Whenever the Olympics take place and the tiny contingent from Trinidad and Tobago marches through the stadium, more than one American can be heard saying, "Trinidad and Tobago? Since when did tag team wrestling become an Olympic event?"
In truth, according to the CIA's "The World Factbook," Trinidad and Tobago is indeed a two-island nation in the Caribbean.
Trinidad Gourmet in Waverly brings to Charm City a culinary slice of this two-fisted Caribbean military super power (as the CIA calls them, and when has the Agency been wrong?)
A cursory glance at TG's menu reveals dishes and condiments not known to many local palates—goat, oxtail, chutney, dhalpouri, pharata, etc. If you're a novice (read: virgin) in regards to these dishes, do not be afraid. You can still manage to enjoy a good (and cheap!) meal at TG.
Quick primer: Dhalpouri and pharata are two styles of roti, a pita-like bread concoction in which your main dish is served. Inside each dhalpouri and pharata roti is a chickpea and potato foundation. TG proprietor Chuck Lochan explained everything for the uninitiated.
Metromix sampled all of TG's homemade drinks (peanut punch, ginger beer, mauby, sorrel and sea moss) as a few Waverly-area hipsters filtered in to place orders. Ginger beer ($1.50) is a tad flavorless. Sorrel ($1.50) is sweet, purple and tastes like licorice. Sea moss ($3) tastes like nutmeg. According to Lochan, mauby ($1.50) is made from tropical tree bark, helps with skin problems and is a "thirst-quencher." Given its bitter, medicinal taste, "thirst-mutilator" might be a more appropriate description. Peanut punch ($1.60), our favorite, contained the grit of ground-up peanuts and had a candy-like flavor.
The restaurant's accommodations are sparse. A lunch counter runs along the right wall with five stools, very reminiscent of the Adams-Morgan giant-slice pizza parlors in Washington, D.C. The take out-centric vibe is a good thing, as a sit-down establishment would require more overhead or even distract from food preparation, which could mean higher prices and decreased quality. Both would be unwelcome.
We also sampled the oxtail stew ($10). We imagined a long, stringy tail and a tuft of hair hanging from a soup bowl. Thankfully, our sample looked more like roast beef than something hanging from a gnu's ass. The look of roast beef was matched by a similar taste, but it contained more fat than American-inspired fare. Despite the exotic name, TG's oxtail stew was tasty and well-seasoned. But it was a little pricey for our purposes. Let's see if we can get a complete meal under that magic $10 mark.
Dish: We only had to wait 10 to 15 minutes for our meals. We ordered goat curry with pharata roti ($9) and chicken curry with dhalpouri roti ($7). The tastes of the goat and the roti (chickpeas and potatoes) mix well. The roti was a nice change of pace to rip and dip into provided sauces. The chicken curry wasn't too heavy, and was certainly healthier than other popular chicken dishes. Customers definitely get their money's worth at Trinidad Gourmet. We left with almost half our meals untouched.
Damage: Our dishes, combined with drinks (a peanut punch and Pepsi) and tax added up to $19.88—less than $10 a person for a lot of food.
Decision: Trinidad Gourmet's food is exotic, yet familiar. Its facilities are sparse, yet efficient. Its portions are large, filling and good. What else do you need? Go, be a patron. Do not be afraid. Impress your mother. Tell her you tried oxtail.
