12 MARCH 6-12, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | myself to the space. Since there’s no stove in Four’s kitchen, I was like okay it makes sense I just do pizza.” His solution? He built a kitchen outside. Building a stove outside has allowed Hall to expand into the cuisine he’s most comfortable in. “Honestly, it’s a lot more fulfilling and grat- ifying,” he says of his Afro-centric cooking. The food itself can be described as such, too. On my most recent visit, I had Hall’s col- lard greens, Kunde (black-eyed peas, peanuts, tomato, and sumac onions), Nigerian Jollof rice, jerk chicken wings served with house- made sweet jerk barbecue sauce, and slow- roasted jerk pork. Hall has hit his stride. The chicken was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy cooked to ideal softness; the rice was deliciously seasoned and felt nurturing in the way someone who really knows how to cook rice can make you feel. The Kunde was my absolute favorite, having never tasted that combination of sweet and tart flavors in a bean dish. I had a second serving. Hall’s family is Jamaican, and he’s been enjoying incorporating his Caribbean roots into his menus. “Showing people this is where I’m from, and this is the food we eat felt really good,” he explains. The North Mi- ami community is primarily Haitian, so at first, he feared the community wouldn’t stop by. However, this has all changed. “Since we’ve started this Afro-centric menu, I’ve re- ally understood the complexity of how food is really a universal language,” he says. “When we started the afro centric thing a bunch of people came, like, ‘Yo! I’m from the barber shop next door!’ It’s super cool. I feel mad happy now that they come because they smell what’s going on outside and they’re like, ‘This reminds me of something I like to eat. Even if I haven’t had this actual dish before, it’s still something that makes sense to me.’” The Four gang has a gift and, I suspect, a passion for making people happy through food and drinks, but the best part of eating or drinking there is that it feels like the staff are happy to be there, too. One of the nights I went, I saw Cantey ex- perimenting with a dish. As he cooked, he took his time to try different things and even chatted and laughed with the customers in between. Then, upon deciding the dish was good enough, I watched him place a small, makeshift sign that read “Coconut Rice Pud- ding.” I immediately went up to order it, and it was delectable. It reminded me of the rice pudding my grandmother would make me as a kid. Maybe, partly because I felt the love in it. I let him know it was delicious, and he seemed genuinely pleased. “It’s the first time I’m making it!” he said with glee. At that moment, my experience at Four shined above any other dinner I’ve had in Mi- ami in recent years. That’s the magic of Four. At its core, it’s a group of talented individuals obsessed with their craft, coming together and utilizing 12831 W. Dixie Hwy. to play and serve quality goods in the community. That joy is something no Michelin-starred spot can rival. Four. 12831 W. Dixie Hwy., North Miami; in- stagram.com/four.miami. [email protected] Photo by Monica McGivern Blk Brw’s Nick Murray and Ashley Lindo behind the counter Joy of Cooking from p11
