We were regulars at the original location, but there were some growing-pains with the move to the current location. That plus the shenanigans of the ART kept us away for most of 2 years. Feeling in the mood for some goat, we decided to give Talking Drums another try.

Boy are we ever glad we did! I had the Combination #1, which you can get with fish instead if you don't have a deep, abiding love for goat meat (or dietary restrictions that would keep you from eating it). If you've never tried goat, you really should, though, and get it here. The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, and its essential goatiness blends perfectly with explosive flavor of the carefully selected African spice blends. The rice is no bland palate-cleaner on this combo, though, it's a blend of carribean joys. The little bean-cake (MoinMoin) that accompanies is a subtle flavor, so eat it first or you may not taste it at all. Save the Fried Plantains for the end of the feast, as they're a better dessert than most desserts. They're rich, slightly sweet, and have both crispy edges and soft centers. 

Raz went for our more traditional choice of injera, which has a pretty high teff content here. I talked him into beef, beans, and collard greens for the sauces, hoping to remind myself how well it stacks up against the flavors in other cities. He only let me steal a single bite of each, though, because it was all incredible. 

What we found new on the menu since we were last in was the Jamaican Patties. These are similar to empanadas, pasties, or samosas, the concept of wrapping stew in a pocket of dough and baking being pretty universally accepted as a good idea. The taste is something unique and amazing, though. The chicken is absolutely the best of the 3 varieties on the menu. The veggie is an extremely close second, though, so I would definitely recommend it to my strictly herbivorous friends. 

We came in starving and purposely set aside my rice to eat later in order to have room for dessert. The African custard is an absolutely to-die-for experience. They have 2 desserts based around it, one with Coconut, and the other with a mix of seasonally available tropical fruits. We went for the tropical fruits, and the result was bright, light, rich, and refreshing all at the same time. We also tried the Cocoa Puff, which is nothing like the similarly named breakfast cereal. It's not super-sweet for one, the chocolate sauce being somewhere in the 65% cacao range by its flavor. The toasted coconut sprinkled over the chocolate-drizzled Puff Puff also has no extra sugar. Puff Puff is a sweet dough, somewhat reminiscent of doughnut holes, only far better. The combination is awesome. 

All told, the growing pains are over, the food is back to the amazing quality we expect, and now that we don't have to climb over construction workers to get in the door, we're putting Talking Drums back on our list to visit regularly.