Savannah Street food

Burgers at the Savannah

A good street-eating venue is around Savannah. Lots of tents, people walking, looking for their favourite food or snacks and some just soaking up the aroma and the energies. There is a wide variety of food and snacks -hamburgers, hot dogs, gyros, corn soup, bake and shark, doubles, fresh juices, pholourie, saheena, barbecue chicken, barbecue pigtail, and souse. 

While the concentration was on buying food for my boys who were rehearsing at Fatima for their concert called Gifts of Blue and Gold, my friend, Jennifer was talking about her blog and at the same time she gave me some pointers. In her blog, she writes about the Getting it Right. Getting it right does not mean that you are doing something wrong, as she had pointed out in her previous blog, but it also means that you have it right and people should know about it. Most of the Savannah vendors had many things right, the surroundings were clean and bins were readily available if you needed to discard used bottles and food containers.  Many women who were dealing and serving food had their heads covered with caps, hairnets and head ties but the men did not have anything on their heads, they need to get it right.

Nowhere in sight was a food badge, it was not worn on a person selling food, nor was it displayed in their tents. That needs to be rectified or made right but you can get all of that in Jennifer’s blog

It was really good to see a young lady handling the burger with gloves on, absolutely no contact with the food. The two women and one-man team handled themselves competently; you had your burger in 3 to 5 minutes. if you wanted pineapples in your burger (that seem to be a thing of the past), you will get pineapple sauce instead. According to the younger generation, “it lash” which meant that the burger tasted good or it hit the spot.

You should be very cognizant when eating out on the streets. While it is all well and good to buy food, you should be very observant of the necessary requirements that vendors should have to make your eating experience a good one and not one that will take you to the hospital.

I just want to say thank you to all who read my blogs, making this project a success. Thanks and God bless.

Eating &Drinking .....on the Streets: Hungry and its lunchitime in St. Helena

Eating &Drinking .....on the Streets: Hungry and its lunchitime in St. Helena

Hungry and its lunchitime in St. Helena

Pholourie, Saheena, Baiganee and Kuchorie make a mouth full. A meal for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack, either way, you would not be hungry after having two or even three of them, except for pholourie, of which you would have to have about ten or more of those little round orbs in order to be satisfied.

These Indian delicacies are common snack food found all around the country. There is a diverse array of food in St. Helena. It is lunchtime, I am hungry and all I am craving for is Baiganee. Some people called it a snack, but if you have two or three Baiganees, you can make it a meal for lunch or any other meal. The best thing about it is the fact that these snacks are easy on the pocket, a meal for under 20 dollars and that includes a drink.

Baiganee
Baiganee is a vegetarian delight made with baigan also known as melongene or eggplant, cut thin, dipped in a split peas batter and fried. It is served with channa, sweet sauce (mango, tamarind or pommecythere chutney) and pepper, all optional, you can decide if you want it with channa or not or just with sweet sauce only, heavy, slight or no pepper at all. It is entirely up to your taste and preference.

A mother and daughter team, Fatty and Pinky have been selling these snacks for about two years or more. Fatty could not remember when they started; she said that they wanted to work for themselves and wanted to work close to home, so they did a quick survey and assessed the area. They recognised that there were so many doubles vendors in St. Helena so they wanted to do something different from the rest. Her family knew how to make Saheena, Baiganee and the other snacks really well so they decided to let this work for them. That was the genesis of the business.  Although they opened at eleven in the morning, their day begin at 4 am as they have to do their chores, prep for the days' delights and ensure everything is in order to be ready for their customers and to be on time, every time.  As Fatty said consistency is the name of the game.

If you love eggplant and never had Baiganee before, try it!. It is very good, I love these snacks and if you are a vegan, then this is a perfect meal for you, you will just love it.

See photos here!

Find out more about Baiganee and how to make this delicious snack

Stay tuned for more

Tunapuna for Souse

Tunapuna for souse 

It is never to late to be enlightened because you are never too old to learn.  All along I thought that Souse was a ‘trini ting’.  That is until I researched its origin. Almost every continent on the planet has some version of Head Cheese or Souse or whatever other names it is called, too much to mention in my blog. If you want to know more about the different names and versions you can search the Internet.

'Trini' souse is bite size pieces of meat seasoned well, boiled or cooked and then soaked in a mixture of water, lime juice, cucumber, onion, salt, pepper and seasoning. Usually a gelatin or gluey type meat is used such as pigfoot, cow skin, chicken etc. It is not a meal, but for when you are liming, partying or socializing. Which led me to Tunapuna for souse.

In front of the Bulldog bar in Tunapuna is the Original Sweet Hand - the place for souse. Pigfoot, Chicken foot, Cow Skin, Cow Heel (only on Fridays) and Pigtail, yes Pigtail souse – that was a first timer.

