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.
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4 Comments:
Oh. My. God. I was so desperate to eat these on our trip to NYC last year but we never made it. (Traveling with a one year old be hard sometimes). What I wouldn't do if I heard they were being made anywhere near Seattle. Vancouver maybe? Anyone made them at home with success? I can see they are clearly one of those street food items that would never be quite the same in a home kitchen, but I just gotta have it.
Michael Natkin
The Herbivoracious Blog
MichaelNatkin at 2:19AM on 10/25/07
I LOVE doubles. There's a great place in Brooklyn off of the Nostrand stop on the A - when you get off of the stop, cross over Fulton and walk up half a block, it's on the right (it has a bunch of AAs in its name and the place proclaims itself the Doubles King, but i can't remember exactly). They make the best doubles ever. But make sure you get there early, they close when they run out.
ambienttra at 12:11PM on 10/25/07
That's A&A; they're good, but I like Ali's better--just around the corner on Fulton. (Their bakes are better, too.) I have mine with extra pepper, tamarind and kuchela. Delicious!
bodaya at 2:34PM on 10/25/07
I have a seriously pavlovian response to the phrase 'Mister Spicee' because of their doubles, especially their chicken&chickpea doubles.
ajkinik at 9:25PM on 12/09/07