Morou on the move

June 16

Darn it! I got a Facebook IM from Morou Ouattara this morning. His restaurant FarrahOlivia, in Alexandria, Va., closed last month.
I’ve always liked Morou. He’s probably my second favorite member of the West African Malenke tribe (my favorite is my friend Fatou), and he made an effort to incorporate some West African flavors into the food at his last restaurant.
But he's moving back toward the mainstream with an Italian restaurant that he'll be opening in Crystal City. It will be named Kora Restaurant, Bar and Lounge, and is scheduled to open in the first week in July.
This was all actually reported weeks ago, except for the opening date, which of course doesn't mean anything until the place actually open, but I just learned about it, and I thought I'd share. It also give me a chance to show you a photo I took of Morou when he was chef at Red Sage in DC, back when I wrote a profile of him in 2000.