Dana Caribbean Cuisine

HAITI 🇭🇹

The last few times I have walked down Nostrand Avenue south of Empire in East Flatbush, there seems to be many more Haitian restaurants and bakeries than in years past. The neighborhood has been home to the Haitian community in Brooklyn for some time, but their exposure only seems to be growing. I came to the neighborhood a couple times earlier this year to do research for the Copa America interest in the community, and left with a long list of places to try. With the recent devastation of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, this list needed a few boxes checked to start a small flow of cash in the right direction.

Dana Caribbean Cuisine is like a lot of others in the area, a no frills establishment with a steam table of dishes rotating daily. There are three tables for customers to eat at, one of which was occupied by a friendly man gazing out toward the street when we came. As no one was visible behind the counter, he gave a yell towards the kitchen and a smiling chef came out to greet us. She gave us the list of foods that had been prepared and we made our order.

Stepping outside to take a street photo, the man revealed himself as the proprietor, opening the gates which initially had covered the windows and made us wonder if they were open when we walked over from the train. Some other patrons stop in to pick up a large catering order that had already been prepared. Another orders takeout. The rhythm is slow but steady, thoroughly enjoyable.

Meal portions come in small, medium, and large sizes which cost $7, $9, and $12 respectively. From past experiences, the small portion is always everything but small. It is usually difficult to resist the griot (below), fried pork chunks served with pikliz. This of course is creole for pickles and is a combination of cabbage, carrots, and peppers that has been pickled. Garlic also makes the marinade and the vinegar is laced with spicy pepper.

The griot, like the chicken below, was fried and completely dry on the outside. The skill of the chef is revealed when you bite into a piece of either meat though, revealing juicy tender flesh just waiting to fall off its bones. In addition, the rice and beans (diri kole ak pwa) here is divine, especially when the small cup of salty, oily gravy is combined with it. On our next visit, we will try blé, which is a Haitian bulgar wheat available as the starch if rice is not desired.

While it does have similarities with other Caribbean cuisines, Haitian food is usually more fragrant with herbs and can definitely pull more punches when it comes to spice levels. It is starting to make the jump to more upscale restaurants in other parts of Brooklyn as well, although we always love coming to these mom and pop shops.

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EAST FLATBUSH Brooklyn

2026 Nostrand Avenue

Trini Breakfast Shed

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 🇹🇹

I hit the jackpot last year when I chose AirBnB for my accommodation needs in Port of Spain, Trinidad. I chose the "Entire Apt" option, but was also given a family and friends, who all immediately took my comfort and happiness in their country as priority #1. When my love of food and cultural experience was mentioned, my host's friend, who also lives on the compound, thought I should know about the Breakfast Shed, apparently the place to grab cheap eats downtown.

I needed no further convincing and we promptly arrived down near the port, an area that has seen obvious recent major development and is very polished. A nice open air building has been built to house many vendors, selling foods mostly for lunch but also open for breakfast. The building opens both ways, onto the busiest street in Port of Spain, and right back to the waters of the Caribbean. All manner of Creole Trinidadian food is available and listing it would be ridiculous, but there is also a lone Jamaican vendor for a bit of variety.

It was only after my visit to Port of Spain that I learned this cleaned up spot was actually a post-oil boom reincarnation of the original breakfast shed that stood for decades and served a rowdy port crowd exclusively made of men. Even this was pre-dated by an original "shed" that was created to feed hungry children around the port.

Back in Brooklyn, home to a large Trini population, Church Avenue in East Flatbush is home to its own Trini Breakfast Shed, an homage to the originals, but just a small restaurant where you order at the counter and most people take their food to go. During the week, men occupy most of the spots at the four tables, not all of them ordering. When the weather is good, the door is open and the spot seems to be a bit of a social gathering place, if not quite a shed.

There are a few different ways to approach things here. The roti here is very well done, and is probably the dish I have seen most ordered on a couple visits. The goat roti ($7, below) was one of many meat options, and like usual had to be opened and emptied rather than eaten like a burrito.

Inside the meat is very well curried and mixed with potatoes, one order is plenty for most.

On both occasions I stopped by I wanted to try the doubles but they are usually unavailable at any Trini place after a certain time of day, and my second visit came on a Sunday, a notoriously bad day to get food in the neighborhood. Most places are open, but you are very likely to find your selections not made on Sundays. I was therefore unable to try the buss up as well, but settled on a plate of stewed pork ($9, below), which I added a $1.50 side of macaroni & cheese.

