Ix Restaurant

GUATEMALA 🇬🇹

Unless you take an interest, it is hard to ascertain just what Ix is all about from the outside. In a rapidly changing neighborhood, it seems to be a hangout for many of the newer residents of the area. The menu is absolutely all over the map, with Spanish tortilla de huevo, sandwiches, kimchi soup, and plenty of breakfast options with high end coffee and tea.

But look a little closer to some of the items, especially in the soups list, and you start to see some standouts. Alternatively you could find some of these soups on the menus of a Mexican or Guatemalan restaurant, but what they share in common is their roots in centuries old Mayan kitchens. Guatemalan dishes like pepian and jocón are just the tip of the iceberg for using ingredients to this culture that spanned the lands of what is now Guatemala and southern México.

For more on this, read our article about Tierras Centro Americanas in Jamaica, Queens.

One of my favorite dishes in the entire city is the jocón at Tierras Centro Americanas (link above), so I was ecstatic to see the dish listed on a second menu finally. The version here ($13, above) comes out looking perfect, topped with crisp green beans and a deep green color from tomatillos, cilantro, and green peppers. Toasted pumpkin seeds called pepitos, garlic, and onions provide the rest of the palate. Oddly left out was the heat that is usually a big part of this dish, which I later learned from the owner was an unfortunate byproduct of his customers who for the most part do not like spicy food. Make sure to request it spicy or add some of their homemade Mayan-style hot sauce available at the counter.

Soup on another day.

And that hot sauce? It is for sale at $6.50/jar and worth every penny. The main ingredient, chile cobanero, is a small red pepper from the area near the modern city of Cobán but has been used since the Mayans were the dominant people of the region. It is combined with olive oil and just a bit of garlic and salt. Simple yet delicious, the pepper itself is earthy and very smoky. I have been putting it on all types of foods at home ever since the purchase.

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PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS Brooklyn
43 Lincoln Road

Map of Eat the World NYC:

MCG Grand Cafe

GRENADA 🇬🇩

For over a decade, the flag of Grenada has flown at this location. The previous spot which was named "De Island" hung a big one from the window and sometimes even more from the awning. For the last two and a half years, a new owner has taken over and modernized the exterior a bit, but look closely enough and the small yellow, green, and red flag of the island nation still hangs in the window.

More importantly, the menu announces the origin of the chef and the vast list of food shows a real pride in the place rather than the ubiquitous "West Indian" offerings of many restaurants. Master Chef Gibbs, the "MCG" from the name, dresses in an all red uniform and has a smile that sets the tone.

The entrance leads down a hallway where many people walk in and place their takeout orders directly with the chef. For those wanting to dine in, make your arrival known and take a seat.

The woman who takes care of the tables is also super friendly, and since I had her to myself on an early Saturday evening it seemed like the "Back in Grenada..." stories could flow forever. I was asking way too many questions about the country and food, but she never skipped a beat in providing full and thoughtful answers.

One of many unique appetizers available is the coo-coo balls and lambie slush ($9, above), which thankfully for January is served hot despite its name. "Lambie" is local terminology for conch, and the snail meat inside is very common in stews and curries in Grenada. The coo-coo underneath, made of cornmeal, is also common in Grenada and it's Windward neighbors, but this combination with the addition of okra is definitely somewhat of a modern take. It is very good.

The portions here are not set up so that one person can eat a full appetizer and entree, so when this massive heavy bowl of oil down ($13, below) arrived, I knew I had met my match. Grenada's national dish, oil down is only available here on Saturdays, replicating how it might be enjoyed back home as a weekend meal.

The most important ingredient in an oil down is breadfruit, named for the texture it has when cooked. This is mixed with much denser dumplings, a bit of potato, and a hunk of chicken and saltfish, which is all cooked in coconut milk and callaloo. All in all, the amount of food here is intense.

Eventually when bellies are full and plates are cleared, the floral tablecloths and plastic bouquets come back into focus. The good spirit of the place is everywhere, and the bag of leftovers is wrapped up.

I must have been asking enough questions that word made it back to the kitchen and the friendly chef came out after my meal to chat a bit as well. It was as if I had made new friends simply by coming and enjoying the food.

