If you’re searching for a dose of Caribbean flavor, we’ve found a great spot for you, Brown Sugar Bakery & Cafe. Situated in a bustling area of West Philly, Brown Sugar serves a wide variety of foods from Trinidad, as well as baked items and assorted treats. Tushar stumbled into this cross between a retail bakery and restaurant some time ago, while I became familiar with Brown Sugar Bakery & Cafe through a video posted by Philadelphia Weekly’s Liz Spikol.
Walking through the door of Brown Sugar Bakery & Cae, I found a bit confusing; a long, mostly empty bakery counter occupied the front of the store that also included two pizza-shop style booths. In the rear of the shop, there were some refrigerated cases, a door and two small windows. The scene was reminiscent of small shops that are seldom shopped and therefore sparsely stocked. Boy, I was wrong.
As we approached the rear of the shop, it became evident that one window is where the orders are placed and the other is a cashiers’ window. Our group assembled in front of the kitchen window to find a friendly lady ready to take our order. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to have seen a printed menu from one of Tushar’s earlier visits, because during this visit there were no printed menus available; all the available items were posted on the wall surrounding the kitchen window. To keep it brief, we let Tush select the menu items, since the shop appeared to be getting busy.
One of the main reasons for coming to Brown Sugar Bakery & Cae was not only to get a dose of Caribbean food, but also to experience the infamous Doubles. I think I’ll let Liz Spikol tell you about her experience and if you can’t get enough, Wikipedia’s explanation of Doubles far exceeds my descriptive ability.
Among the items we ordered were:
Doubles ($1.50) - This unique Trini street food was both spicy and sweet. The fried flat bread pancakes were reminiscent of funnel cake and the chick pea filling, or Channa, was substantial and delicious. We ordered ours with extra hot sauce. These justify the trip.
Shrimp Roti ($8?) - Heavily curried, this Caribbean burrito was large and filled with potato, chick peas and spicy shrimp; you can definitely see the Indian influence. Don’t try to pick it up because you’ll be wearing it quickly:) - Trust me, I know.
Oxtail Stew Platter, Small ($8) - Tender, well-spiced and tasty. I had to give it a shot after enjoying our meal at Kilimandjaro so much. Served on the bone, the Oxtail topped a bed of cabbage, peppers and carrots, which had a unique, slightly sweet flavor. The meal also comes with a side of Rice & Lentl Pilaf and Macaroni Pie.
King Fish Platter, Small ($8) - King Fish steaks with Escoveitch sauce served with the accompaniments mentioned above. The Escoveitch sauce is a spicy, vinegar based sauce that can vary between cooks, like BBQ sauce or a Mexican Mole. This was delicious, but watch out for bones.
Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Brown Sugar Bakery & Cafe. The restaurant is located in an ethnically diverse part of the city and this corner shop seems to be a hub of activity. With only two booths for seating, a large group is out of the question, but if you’re lucky enough to grab a table, you’ll be treated to a constant parade of activity. Don’t go if you’re looking for a traditional sit down meal. If you take food to go, you may want to stop and eat your Double on the spot - a warm Double is hard to beat.
We recommend the Brown Sugar Bakery highly.
The Brown Sugar Bakery & Cafe is located at 219 S. 52nd St. Philadelphia.
(215) 472-7380
[Tags]Philadelphia, West Philly, Carribean, Doubles, Brown Sugar Bakery and Cafe, Podcast[/Tags]
Tags: Carribean, Philadelphia, Podcast, West Philly
I might be late to the party…but I just found a great post on Brown Sugar Bakery and Cafe at: http://malcolmxpark.org/?p=70
Check it out. Andrew even posted a scan of the menu, which can be useful since you can’t count on having a “standard” printed menu.
Tush, you have to take the rest of the crew to trinidad and have a good lime. Carnival coming up that would be good time. Anyhow the next time yuh in T&T the best doubles is in Curepe from Sauce he is the best. Then go to The Savanah for some coconut water, then head to Maracas beach to relax for some bake and shark with a cold beer doh forget to watch some woman on the beach while youh eating you bake and shark. tell meh how yuh like it when yuh come back.
I wrote some words in slang for yuh to understand. LOL
Don J