Taste of Trinidad -- West Indian delights on Howard Street

Taste of Trinidad has been open for a couple of months on Howard Street and is definitely worth trying. Like so many new, small ethnic (West Indian) restaurants, they might be out of some items but what they have will warrant another visit.

For lunch, we shared several menu items and all of them were things to have again. The Grilled Shrimp were outstanding – perfectly cooked and served with a very tasty, but light sauce. Photourie are West Indian fried dough balls, enhanced by two excellent dipping sauces that will remind you of the green and purple sauces you find in Indo-Pak restaurants. Plantains are light and not greasy. The Dhal Soup was also excellent.

For main dishes we had Curry Goat (not always on the menu) that surprised us by being not only flavorful but also very tender. The Jerk Chicken was a mild version and juicy. Both came with very good cabbage and peas-and-rice. All of this went well with Sorrel – a hibiscus-based drink that was surprisingly light.

Colin, the very personable owner/server promised that he would start an “Oxtail Hotline” and alert people by email when they anticipate having oxtails available. You can call to sign up or send a message from the website. That will encourage him to place an order.

All in all, a place to tiptoe through the entire menu. Great food and service. A pleasant room, nicely decorated. Ample street parking. We shall return.

Taste of Trinidad
2045 W. Howard Street – 60645
872-806-2115

www.thetasteoftrinidad.com

Nice. Try any roti?

jimd wrote:Taste of Trinidad has been open for a couple of months on Howard Street and is definitely worth trying.

Agreed. I've been in a few times and will continue to make my way up there when the taste for Caribbean comfort food is calling.


West Indies Eats on Howard Street

jimd wrote:Colin, the very personable owner/server promised that he would start an “Oxtail Hotline” and alert people by email when they anticipate having oxtails available. You can call to sign up or send a message from the website. That will encourage him to place an order.

Colin's brother runs Chicago's only other Trinidadian eatery, Cafe Trinidad. However they have some things here that they don't have over there and the locations are on separate sides of town. So it's good to have them both.

JeffB wrote:Nice. Try any roti?

Aside from some doubles a couple weekends ago that's all I've tried. I think they're very good. I also thought it was pretty similar to Cafe Trinidad's offering so while I'm sure there's better when on the island in Toronto or South Florida, it's damn good for Chicago. As jimd described the goat was extra tender and while the pieces of it do include bones there was only a couple of them and the meat pulled off easily. The potatoes are served in larger chunks and come perfectly cooked while the chana brings plenty of curry flavor to the table. The carrot based hot sauce made by the wife is fire, not necessarily in heat level but in flavor factor. I look forward to trying the curry crab and dumplings. I should also note you can buy the roti skins individually. Love the flavors of T&T and will be sure to get there and indulge firsthand someday soon. In the meantime ToT will be a great addition to my rotation.


Trinidadian Roti (Goat)


The insides


Two Doubles

Cannot wait to try this place, particularly for the roti, but I wouldn't mind some peas & rice, rum cake and sorrel.

Stopped by here for lunch yesterday - and loved it! I ordered goat Roti & a couple doubles ....

Goat was tender, full of flavor - watch out for those bones!

Doubles were a really nice treat - well balanced flavor and unusual (in a delicious way)...

Bread was fresh, well made, perfect texture. Hot sauce was REALLY good - though served in very small amounts.. just ask for extra

This is the kind of joint that I think will survive on Howard St. (Chicago side) . He's gonna get a good mix of neighborhood folks and gringos that have purchased SFH in S. Evanston...

He's got a lot of space there - would be cool to see a liquor license and some island cocktails/beer (though I doubt that would gain aldermanic approval due to its location).

I'll be back

I plan to check out this place tonight. I'm looking forward to curried crab and dumplings.

buttercream wrote:I plan to check out this place tonight. I'm looking forward to curried crab and dumplings.

I hope they had one -- or even both -- of them. I want to know that this place is doing well but I am concerned. On our recent visit, it definitely showed promise but they did not really seem ready for prime time. On a Thursday, more than an hour before closing, 7 of us showed up for dinner and were served 3 different items. There was goat and chicken - can't remember which was/were stewed and which was/were curried. Some was served in roti; some straight on the plate. They were good but unfortunately, that was it. Nothing else on the menu was available. Even items that were not designated as "weekend only" were n/a. It was a bummer. I was hoping to try my first ever Double but it was not to be. I'll probably give it another chance but my first visit was not overly encouraging.

=R=

I'm enjoying this place, but I suspect that -- like the nearby Badou Senegalese -- it's best to show up around lunchtime and ask what's available. Not ideal, but until business picks up (both places have been empty on all my visits), it's probably best to be flexible and temper expectations.

As I suspected this would be the type of place that may not always have crab on hand, I called ahead to inquire if it would be on the menu Friday night. Sadly I was informed it was not available. However, my husband and I still decided to check it out. We arrived around 6 pm to find the place empty. It took a couple minutes for somebody to come out after which we were seated. I let the host kno I was the one who called about the crab. He encouraged us to try the goat, and the curry salmon since my hubby only eats seafood. We also ordered the pholourie, an extra side of plantains, the sorrel drink and ginger beer, both homemade. I liked the sorrel which reminded me of cranberry juice, and my husband really enjoyed the ginger beer which was not overly sweet and strong on the ginger. The pholouries are small fried balls of dough. There was a strong yeasts taste which I loved. These were kind of like Nigerian puff puffs, and about the size of a munchkin donut. They were more on the savory side and served with two homemade hot sauces. One was made with tamarind, and the other with mango. Both were really good. The pholourie and hot sauce turned out to be my favorite dish. The curry goat and curry salmon came out next and was accompanied by rice and peas, side dishes of cabbage and sweet potatoes, and a couple slices of fried plantains. There were slight hiccups in service such as my side dish of cabbage being mixed up with my husband's side of sweet potatoes. I also had to remind them about my extra side of plantains. I thought the goat was well seasoned and tender. The cabbage was okay but nothing special. My husband liked his salmon well enough which came with some broccoli and carrots mixed in, but I don't think he thought it extraordinary enough to order again. We thought the plantains were a bit anemic. They were sliced on the bias, and kind of limp. They didn't have the super sweet caramelized taste I love in a good plantain. He enjoyed his sweet potatoes but I thought they were too sweet. As we ate about three other parties came in. I heard them inquire about doubles but was told that they would be available on the weekend. They were also out of coconut water. It seemed the waiter had to back several times to the kitchen to make sure they had certain dishes. Most peopled ordered the rotis and based on their comments, they seemed to enjoy them. I would come back for the goat and pholourie. I hope to eventually try the crab and dumplings as I really enjoyed the version I had at cafe Trinidad about a year ago.

Does anyone know if this place is still open? Cafe Trinidad on 47th has disappeared and the phone number at Taste of Trinidad has a recording that the number has been changed with no other information. I'll be so sad if there is no longer a place for roti or doubles in the city!

I've been searching around to see if there has been anywhere in Chicagoland where one can get roti and/or a double since ToT closed. Any insight appreciated.

Q