Former NYTimes critic Mimi Sheraton not only likes Marcus Samuelsson's Merkato 55, she thinks he will inspire more 'westernized' African restaurants around the city: "Often asked what foreign food trend will next influence fusion-minded New York chefs, I have rarely known what to guess. Right now, however, I see the gastronomic future and it is African...Marcus Samuelsson may well go down in gastronomic history as the father of the new African cuisine in America." [Word of Mouth]