Tasty Crousty, Osè: Afro-bowls add the sauce

The concept behind Tasty Crousty is simple: a bulletproof tray filled with rice and breaded chicken, topped with secret sauces. You can choose between a sweet and sour version, or a slightly spicy one. In the seatless eatery, which opened on April 10th on Avenue de Saint-Ouen in Paris's 18th arrondissement, the brand's first intramural franchise, things are seriously busy. At the checkout, two young men in black tracksuits are taking the money, with the arrogant coldness of thriving businesses that live only to charge and keep their promise of an 8-euro tray served in less than ten minutes, once you've braved the long queue.

Dressed in a well-tailored denim ensemble, Abderrahman savors the Parisian opening of "the place that drove everyone crazy." "I used to go to my family's house in Cergy just to eat it," says the newly-crowned. "It's very greasy, very street, but it's a change from kebabs, tacos, and smash burgers," comments Julie, 16, wearing black headphones and a black beanie. "And you get what you pay for. My friend and I eat it together, and sometimes we don't eat dinner at night," explains the high school student.

Massively popular since summer 2024 on TikTok, Instagram and X, the afro bowl is still going strong nine months later. First available in Epinay-sur-Seine (Seine-Saint-Denis), then in L'Haÿ-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne), the brand has had plenty of franchise babies in the Paris region (Argenteuil, Au