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Two Hommés (Inglewood, CA)

Two Hommes Restaurant
902 N La Brea Ave, Inglewood, CA 90302
424-577-5242 / 424-227-6266
twohommes.com
Sat 01/24/2026, 05:00p-07:35p





I recently attended a concert at The Forum and was looking for a promising early dining option in the vicinity. After considering a few options, I settled on Two Hommés, a pandemic era pop-up that transformed into a brick and mortar location back in September 2022. Since then, the restaurant has been garnering increasing attention for its Cal-African cooking, and I was curious to check the place out, particularly since African cuisine isn't something that I encounter often. The principals behind Two Hommés are longtime friends Abdoulaye Balde (Chef AB) and Marcus Yaw Johnson (Chef Mando), with additional backing from Dennis Anthony Robertson.

About the Chefs: Abdoulaye James Tanou Balde (b. October 1990) and Yaw Marcus Johnson (b. January 1992) both hail from the South Los Angeles area (Leimert Park and Crenshaw District, respectively) and both come from families with one African-American and one West African (Senegalese and Ghanaian, respectively) parent. Balde was already dabbling in the kitchen by the age of eight, as his uncle owned a catering company, and following high school graduation, decided to formalize his education by enrolling in culinary school. Johnson, meanwhile, started taking cooking seriously around the time he turned 16, and after serving six years in the Navy (with part of his time spent aboard the USS Lake Erie), he also made the decision to attend culinary school.

When the pandemic struck, both men wound up leaving their jobs and started their own local food ventures. That summer, Balde began a pre-order/pick-up concept called Soul Food Sunday (and also flirted with his own clothing brand, Baldé Clothing), while Johnson started a similar business focused on Ghanaian fare (his "Lowkey" series). By August 2020, the two had linked up and were serving together in Leimert Park Village (mostly in front of Sika). However, the "Two Hommés" moniker first appeared in December that year, when the pair were cooking at Balde's home for "Habachi Hommes."

By the start of 2021, the duo had firmly decided to team up together, and continued to pop up regularly at Leimert Park Village. Their acclaim continued to grow, and in February 2022, Two Hommés began branching out, appearing at Townhouse in Venice and Johnny's in West Adams on multiple occasions. On July 7th that year, Two Hommés commenced service out of a cloud kitchen at 5660 Selmaraine Drive in Culver City, but that undertaking proved to be short-lived. By August, Balde and Johnson had started the process of taking over the old Comfort LA space in Inglewood, and would soft-open the permanent incarnation of Two Hommés on September 4th, 2022.

With a proper restaurant in place, the Chefs were now able to grow their audience even further, and this is when more and more Angelenos began taking notice. In December 2023, the LA Times ranked Two Hommés at #89 on its list of "101 Best Restaurants in LA." This was improved to #47 in 2024 and #29 in 2025, and the spot even appeared in the Times' "Best Restaurants in California" guide.



As mentioned above, Two Hommés takes over the former digs of Comfort L.A., and before that, the storefront was home to the likes of El Limon, La Asuncion, Don Aji Grill, Golden Bird Chicken, and Granny's House of Soul Food. When Balde and Johnson first opened, the decor was essentially left unchanged, but in October 2024, the restaurant underwent a quick remodel overseen by Kiano Moju, and now sports a noticeably more upscale aesthetic. Do note that Armond Keys' Bootsy BBQ was also based out of here for a period, sharing the kitchen with Two Hommés I assume.


Two Hommés' self-described "Afro-centric" menu is pleasantly compact, divided simply into sections of small plates, mains, and desserts. To drink, the restaurant initially opened without booze, but was eventually able to secure a liquor license and started serving in August 2024. Libation options include cocktails, a couple of beers, and a small wine list that includes a mysteriously-named "Champagne." Meanwhile, corkage is $35 a pop. Click for larger versions.


Plantain + Crab [$20.00] | panko fried plantain, crab salad
The pairing of a refreshing crab salad with deftly-fried plantains represent the marriage of two disparate types of sweetness, both of which integrated surprisingly seamlessly while never getting in each other's way. A promising start to dinner.


Honey Berbere Chicken Bites [$16.00] | house pickles, citrus aioli
Naturally, I was curious about the fried chicken, which sort of reminded me of Korean-style yangnyeom chikin in terms of texture. Taste-wise, I found a marked sweetness up front, one that quickly led to the enchantingly multifaceted spiciness of berbere. It was an effective combo, and I didn't mint the citrusy accent from that allioli, either.


