Serious Eats
Serious Sandwich: The Trini 'Double'
Photograph from Su-Lin on Flickr
In the world of sandwiches, using the word "double" is almost always a good thing. "Double cheeseburger" is a good start. "Double decker," even better. And then of course there is the Double Double at In-N-Out Burger, which I thought was the best sandwich utilizing the word double. That was until I discovered "doubles," a popular street food in Trinidad.
For this serious sandwich you start with two pieces of bara, a fried bread made from flour that is very similar to roti (it gets its yellow color from curry powder or tumeric). Inside goes a big scoop of curried channa (chickpeas), which is then topped with chutney and hot pepper sauce. A lot of stands will now make one very large piece of bara and fold it over—but that goes against the whole origin of the name. Double bara is the only way to go. The curry flavor of the chickpeas, the sweetness of the chutney, and the spiciness of the hot sauce are all sandwiched between two pieces of fluffy fried bread. I'll never think of the word double in the same way again.
Can't make it to the Caribbean? Here are a few places in North America where you can enjoy a proper double:
Brown Sugar Bakery & Café
Address: 219 South 52nd Street, Philadelphia PA 19139
Phone: 215-472-7380
Mister Spicee
Address: 6889 Victoria, Montreal
Phone: 514-739-9714
Nio's Trinidad Roti & Bakery
Address: 2702 Church Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11226
Phone: 718-287-9848
Caribbean Food Store
Address: 7408 Windsor Mill Road, Baltimore MD 21244
Or make your own using this recipe from TriniGourmet.com.