September 2006
Ethnic Eats
by Celia Cheng
Fried Cod Balls
COCK’S
806 Nostrand Ave
(St Johns Pl & Lincoln Pl)
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
718-771-8933
map/subway
Flying Fish Cutters
CULPEPPER’S
1082 Nostrand Ave
@ Lincoln Rd
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
718-940-4122
map/subway
On a recent exploration of West Indies cuisine in Prospect Heights, I got an introduction to the food of some of the Caribbean islands, including Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. Even just walking up and down Nostrand Avenue, within a couple of hours my friends and I were able to try seven different eateries and compare the foods. The different islands take influences from different places (for example, Bajan food reflects British and African influences while Trinidad’s cuisine has traces of Indian influence), but they are all distinctly delicious.
Feeding Tree, the Jamaican eatery, had the best platters. It serves daily specials, and we tried two: the oxtail as well as tripe and beans. Even the sides of mixed vegetables (cabbage, corn and carrots) and the macaroni pie (mac and cheese) were better than the other restaurants.
We chanced upon Gloria’s, a Trinidadian joint that sells the delicious fried tamarind balls known as polourie. These deep-fried curry-flavored dough balls with tamarind sauce are eight for a dollar. It’s a side, but compared to the curry conch roti main we tried, the polourie stole the show.
At Culpepper’s, we experienced unparalleled hospitality and enthusiasm to teach two Asians and a Frenchman about Bajan cuisine. The flying fish cutters (sandwich) came highly recommended. When placing the order, you need to specify one fish or two. I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant — if it was just a matter of it being a double order or not — but when faced with the question, the other diners waiting for their food resoundingly helped us respond by shouting “two” in unison. Once I took a bite of the sandwich, I immediately understood why you should get two. The flying fish is deep-fried, but each piece is thin and flat. So to get your fill, you need two pieces between the bread. The front of Culpeppers is for take-out, but there is sit-down dining space through a closed glass door. We also tried the steamed flying fish with cou-cou, cornmeal in gravy, but I prefer and recommend the cutters.
Waiting in the queue to place an order at Cock’s, another Bajan restaurant and bakery, was a truly eye-opening experience. Cock’s looks like just a bakery, even though there are a couple of tables and chairs in the storefront. The line is long, and it doesn’t move fast. The woman behind the counter writes each person’s order in a book that looks like an accounting ledger and tallies the cost by hand. In New York City everyone is constantly in a rush and impatient but in this neighborhood, and particularly at Cock’s, they move to a different beat. The pace is much slower, and you can choose to find it annoying or refreshing. The food is not going to come out any sooner, so panicking or throwing a fit isn’t going to help.
The fried cod balls from Cock’s were amazing. It’s interesting because I was expecting the cod ball to be like Japanese fish balls made from a paste of ground fish meat. But Cock’s cod balls are literally doughy bread balls deep-fried with cod meat rolled into them. The outside is crisp and the inside spongy. When I bit into them, I literally had to stop conversation to draw attention to how good these were. They taste better than Chinese or Japanese fish balls and better than Spanish cod croquettes. What a wonderful discovery!
While at Cock’s don’t forget to try some of their pastries. The coconut bread and Bajan-style turnover both have a coconut filling that includes coconut shreds, sugar and cinnamon. The coconut bread has a denser texture like a scone but in the form of a loaf, and the turnover is a load of fluffy bread. While the textures are very different, both are great to eat as either breakfast or dessert, ideally accompanied with tea or coffee.
This excursion was just the beginning of my Carribean cuisine education. I could do a whole feature on Jamaican cuisine and restaurants in the City alone, but there are also other island cuisines I want to try, like Grenadian and Vincentian. If I can’t go to the Caribbean, at least I can bring the Caribbean to me.
