Last week my friend sent me a text message saying her
family was planning to go to Ibadan (a city one hour away) the following weekend for KFC and asking me
if I’d like to join them. It took all of 3 seconds to make that decision! Yes.
Yes. Yes. This family is one of two American families in Ife, and I was
fortunate to meet them a few weeks ago. They have been a tremendous blessing to
me, as they have lived here for two years and “know the ropes.” The husband is
Nigerian-American, so they’re great culture bridgers as well. I totally just
made up that term. Culture bridgers. Bridgers of culture.
I digress.
There is approximately zero American food in Ife, and I do
mean approximately zero, because you can get a few foodstuffs at one or two
grocery stores (like Special K! And Oreos!), but in general, it’s
all-Nigerian-food-all-the-time. If you’ve been following my blog, you know I am
totally enjoying feasting on Nigerian food, but oh man do I miss food from
home! Which is not necessarily to say “American” food but really any number of cuisines
from around the world that I could have delivered to my apartment in Harlem. I
should stop writing about this because it’s making me want Pad Thai, Guac and
Chips, and Sushi all at the same time.
So on Sunday we drove the one hour to Ibadan, entered the heavily air-conditioned KFC, and ate fried chicken, french fries, and ice cream to our heart’s content. Then we got back in the car and drove home. Yes, we drove an hour to each lunch and then come right back home. It was a fantastic afternoon. And even though I eat chicken that is fried almost on a daily basis, and can obtain french fries in Ife, it doesn’t remotely compare to the deliciousness of KFC. Definitely scratched my proverbial itch for a Western fix.
I’ll leave you with a few pictures as evidence of our KFC adventures:
So on Sunday we drove the one hour to Ibadan, entered the heavily air-conditioned KFC, and ate fried chicken, french fries, and ice cream to our heart’s content. Then we got back in the car and drove home. Yes, we drove an hour to each lunch and then come right back home. It was a fantastic afternoon. And even though I eat chicken that is fried almost on a daily basis, and can obtain french fries in Ife, it doesn’t remotely compare to the deliciousness of KFC. Definitely scratched my proverbial itch for a Western fix.
I’ll leave you with a few pictures as evidence of our KFC adventures:
YUM YUM YUM!
2 comments:
I had no idea Mr. KFC was international? Why fried chicken in Nigeria? Is fried chicken a popular meal item there? Is KFC popular in the US? I am baffled.
Yes indeed, KFC is international! We had it in Romania, too, at the food court in the mall, and it was a hot spot for eating there as well. Evvvverything is fried in Nigeria, so fried chicken is super common (though not necessarily breaded and deep fried like KFC), but there is just something so different and delicious about KFC that makes it special. :) I honestly think I've been to KFC in the US less than 5 times in my entire life, so I have no idea how popular it is there, but I'm thankful for it when I'm abroad!
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