Linden Park Belizean Vendors

BELIZE

Ever since Eating in Translation's early summer report from Linden Park, I have had Labor Day on my calendar as the Sunday to go for a wide range of selections from the park's resident Sunday vendors, most of whom hail from Belize. Since this cuisine is not available in restaurant form here in New York City, this summer Sunday event should be on everyone's list who is interested in the Caribbean country's cuisine. You will also find at least a tent run by a woman from Guyana, and further exploration could turn up others, but for my first time here, I focused on Belize.

Upon arrival, it was very apparent that a clear favorite had formed, and the 45-minute slow-moving line was extended from one tent (above and below), which was preparing a wide range of items. The women below were a small assembly line to prepare the thick corn tortillas that either hold or wrap the ingredients for salbutes and panades, respectively.

When we made our orders and settled down at a nearby table, it was time to enjoy our bounty. The prettiest items I noticed everyone eating were the salbutes ($1 each, below), which use a lightly fried corn tortilla that is puffed during frying. This puffy disc is used as a plate for shredded chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro, and a spicy sauce which you will be asked if desired. The jalapeño on top gives a sense of the kick about to enter your mouth. This dish originated in the nearby Yucatán state of Mexico, and in Belize you can find them made with refried beans. Here all the ingredients are fresh and light.

Our chef's fryer seemed to be in a constant state of catching up with large orders of panades (50 cents each, below). Fish is the meat of choice here (I do not think it's shark, but could be wrong?), and the not so greasy half moons are served with a deliciously spicy sauce of onion, pepper, cabbage and cilantro. Totally worth the wait, which includes a good opportunity to watch the cooking and preparing, as well as the festive mood of everyone in and around the tents.

At another vendor, we went for a garnache (below, top), a tostada-like corn tortilla disc covered in those refried beans as well as grated cheese, onions, pickled cabbage, and an egg. The whole thing is again doused with lime juice and presented in all its colorful beauty. Also on the plate below is a rolled item that creates another way to make the corn tortilla deliver your goodies, of which I did not catch the name. This came slathered in a red tomato sauce and was covered in the usual suspects.

Full dinners that resemble other Caribbean country's cuisines were also available, like the bbq chicken below ($8), served with rice and beans, plantain, and potato salad. The rice is prepared with coconut milk to give it the sweet quality, while the spices in the chicken marinade really steal the show.

This is only a summer season event, taking place while football games are being contested on Sundays in the park. Make sure to get there before the warm weather ends.

EAST NEW YORK Brooklyn

Linden Park (Linden Blvd & Vermont Street)

Garifuna Day

BELIZE
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS

The Evangelical Garifuna Church and connected Community Center are not really the type of storefronts that you actively notice going about your business each day, but for one day in April the block of Brook Avenue between East 141st and 142nd Streets is taped off and the modest crowd spills out of the small venues into the street. The actual blocking did not necessarily appear to be sanctioned by the NYPD, but on this sleepy Mott Haven street, no one seemed to mind.

April 12th is Garifuna Day, in Central America and beyond, celebrating the first arrival of the Garifuna people in the area well over 200 years ago.

Inside, tables are set up and women in West African-like dresses speak to each other in Spanish. Yellow, white, and black dominate, as they are the colors that signify the Garifuna flag and culture from Belize to Nicaragua. I traveled in some parts of Garifuna Guatemala and Honduras, and was surprised after a long road in Central America to find people who spoke English. The Garifuna here in New York are mostly from Honduras and surprising to me, all spoke Spanish amongst themselves, rather than English or their Garifuna language.

Hand-written signs were taped to the walls showing off cities where presumably members of the community center were from, spanning all the countries. A table to the right had a wide assortment of sweets to choose from, which many were stacking and stuffing into bags to take home. Smiles were shown my way from everyone, as is usually the case when an "outsider" makes their way into a community. Many men shook my hand and all welcomed me.

Near the back, the prominent thud heard throughout the room was found to be a woman pounding plantain in the traditional way. She seemed to be very focused and only nodded her head when I said the word plantain as part of a sentence.

The only dish on offer from the kitchen in the back was machuca ($12, below), served as a bowl of coconut-based soup and a baseball-sized sphere of mashed plantain. The mash is dense and fills you up quickly, so tear it off sparingly and enjoy the contents of the soup first.

Garifuna people all live near the Caribbean coasts of their respective countries, and as such a big portion of their diet is based on fish and seafood. This soup had both, a nice hunk of fish was accompanied by a small amount of conch and one shrimp. If you sat down at a Garifuna table, everyone would have a bowl of the soup in front of them and a large ball of the plantain would be placed in the center for everyone to grab from while they ate, creating a very communal atmosphere. Here in the community center, I had only my own hands breaking off pieces from the ball.

"Machuca" actually refers to the plantain mash or paste.

Back outside after eating, a percussionist had set up and was entertaining the crowd. Later a man took to the keyboards and sang. For the most part, a DJ played upbeat Caribbean music that got everyone bobbing their bodies.

MOTT HAVEN Bronx

Evangelical Garifuna Church Community Center

342 Brook Avenue