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PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS Brooklyn

1199 Nostrand Avenue

Culpepper's

BARBADOS 🇧🇧

The corner of Nostrand Avenue and Lincoln Road might as well be draped with the flag of Barbados. The blue and yellow of Culpepper's is noticeable from some distance, and unlike many West Indian restaurants, this one does not hide its identity at all.

At first glance this is a simple takeout joint, only one small table is in the front room to sit at, but they do maintain a dining room. Behind a locked door that they can buzz you into, a few more tables are available for meals in house. If possible though, grab that table in the front space and enjoy your meal with all the action. The takeout is a steady stream, people are ordering morning, afternoon, and night.

A Bajan man (the demonym of Barbados is Bajan) was active and chatty to the staff as we were eating, wearing a hat which bore the broken trident that stars in the flag of the country.

Any first visit to a Bajan restaurant and first experience with the cuisine should start with the national dish of the island nation: Cou cou and flying fish ($15, above and below). The flying fish, besides being a delicious meal, is important in Barbados, sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Flying Fish." It also appears on souvenirs and remains an important symbol in the country despite being virtually nonexistent now because of coral reef depletion. This also has led to a price increase, but because of history the fish remains sought after and is imported for meals.

Cou cou is a cornmeal-based dish made with okra, both of which are readily available and inexpensive on the island unlike a lot of other imported foods. The dish is finished off with a good portion of savory gravy that can reach high levels of spiciness. The version here at Culpepper's is pretty tame on that front, but a small bit of pepper here and there will show up.

The tastes of course all work well together, but you can just as easily eat the fish and cou cou separately. As long as some of this delicious gravy was around, I would probably be dipping everything in it.

As this fish was being consumed, orders of the fish cakes ($0.50 each, below) were constant, almost every person coming in tacked on a few with their order. Before finishing, we had to grab a couple for ourselves.

The "cakes" are balls of bread with small pieces of fish. The whole thing is breaded and thrown briefly in the frier. After eating the gravy, it was hard to discern the subtle flavors, so these ended up getting dipped as well.

If you don't have room after your meal, be sure to take home some Bajan jam puffs ($2 each, below) for the next morning. They are available in cherry and pineapple, and the fluffy triangles might be one of the easiest ways to give yourself good island memories.

Walking by any bakery in the morning on Barbados will bring smells of jam tarts and other baked goods. Luckily Nostrand Avenue is home to Culpepper's, which keeps a case of popular pastries for everyone to have these tastes from back home.

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PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS Brooklyn

1082 Nostrand Avenue

Immaculee II Haitian

HAITI 🇭🇹

In this part of Brooklyn, most of the Haitian joints have a pretty familiar theme: Very modest yet respectable environment, a woman who seems not to like you but will later warm up, an owner that shows up midway with a wide smile and wishes everything is just fine for you, and food that is incredible. If you do not speak French, you will be the only one there.

They like to do things as meals or sets here, so it is difficult to get anything that is not gigantic. At first we were offered a two person set for $25 that we thought would be too much. As it was, our two individual portions could have fed at least three.

Each platter we ended up with came with plantains, salad, beets, and a small portion of macaroni and cheese. The meats we selected were then doused with gravy that we actually asked for more of after discovering how tasty it was.

The single (cough!) serving portions run just $10 and guarantee some leftovers. There are usually around four or five meat selections on the steam table here, as well as your choice of two different styles of rices and some different sides. The place is a bakery but by nighttime the baked goods case is empty.

I decided to let a fellow customer who had come in for takeout guide my selections and do the translations with the still grumpy server. She asked if we liked this or that, and came up with a good plan. I recall this happening at other Haitian restaurants as well, as the people of this small country are very proud of their cuisine and always want to make sure their guests are receiving a proper explanation.

This inevitably leads to over ordering and plenty of leftovers as stated, but that is half of the fun and great for interactions. No matter where you are in the world, walking into a new situation or one with a language barrier can always be made better with a simple smile. Prospect Lefferts Gardens is no different than Papua New Guinea in this regard.

A short walk away, or one subway stop south is the other Immaculee, the original I suppose. Considering the constant stream of takeout business happening at both, I would say this is the go to franchise of the neighborhood for Haitians.

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PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS Brooklyn

1227 Nostrand Avenue