The Authentique is doing West African cooking on Nolensville Pike — the stretch of Nashville that has become one of the city's most genuinely diverse food corridors — with real fidelity to the cuisine's tradition. The jollof rice has the smoky depth and the slight bottom-of-pot char that separates proper jollof from the version you get when someone's approximating it. The egusi stew is properly made. The suya is properly spiced and grilled.
This is a kitchen cooking seriously for its own community, which is the best possible context for food this specific. Not Nigerian food softened for a cautious audience. It's the food as it actually is.
The jollof rice is properly made — smoky, complex, with the slight char at the bottom of the pot that distinguishes real jollof from approximation. The egusi stew and suya follow the same standard.