AlwaysInvestigating: Trini-Gul’s Bake ‘n Shark
Arthur Bovino — February 08, 2010
Trini-Gul makes Bake ‘n Shark that has inspired references to renditions in Trinidad (left, Richard’s).
Just before the end of the year, Trini-Gul, the new Trinidadian eatery on Nostrand Ave, got some love for its bake and shark, roti, and doubles. Any place that inspires references to Maracas Beach had to be checked out. So we visited Crown Heights to taste the bake ‘n shark, and to see where Trini-Gul’s doubles might place among the City’s best.
DishDoppelgängers: Cal Pep and Rhong-Tiam
The Gluttoness — June 08, 2009
You know you’ve been caught looking at celebrity look-alike features in tabloids on the supermarket line or when surfing online. Well, we’re applying the concept to well-known dishes and others that resemble them. And why not, for those of us interested in food, Thomas Keller’s Oysters and Pearls dish is just as iconic as Jay Leno’s chin. As soon as a dopplegänger dish emerges, you better believe we’ll spot it.
Cal Pep’s Tortilla Española is reason alone to endure the line (if you didn’t line up fifteen minutes before as advised). This creamy potato and egg omelette is speckled with onion and spicy bits of chorizo and served slightly unset. While the caramelized crust is crisp and golden, the inside is a creamy mixture of cooked and undercooked egg. As if it wasn’t rich enough, a generous coating of garlic aïoli raises the unctuousness to insane levels once unknown to the average egg.
It doesn’t have the height of the Cal Pep’s tortilla, but the gilded coloring, heavily lacquered surface, and pizza-like slices of Rhong Tiam’s Roti with Condensed Milk could cause you to easily confuse them at first glance. Of course, taste is the ultimate distinction, and Rhong Tiam’s dessert is sweet. The crisped Asian roti is a warm, blank canvas for a luscious layer of gooey, condensed milk. Flavor-wise it doesn’t hold a candle to Cal Pep’s tortilla, but it definitely warrants a double-take in the looks department.
AlwaysHungryNY: All About Doubles
Arthur Bovino — March 25, 2009
Picture a Caribbean setting. It’s dawn. Hungry Trinidadians en route to work, stop money in hand to surround a street-side food vendor. He furiously spoons curried channa into two pieces of bara, dresses them with sauces and condiments, wraps, flips and exchanges it for cash then begins the hypnotic rhythm again. Customers are so eager to eat, they’re practically still on line, untwisting wax paper ends and eating something so hot, steam rises into the warm air.
The clamored-for snacks above are called ‘Doubles,’ a vegetarian street food from Trinidad. A Doubles consists of two pieces of fried, usually golden, flat, palm-sized pieces of quick bread, served with chickpea curry, called channa. The bara, as the bread is called, resembles a fried version of Indian naan or roti. The presentation of Doubles varies slightly. Depending on the vendor, they could resemble a soft-taco, a sandwich, or a mini-burrito. While it’s possible to find Doubles throughout the day, they’re predominantly enjoyed either for breakfast or as a late-night snack after or during ‘liming,’ a Trinidadian term for hanging out.
Click for the History of Doubles Complete With a Recipe >>
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