Living in the Caribbean capital of the world “Brooklyn” has its privileges. One of the best that comes to mind is the variety of Caribbean food at my disposal. Recently I had the pleasure of stumbling into Grandchamps and having some Haitian cuisine.
It was brunch time and the menu had a nice array of options to choose from… including dinner entrees. Luckily I brought two equally famished participants with me to eat and treat accordingly. I got the party started with some Griot Hash.
This ensemble included two scrambled eggs, diced potatoes, and lettuce with a pinch of fruit and griot (fried & roasted). It was a unique assortment that worked quite well together. In particular the different types of griot bathed in spices and peppers did the trick.
Griot Hash
My guests chose to go the early dinner route and dived in immediately. The victims were two plates of rice & beans paired with fried plantains topped with griot and shrimp respectively. The first plate (Griot) included a side of pikliz and special sauce that just made it pop! While the second entree (Shrimp) was accompanied by what I think was kale (all green leafy stuff seems the same to me) and a delicious cashew sauce with an abundance of Haitian flavor.
Griot
Shrimp
Before the partaking of the aforementioned delicacies, we sloooowly snacked on some patties and enjoyed every single morsel. Naturally it was only right that we sampled the beef and mori.
Beef
Mori
As with any good Haitian meal we washed it down with one of the staples of our community “Cola Lacaye.” You can never go wrong with the champagne flavor but why choose one? Bananas never did the Caribbean wrong!
Now that the meals were done and the experience came to a conclusion, I had to get the thoughts of my guests, who happen to be the biggest critics of Haitian cuisine. So here was the moment of truth… I ask “So how did you like the food?” They looked me in the eye and said “li byen fe!” (it’s well done). So there you have it, if my parents gave it the thumbs up…you will too!
Oh yeah…. did I mention you can do some grocery shopping before you leave?
Grandchamps is located on 197 Patchen Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11233