and couldn’t find half the ingredients.” There is the Afrocaribéenne (chicken braised in Antillean coconut curry, and herbed sweet potatoes with a touch of vanilla), the Afrosubsaharienne (chicken grilled with Penja pepper, and served with basmati rice, plantains, and a spiced peanut sauce), and the Afrovégane (corn and okra alongside attiéké and plantains). 

I would surmise that great fried chicken is great fried chicken, and if people in Paris are famous for being great cooks why wouldn't they know how to knock out a great bird or two?