As you may have read, for this blog's twentieth anniversary, I'm focusing on drinking wines from '06 in '26, hence tonight's BYOB option: the 2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal, which comes to us from one of the most prolific producers in Northern Rhône's Hermitage appellation. On the nose, the Syrah presented tart, dark berries, earth, and leather, with a touch of "green" character. Palate-wise, I found well-resolved tannins alongside a healthy acidity, with flavors of perfumed black fruit supported by a lovely baking spice quality. This showed well tonight, but I suspect that the wine still has room to grow.


Suya Shrooms + Greens [$14.00] | peanuts, oyster mushroom, green bean, garlic sauce
Given my penchant for both haricots verts and oyster mushrooms, this was a must-try, and didn't disappoint thanks to how well both ingredients played with the palpably peanut-y nature of the dish as well as that pervasive undercurrent of spice going on.


Soup Du Jour [$10.00] | ask the hommés
I asked our server what the soup of the day was, and when she said it featured scallop and potato, I was immediately sold. This was a cozy, creamy potage, one that did a commendable job playing the salinity of those supple bay scallops with hearty chunks of tater. Nice tinge of heat with this one, too.



Lamb + White Bean Hummus [$17.00] | Hommémade flatbread, yassa onions, lamb bits, Gloria's Shito
A fluffy, well-griddled flatbread served as the perfect vessel for consumption of this untraditional hommus, one that brought together the citrusy tang of yassa and the mouthwatering spicing of shito, with the addition of lamb imparting a savory heft to the dish. Great contrast from all those herbs up top as well.


Chilean Seabass [$37.00] | cannellini bean, braised collards, tomato, coconut cream, jollof oil, shrimp stock
Patagonian toothfish had that firm, flaky, buttery consistency I was looking for, while its subtly sweet taste worked hand-in-hand with the additional depth proffered by the one-two punch of shrimp stock and jollof spices. At the same time, the beans and greens helped moderate everything while also imparting a certain hominess (hommésness?) to the dish.


(3) Lamb Dibi Tacos [$26.00] | Senegalese smoked lamb shoulder, corn tortillas, cilantro, pikliz, mint salsa, Gold Coast bbq sauce, cotija
Lamb arrived as tender and juicy as I was hoping for, with some heavy, sweet-n-savory flavors that were somewhat reminiscent of what you might expect from barbeque'd brisket. Given the heft of the meat, the acidity from the pickles was crucial for balance, and those maize tortillas served their role admirably to boot.



The Jollof Platter [$28.00] | Ghanian Jollof Rice, bomb azz black beans, plantain, arugula salad
Unsurprisingly, the jollof was another must-order, and delivered with its scrumptious yet somehow seductive seasoning. The rice was delish alone, but I certainly didn't mind those drizzles of bright cilantro-lime crema. Zippy pickled red onions and sugary plantains added further interest to the dish, and while "bomb azz" isn't the first descriptor that came to mind when trying those beans, they were indeed rather tasty, with a welcomed herbaceous component. The only thing that seemed a bit out of place here was the arugula.


At this point, my curiosity ultimately got the better of me, and I felt compelled to order a bottle of that aforementioned mystery Champagne [$35] on the wine list, just to see what I'd get. As expected given the price point, the Élysée Blanc de Blancs Brut that showed up wasn't actually Champagne, but at least it was from France. The fizz displayed a refreshing bouquet of orchard fruits, and taking a sip, I found the sparkler easy-drinking and unquestionably quaffable, with loads of apple and traces of zippy citrus. It should come as no surprise that there wasn't much complexity here, but I suppose that's not the point--this is something you'd down a whole bottle of at brunch.


Root Beer Braised Short Rib [$39.00] | 8 hour braised short rib, whipped sweet potato, zucchini
A healthy-sized chunk of beef short rib came out fork-tender, its rich, hearty, dark-toned, savory-sweet flavors tempered just enough by a sweet potato purée and, more importantly, an array of root veggies.


Vegan Sundae [$12.00] | coconut caramel, crumbles, peanuts, cherry on top
Time for dessert, which at Two Hommés is the responsibility of Executive Pastry Chef Alex Bolar (a.k.a. Alejandro Bolar), a Georgia native who cut his teeth in Atlanta before moving to Southern California in 2020. In LA, he found work at Destroyer, L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, and Birdie G's before landing here in February 2025. He's also the creator of the Eclair pop-up series as well as Lula Mae's Pantry, a line of pantry goods. In any case, I'm glad to report that Bolar's vegan sundae wasn't obviously vegan, which is a good thing in my book. I also enjoyed how unabashedly nutty it was, as well as how the caramel helped tie everything together.


