October 5, 2025
Trill Burgers And ChòpnBlọk Cook Up A West African Smashburger Collab In Houston
ChòpnBlọk will also be celebrating its second anniversary.
ChòpnBlọk’s unique application of West African flavors recently landed the Houston restaurant a spot on The New York Times’ coveted “Best 50 Places To Eat In America;” it was the only restaurant in Houston to earn that honor.
Trill Burgers began as a pop-up shop in 2021, and after its rampant success, in 2023, founder Bernard James Freeman (best known as rapper Bun B) went into the brick-and-mortar business for himself.
Later this month, the two restaurants will collaborate on what is undoubtedly an expansion of chef Ope Amosu’s vision of how West African flavors can be utilized in various styles of food, even a smashburger concept like Trill Burgers.
On the evening of Oct. 9, 9-11 p.m., while DJs play Afro-soul music, Amosu’s Montrose restaurant will sell dishes like suya-spiced sliders, a take on his suya steak skewers, which he modified by swapping out chunks of meat for ground meat which will be mixed with peanuts, pepper, garlic, ginger and onion for a patty with an intense flavor explosion.
Later, on Oct. 23, ChòpnBlọk will go to Trill Burgers’ South Shepherd Drive location for another night of West African riffs on burgers and tenders; the collaboration between the two restaurants marks ChòpnBlọk’s one-year anniversary at its Montrose location.
ChòpnBlọk, by most accounts, represents a definitive statement that Amosu’s expansive vision for what West African cuisine can be is evident in every dish that comes from his kitchen.
Priya Krishna, a New York Times food reporter who was one of two interim restaurant critics when she reviewed Amosu’s restaurant, noted that it was a breath of fresh air in the culinary industry writ large, but particularly in the fast-casual space.
“In a world of sad salads shoveled out of cardboard, ChòpnBlọk is a delightful antidote to the slop bowl era,” Krishna wrote.
As The Houston Chronicle reported, while the restaurant’s popularity and national acclaim has been a bit of a whirlwind over the last few years, Amosu’s journey to opening the brick-and-mortar incarnation of his restaurant in 2024 has involved a series of pivots.
More than 10 years ago when Amosu was pursuing his MBA from Rice University, he enrolled in a class on hip-hop and religion, taught by Professor Freeman. Freeman noted to the outlet that at the time they met, both men weren’t really looking at careers in the culinary industry.
“Neither of us were looking at a future in food… I was already in my career. Ope was considering other things at the time. And here we are. Our paths have crossed again, which is amazing to me,” Freeman said.
According to KHOU, Amosu’s childhood was, itself, a series of pivots, as he grew up the son of two immigrants who raised him in London, Nigeria, and Southwest Houston. Originally, his plan was to pursue a career in oil and gas, but eventually, after he got his degree from Rice, he decided to make a change.
“Me having like, a Rice MBA and doing the corporate thing and then saying, you know what, I think I’m gonna pivot,” the decision, he said, puzzled his parents. “If you know anything about my culture and Africans, we are very… animated. Right. So I got all of that.”
ChòpnBlọk started in earnest when Amosu decided to study with West African home cooks while he worked his traditional day job and another night job as a prep cook and dishwasher at Chipotle. Once he felt he was ready, he took his talents to a food court where he built up a clientele until he made another pivot to a brick and mortar restaurant.
According to Amosu, “We have the most diverse dining room in the entire city,” no small claim in one of the country’s most diverse cities.
Around the same time that Amosu was going through the process of laying the groundwork to transition from a food court to a brick-and-mortar establishment, Freeman launched
Amosu also still maintains a spot in downtown Houston’s food hall, Post Market, where a chance encounter reunited him with his one-time college professor who, like nearly everyone else that tries his food, immediately became a fan of it.
“I was like, ‘This is crazy,’” Freeman recalled. “And then we tried the food, and the food was amazing.”
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