The pork was extremely fatty, probably less than 50% of what you see was meat. It was tasty however, and the sauce makes a nice mixture with their rice. The macaroni pie is excellent.

The menu also offers an array of bakes for an actual breakfast if you make it here early enough, as well as a heavy lean on Trini-style Chinese food. I have never been much for Caribbean takes on Chinese food, so I have not tried anything here yet. I noticed that their menu also says "Home of the Paco Water" and enquired to a customer about this item, she smiled and turned to another customer not wanting to be the one to answer. Finally she suggested it was "...good for men's... you know." Looking it up at home, it seems to be more commonly referred to as "Pacro water," pacro being the term Trinis use for chitons, a type of mollusk used to make the soup. Bring some mints for after taking this aphrodisiac, please.

A sign in the window says that beer and wine are available, but that may work in reverse of the soup. Good to know for future dinners here though.

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EAST FLATBUSH Brooklyn

3209 Church Avenue

The Original Coconut Man

BARBADOS

When you walk down a new street in New York City, especially in the boroughs that do not begin with an 'M' it is very likely that you will happen upon new and interesting things. On my way to the annual St. Lucian Jounen Kwéyòl celebration in East Flatbush, this exact thing happened on Church Avenue. With the sounds of reggae pumping onto the street, three men dressed more appropriately for winter were dancing and spinning in front of a little shack set up in front of an NSA Supermarket. We knew we would stop by on the way back.

90 minutes later, the music was still blasting, dancing was still in progress, and this Sunday party was still a three man shindig. We stopped and ordered a cup of sugar cane juice ($4), which came in a container that would put a Big Gulp to shame. The healthy stack of sugar cane made the choice seem appropriate, and we needed dessert after so much food.

Not wanting to leave the scene, we stayed and enjoyed our beverage, which was large enough for three. When we were almost done, the main proprietor (Coconut Man?) pulled us over to some BBQ grills that we had not even noticed being as full as we were from the festival. One was full of pork, the other chicken, both well marinated and crispy slow-cooked jerk style.

Before we could put into words how full our stomachs were, we were handed a mixed container of pork and chicken which had a splash of peppers, sauce, and onions on top to add quite a kick. This spicy mixture is sitting in a large jar on the prep table, and quite beautiful. The meat itself needed nothing though, especially the fatty pork which basically melted in your mouth and was delectable.

"If you don't like it, you don't pay."

We obviously knew this was not going to be a problem, but even in the end I did not get a real price. He tried not to take our money, then settled on $4 only, which seemed under the going rate but who knows.

A short chat with this Coconut Man and I learned that the stand had been open for 16 years. This information might be taken with a grain of salt, perhaps because he told me it was open Thursday through Saturday each week, even though this all took place on a Sunday. Who knows, who cares. The stand was in existence in 2011, confirmed from a look at Google Street View.

I would be really happy to return here in warmer weather, grab a fresh coconut and possibly a sour sop juice (more commonly found in Latin American restaurants as guanabana). This is real fun stuff.

EAST FLATBUSH Brooklyn

In front of NSA Supermarket

4806 Church Avenue

Jounen Kwéyòl Celebration

ST. LUCIA

The Jounen Kwéyòl Celebration is an event combining St. Lucia's two biggest flower festivals and reason for the small Caribbean island's peoples to get together and eat while enjoying music and good company. The mood is very happy, as everyone from the tiny island in New York City seems to show up for the most delicious food from their country, dishes that are not easily available to find.

Images of everything I was able to sample are below. Also note, you will see alcohol floating around here and there, so ask around and someone will take you to the basement of the community center, where you can purchase tickets and redeem them for beer, wine, and cocktails. The process of this is worth the cost of the drink anyways.

$1 tamarind balls, fudge, guava cheese

$3 penmi

Cooked breadfruit ready to be hacked apart.

$5 smoked herring, breadfruit, fish cake

$6 banana and bake and salt fish

$2 cocoa tea

$5 crab callalo

$5 pig foot bouyon

$8 pork and dumplings

$2 conch skewers

The 2014 celebration was held on Sunday, October 26th.

EAST FLATBUSH Brooklyn

St. Lucia Community Center

438 East 49th Street