Sweet Potato Churro [$15.00] | cinnamon sugar, candied sweet potato, ice cream
The churros met the mark as well, showing off the crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside texture I was seeking, while the fritters' sweet spiciness was on point as well. Of course, the ice cream and crumbles were welcomed accoutrements that helped complete the dessert.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect coming in here, but I left happy with my meal, with my only real gripe being the somewhat awkward pacing of how the dishes came out. Timing issues notwithstanding, the cooking does an admirable job blending the Chefs' African and American backgrounds, making for cuisine that's both approachable and compelling, and of course delicious. Two Hommés is the perfect place for a pre-show dinner if you're attending an event at The Forum (or SoFi Stadium), but even if you're not, the restaurant just makes for a worthwhile dining option overall. As for what's next for Johnson and Balde, they're apparently planning on opening a speakeasy-ish bar/lounge in Inglewood later this year (with the name "A Lowkey Joint," I'm guessing), so I'll be on the lookout for that.

20 Years of kevinEats

I consider the birth of this blog to have occurred on August 17th, 2006, the date of my first meal at Alinea.

I grew up culinarily sheltered. My parents were not particularly adventurous in terms of cuisine, and thus my childhood diet was decidedly ho-hum, with our local fast food joints often appearing in the dinner rotation. It was only when I went off to college that my eyes were opened to the range of gastronomic possibilities out there. Spurred on by a new set of collegiate acquaintances, I began exploring all the gustatory options available to me in this new environment. After I graduated, I moved back to Southern California and started the process of eating my way through the region.

This was the context in which that Alinea meal took place. I was dipping my toes into the world of fine dining at this point, and during a business trip to Chicago, I decided to pay the restaurant a visit, as I'd heard that Chef Grant Achatz was putting out the most creative cooking in the country. It was certainly the most creative cooking I'd ever encountered, given that I'd never experienced anything remotely close to modernist cuisine (or molecular gastronomy, as they tended to call it back then). What I came across at Alinea helped change my perception of what food could be. Even though I didn't understand much of it--some of the dishes clearly went over my head--I knew that what I was eating was special, and thus felt compelled to document the affair.

I didn't even have my own digital camera, so I borrowed my coworker's and (poorly) photographed the full meal, which people just didn't do that often two decades ago. Those photos, along with accompanying narrative, were posted to my Myspace account, using the site's built-in blogging feature. The response I received from friends, and more interestingly, complete strangers, was largely positive, and motivated me to start chronicling other dining experiences.

Following Alinea, I reckon that Urasawa, French Laundry, and Joël Robuchon were the next posts that really helped grow my audience (people tended to prefer reading about the super high-end spots), and by the dawn of 2008, it was becoming clear that I should probably launch my own web site. One of the people that convinced me to strike out on my own was the author of the now-defunct chuckeats.com, and as a nod to his counsel, I chose the moniker kevinEats for my blog, which went live in March 2008. My first posts on the new platform detailed meals from the recent trip I'd taken to Japan, though I did keep posting on Myspace as well until the end of '08.

My site saw an upswing in infamy throughout the "golden years" of food blogging that spanned the late 2000s to the early 2010s, when there were dozens of LA-focused food blogs operating, pretty much all of which are now extinct, sadly. By the middle of the last decade, long-form blogging was clearly on the decline, replaced by the likes of Instagram and its ilk. I'm part of a dying breed. In fact, I'm actually a bit surprised that the blog has lasted this long, and often wonder how many years I have left in me. Nevertheless, kevinEats is still up and running at 20 years of age, and I figure that I should at least do something to commemorate the occasion:

• The first thing I thought of is to revisit the restaurant where it all began: Alinea. Ideally, I'd dine there as close as possible to the 20th anniversary of my first meal, which seems doable. Of course, if I'm going to be in Chicago, I'd like to check out some other top spots in the City as well, and the likes of Ever, Kasama, and Smyth certainly come to mind.
• I'd also like to take the opportunity to drink primarily 2006 wines in 2026. My focus will be on the "great wines of the world," which, admittedly, is a nebulous term, but my selections will likely consist of bottlings from leading wine regions and iconic producers. I actually think 20 years is a bit of a sweet spot for this sort of undertaking, since most of the wines should be in their drinking windows, and shouldn't be too difficult/costly to acquire.
• Lastly, I'd like to start the process of donating all the menus I've amassed over the years to the Los Angeles Public Library, which specifically maintains a collection of historic menus. I've accrued over 2400 pieces at this point, and would like them to be preserved for future generations. After all, food is a reflection of culture, and I think it'll be illuminating to maintain physical manifestations of what we ate during our particular period of human history.

That's it for now, but of course, I may think of other ways to celebrate my one score milestone as the year progresses. I'm looking forward to a fruitful 2026!