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Wednesday, July 20, 2005

The closest I'm getting to Jamaica this year
Posted by Jill | 9:38 AM

Way back in the good old days, before Negril, Jamaica became a haven for gigolos thinking that every overweight white woman from the states is an avid reader of the works of Terry McMillan, and drug dealers selling far more nasty things than just the local herb, it used to be one of the rare places on earth where just sitting and reading a book while looking up occasionally at the endless Caribbean sea had the power to heal the soul.

Well, that and going to Sonia's for patties. Sonia's used to be a low-tech operation -- a few picnic tables, a cooler full of Red Stripes, D&G orange soda, and Pepsis made with real sugar in glass bottles, and a lean-to with an open fire that served as a kitchen. And in that lean-to, Sonia would create heaven in a crust. You'd pop in off the beach, ask her what kind of patties she had today, then grab a drinkie and sit at one of the picnic tables until a golden-brown crust about the size and shape of a VW Beetle, stuffed to the gills with curried vegetables, ackee, chicken, ground beef, or occasionally even lobster, would be brought to you, and you'd be transported to a place that I only hope heaven is like.

Well, times change. Our old haunt, the T-Water Beach Hotel, which had rooms right on the beach where you could wake up, throw open your patio doors and be greeted by a turquoise sea, is closed, victim of bad management and new owners who ran out of money for renovations. Sonia has been moved off the beach to the other side of the road, she's got her own web site now, and her new digs are like a real restaurant.

But in New York, the patty is the new bagel:

LONG before the BlackBerry and the PlayStation Portable, New Yorkers loved their hand-helds. The folded pizza slice, the hot dog and the crusty knish have a built-in mobility that lets hungry New Yorkers eat on the street, and enough density to carry them through to the next meal.

New immigrants have added to the on-the-go family, introducing Colombian arepas, Mexican tacos and Uzbek samsas. But the hand-held with the best shot at making the list of classic New York noshes is the Jamaican beef patty, a rectangle of flaky yellow crust filled with ground beef shot through with onion, thyme and the inimitable heat and perfume of Scotch bonnet chili peppers.

The patties are familiar to New Yorkers who order bland commercial versions sold at numerous pizzerias. But they cannot compare to the fresh, handcrafted patties found at a handful of Jamaican bakeries here. The flakiest crusts are still made with a hefty percentage of beef suet, and the most memorable fillings are unabashedly hot.

"That little country pepper takes you right back to Jamaica," said Ronald Patterson, a customer at Buff Patty in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, using a Jamaican term for the Scotch bonnet chili pepper, which has a fruity, almost floral taste that balances its considerable heat.

[snip]

Jerk chicken patties, a relatively new creation gaining popularity here and in Jamaica, can be hot or not, but they are always heavily perfumed with allspice and thyme, the classic jerk spices. At Jamaican Pride, one popular patty is filled with ackee, a soft, slippery-sweet fruit that resembles scrambled eggs when baked inside a crisp crust.

Besides coco bread, the squeal of brakes seems to be a constant accompaniment to patties; many of the best patty shops are near bus and subway stops. At any time of day, customers rush in holding two dollar bills, the usual tariff for a patty in coco bread.

"In Jamaica people eat patties first thing in the morning and last thing at night," said Patrick Anthony, whose father owns the One Stop Patty Shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem. "Every neighborhood has its own patty shop, and every patty shop has its own recipe."

Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, is the hotbed of the country's patty wars, with chains of Tastee Patties and Juici Patties battling for dominance.

"I have heard of people making a living buying Tastee Patties by the case in Kingston airport and flying them to Miami, just going back and forth," Ronald Patterson said. His favorite patty shop, Buff Patty, carries Royal Caribbean patties, a local commercial product that stood out in our tastings. They are sold nationally under the Caribbean Food Delights label in Costco stores and in other large grocery chains.

Caribbean Food Delights, Tower Isle and Golden Krust, which sells its patties to hundreds of franchisees, are the big players in the market. The companies, which turn out hundreds of thousands of patties a day, are determined to make patties as popular as hamburgers and pizza.

Vincent and Jeanette HoSang, who founded Royal Caribbean, import Scotch bonnets and thyme from Jamaica so their patties will taste the way they do on the island. "But everyone buys them," said their daughter, Sabrina, the bakery's director of operations. "Not only Jamaicans, but Caucasians and especially Hispanics - a patty is a lot like an empanada."

Or a lot like a calzone, a samosa or even a knish. But no matter what your roots, the patty travels well. Especially through the streets of New York.


Caribbean Food Delights patties are passable, and Tower Isle patties are strictly "only when you're gonna die if you don't have a patty." Out here in the 'burbs of Joisey, decent patties can be had at the Sunny Delights Bakery in Englewood, Jamaica Connection in Teaneck, and Island Son in Nyack, NY.

But none of them are quite like Sonia's....
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