Tag Archives: Caribbean

A&A Bake & Doubles & Roti Shop

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Instagram Post 2/18/2019

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Highlights from our Caribbean Crawl along Nostrand Ave in Brooklyn. This stop was the new location of A&A Bake & Doubles & Roti Shop at 1337 Fulton St just off Nostrand Ave in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

[1] The goat roti was rich and savory, absolutely delicious. Note that this type of roti, known as dhalpuri, comprises two layers of dough rolled out together with seasoned ground yellow split peas (dhal) sandwiched between. Floppy and supple, it’s a security blanket swaddling its treasure.

[2] A closer view of the dhal filling.

[3] There’s a good reason why this Trinidadian shop is known as “The Doubles King”. Doubles are quintessential Trini street food, and one doubles is a perfect snack. (See what I did there, grammarians?) Curried chickpeas are sandwiched between a pair of fried flatbreads (baras) and they meld to become a wonderfully messy, squishy treat, but it’s the condiments and chutneys that separate the king from the commoners and as far as I’m concerned, A&A rules.
 
 

Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique Day

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Instagram Post 9/13/2018

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The annual event celebrating the culture of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique took place on August 26, 2018 at St. Andrew’s Playground in Brooklyn, NY. The food of the Caribbean state is what drew me in, of course, and I had set my sights on “Oil Down”, Grenada’s national dish, a stew with as many variations as there are chefs who make it. Chicken, salted meat, and salted fish all variously factor in, and expect to find dumplings, breadfruit, plantain, yams, corn and other veggies as well, but the essential common ingredient is coconut milk that suffuses everything with an indescribable richness. It’s all cooked down until only the coconut oil remains at the bottom of the pot, hence the name. The greens adorning the top are callaloo, flavorful taro leaves, a traditional component of the dish.

[Photo #2] The sign at a nearby vendor read “manicou”; if you’re concerned that manicou might be some strange sort of foodstuff, don’t worry. It’s just their word for possum. 😉

But seriously, if you’ve never tried it, it’s worth doing once. As with any kind of meat, the taste varies from one muscle to another, and this recipe was well-sauced making it difficult to disentangle the piquant flavors of the gravy and the meat itself, so it defies description; suffice it to say it was unctuous. And it didn’t taste like chicken.
 
 

Barbados Festival Day

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Instagram Post 7/31/2018

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Barbados Festival Day is an annual event that occurs in mid-July at Seaview Park in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Dozens of vendors, each with their own recipes for Bajan home cooking, lined the Canarsie Cricket Grounds leading to an almost overwhelming number of decisions – but “almost” is the operative word since our appetites prevailed and we sampled more than our fill. If you go next year (and you should), expect to find curry goat, curry chicken, roti, escovitch fish, souse (pickled pork), cassava pone, conkies (delicious snacks made from cornmeal and steamed in a banana leaf), conch fritters, island drinks like mauby and sorrel and so much more, plus specialties like…

[1] Cornmeal Cou Cou, arguably the national dish of Barbados and similar to polenta, topped here with dolphinfish (actually mahi-mahi and unrelated to dolphin).

[2] The breadfruit Cou Cou with saltfish (preserved cod) was even better.

[3] BBQ Pig Tail

[4] Sea Egg Rice (rice with sea urchin)
 
 

Blue Mountain Cuisine

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Instagram Post 7/26/2018

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Don’t you love it when you head into a modest, unprepossessing place and get gobsmacked by great food? That’s what went down at Blue Mountain Cuisine, a Jamaican restaurant at 3701 Eastchester Road in the Bronx.

This virtuoso hearty breakfast was definitely something to sing about. It starred delicious stew kidney accompanied by bammy (cassava cakes) and plantain; the role of the bread in this performance was festival, sweet Jamaican fried dough that usually comes in a form less extended than what you see here. And the cornmeal porridge was more flavorful than any I’ve had in recent memory – so tasty that I chugged, rather than spooned, the last of it down: good to the last drop!
 
 

Champion Bakery – Carrot Cake

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Instagram Post 7/14/2018

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Since 1977, Champion Bakery has been known for fresh baked Jamaican cakes, pastries, patties, and breads with names like Alligator Bread, Duck Bread, Mongoose Bread, Pinch Bread and Hardo Bread. This Carrot Cake cuts like a pie, crumbles like a cookie, and eats like a cake, but that crispy edge is the real prize. So good that I barely had enough left to bring home to top with Great Nut ice cream!

Champion Bakery is located at 3978 White Plains Road near East 225th Street, Bronx.
 
 

The World’s Fare – Ducana

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Instagram Post 5/1/2018

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If you haven’t been living under a rock (or on a punitively strict diet), you know that The World’s Fare in Queens this past weekend may well have been the most over-the-top food festival New York has ever seen. Boasting diverse foods from over 100 cultures, there were exemplary versions of everybody’s international favorites of course, but it was gratifying to see less familiar dishes making an appearance as well.
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The folks from Bacchanal Sauce, in addition to providing their bottled pepper sauce, came through with an ambitious menu that included Caribbean Fish Cakes, Escovitch Fish Tacos, Jerk Crab Fries and Ducana. Ducana, a sweet Antiguan specialty, lies somewhere along the dumpling–pone continuum and is made from grated sweet potato, coconut, raisins, sugar and spice, and coconut milk wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled until firm. Their version was served with a traditional hit of buljol (chopped salt cod with tomatoes and spices) and was absolutely delicious. Included was a side of Jerk Crab Fries, a reward for patiently awaiting the arrival of my ducana!

Second photo shows a deconstructed/reconstructed view.
 
 

Triple D’s

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Instagram Post 4/16/2018

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It might stand for delicious delightful and delectable. Or perhaps def dope and diesel. But certainly not dainty delicate or dull because the jerk chicken from Triple D’s Place, 771 Washington Ave on the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, Brooklyn is da bomb!

Brooklyn is home to some of the best jerk chicken in New York City so rising to stellar level here is no mean feat, but Triple D’s does just that. Ever had jerk that’s just not flavorful enough? Not here. Dried out? Not here. Just BBQ chix with some jerk sauce poured over? Not here. They keep the chicken spicy and flavorful, they keep it tender and juicy, and they keep me coming back.

(Oh, and a bottle of Ting, please!)
 
 

Allan’s Quality Bakery

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Instagram Post 3/16/2018

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Unquestionably and quite simply the very best Trinidadian currant rolls and coconut rolls I have ever tasted in my life; these are definitive and the real deal. What’s more, I’m told they often have CHOCOLATE currant rolls (!) and white chocolate coconut rolls as well. Head to Allan’s Quality Bakery at 1109 Nostrand Avenue, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn for some amazing Caribbean baked goods and a guaranteed smile on your face.