More Caribbean Baked Goods

What I mistakenly identified as a tennis roll was in fact a "yellow roll" according to the counterwoman at Royal Bakery & Roti House. Sure, I'll try one along with my dinner doubles and an intriguing dessert named "cassava pone."

Once home, a less than thorough Google search was unhelpful (first Best Pizza, now this). "Forget the provenance," I said to myself, "just taste it already." The yellow-tinged roll was slightly sweet and heavily spiced, with whiffs of nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon-- an eminently appropriate snack for a cold November night.

Cassava pone had an unnerving, gelatinous texture-- like pulling apart a cheap gym class dodgeball (you know what I'm talking about). However, I'll eat anything with the word "pone" in it. A Google search was more fruitful this time (here's an informative post with a recipe).

The slice was deceptively large and even more dense-- it felt like it could injure a small animal. Pulling off a bite also proved more difficult than expected, but once tasted I became a believer. Coconut is the strongest flavor, while the crust added a nice textural contrast to the gelatinous cassava. Could I eat a whole piece by myself? Probably not, but I could eat all the crust...

I didn't even mention how cheap these are. A dollar a piece. Check it out the next time you're in Crown Heights (whenever that may be).

618 Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11216
(718) 604-0200

Tennis Rolls Anyone?

Dumb title, I know.

Walking past various bakeries around Crown Heights/Bed Stuy, I kept seeing signs advertising "Tennis Rolls." I grew up playing tennis, and, despite knowing that there was likely only an extremely tenuous connection, I was intrigued. Because I'm lazy (or potentially forgot) I neglected to look up what a Tennis Roll actually is before trying one tonight.

After an unsuccessful search for a quick jerk chicken fix (I ended up at Popeye's...) I stopped at Royal Bake and Roti House on Nostrand Avenue for doubles and a Tennis Roll. The doubles, which is not pictured because its always look disgusting, was great. Best bara I've had yet-- thin and chewy, with the tangy pepper sauce complementing the firm channa. Really one of the best doubles I've tried.

I bit into my Tennis Roll fully expecting it to be stuffed with some type of unknown goodness-- like a pork bun or some kind of coconut custard. This seemed like a perfectly reasonable expectation. Yet, to my surprise, there was no filling-- just a simple, slightly sweet dinner roll. Turns out, the rolls are Guyanese and so named because they're round like a tennis ball. Not the most apt description, but I like the name and I like the roll.

618 Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11216
(718) 604-0200

Inna Trini Explosion

With a neighborhood populated by so many West Indians, it's hardly shocking that there's at least two such restaurants on every block along Nostrand Avenue (and further afield) through Bed Stuy and Crown Heights. I'd sampled some of the Trini spots around my neighborhood and needed to try some more. My friend Jeremy, who had recently returned from a trip to Trinidad, joined me in an attempt to eat as much Trini food as we could one recent afternoon. Even though we limited ourselves to a few blocks, we still only tried a small sampling of Caribbean restaurants.

Our first stop was Green Mango Restaurant, located around the corner from Nostrand Avenue along an industrial stretch of Atlantic Ave. Mutlicolored grand opening flags still hanging outside betray the relative newness of this sleek joint, while a menu board along the street lists the daily specials.

Step off the LIRR for some great Trini food.

A quick aside. I'll assume most people here don't know what a doubles is (by the way, I'm acting much more knowledgeable about Trini food than I really am-- I probably had never heard of doubles until a few years ago and I'll be learning about the specifics of this cuisine along with you readers). The "doubles" refer to the two pieces of bara (like small discs of naan) colored yellow with turmeric. These make up the "bread" of this sandwich. Inside is cooked chickpeas (channa), which are ultimately topped with pepper sauce (and this often is made with fiery hot Scotch Bonnet peppers) and a sweet tamarind chutney. Sometimes there are other chutneys in there as well, but I'm not enough of an expert to tell you exactly which kinds.

They taste better than they look, I promise.