Oniel and Michelle, a husband and wife team started their souse business about five years ago.  At first they were trying to raise funds for a rhythm band that they were members off but things did not work out, so they decided to set up shop for themselves. Knowing that his wife has a sweet hand and that she could make any dish taste good, Oniel encouraged Michelle to start selling corn soup, which they eventually changed to selling Souse.

For meat lovers it is one of the best tasting souse around and the secret is in their sauces. When the sauce is being dashed on your meat, it is done in a rhyme and rhythm motion; Shadon beni, Lime, Garlic, Pepper. The taste was just right and it was definitely worth the trip!

See photos here

Next we eating Polourie, Saheena and Baiganee . So stay tuned

Geera Pork in Cunupia

The food culture in Trinidad and Tobago continues to evolve, so much so that you can buy Geera Pork on the streets. In Cunupia, two young men set up their stall from five in the evening, ready and waiting for their customers.  They did not have to wait long for them to show up, because some of their regulars were sitting in their cars, waiting for them to start. The menu of Black Pudding, Souse, Geera Pork and Geera Chicken were the offerings of the day.

Geera Pork is the blog order of the day!

Geera pork is small pieces of pork marinated in herbs and spices and cooked with geera. Geera also know as cumin is a spice that originated in and around India, brought to our shores by our East Indian fore fathers. This spice with its distinct flavour and aroma combined with different meats is part of the cuisine of many different cultures and tasty dishes. It is not known where the Geera Pork thing started, but this “cutters” can be found in many circles. 

For three years, 20-year-old UWI Management and Agriculture student Keon along with his cousin Kevin have been serving up some serious delicious cutters at the corner of Esmeralda and the Southern Main Road, Cunupia. These guys turned their hobby and their passion for dabbling in food into a money making venture and are doing a fine job at it.

Not everyone can master the art of cooking this dish. so it might just be worth your while to  order up than to venture in. If you think you can handle it then try this recipe

You can also check my Facebook page for tips on preparing the pork for cooking

Next blog we will talk about Souse.  So stay tuned!

Gyros

The Place to be!

Even the really bad photos taken at Cross Crossing could not put a damper on our Sunday evening experience. These people had such a wide variety of delicacies to choose from,  gyros, burgers, fried chicken and chips, hot dogs, buffalo wings, garlic wings, corn soup, bake and shark, barbecue pigtail and many other combinations of fish, lamb, chicken and pork. 

GYROS! Today’s outdoor/street dining experience!

The Gyro sandwich is an almost new crave in street food offers. This delectable meal of meat, fresh salad (lettuce, tomatoes and onion) and a tzatziki sauce rolled in a pita bread, is making its mark and claiming rights amongst the other culinary delights offered on the street of Trinidad.

 “Gyro” is a Greek word; however the sandwich did not originate in Greece but Turkey. It is said to be a spin off from the Turkish Doner Kebab. A similar sandwich known as “shawarma” is found in the Middle East.

The whiff of meat roasting on a vertical spit with fire blazing as it turns, stimulates the senses. You can choose a variety of meats - chicken, beef or lamb - to have the it made to you desire. There is also a shrimp gyro but it is pricier than the meats.  

A pleasant cloudless evening with great company, people moving from stall to stall enquiring of the menus so that they can place their orders. The aroma tantalising the tastebuds, whetting the appetite, compelling you to partake of the scrumptious offerings of our multicultural cuisine.

See photos here

This wonderful addition to our already dynamic range of food, is blending itself nicely into our food culture and cementing its taste and cuisine into our diet and lifestyle. It has been acculturated to the geographical and demographical location in which it is being served.
Many variants can be found around the world especially in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Hungry, Iran, Mexico, The Middle East, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. In Trinidad, you can find a gyro in many hole-in-the-wall type outlets, food vans on the streets. street kiosks or stalls, as well as established mall outlets

Are you interested in making a gyro at home?  Then click here to find a recipe for;

PitaBread

Meat and Tzatziki Sauce

Try a Gyro, it is delicious and satisfying!

Stay for my next blog on ‘Eating on the Streets”

Introduction

My country, this lovely land called Trinidad and Tobago has many different cuisines that blessed our  shores (some foods came with the people and some evolved).  As indigenous as our people, so to, are our foods, I take to the streets to highlight the foods from the many groups that are now part of this melting pot called T&T.

Many foods can be found on the streets, making it convenient and affordable to foreign and local tourists.  If you want to really know about the variety of Street food  and how they have woven their way into the lifestyle of many, then take a walk with me on the streets and let's savour the real taste of T&T. Why not have fun exploring? Make it a family outing, visit different places and taste the treats. After all, you only live once.....

Join me as we travel to different places in Trinidad and Tobago  - Eating and Drinking on the Streets.