Curry me....right now. - Ali's Roti Shop, Crown Heights Brooklyn.

Roti. Pronounced ro-tee, is definitely something I first learned about in Barbados. After my trip down there I thought the curry filled delight was a Bajan dish. When I moved to Brooklyn I was oblivious to the fact that there is a very large West-Indian (Caribbean) presence here. I had never seen another roti after my trip to Barbados until one day I noticed one of my co-workers snackin' on one. When I saw her eating it I said "Hey! What is that you have there?!" Krissy seemed startled and said "Whaat? It's just roti." I started freaking out and getting real excited like I normally do about yummy fun foods. My other co-worker and friend (Mustaafa) was there and he is from Trinidad. He said "Roti isn't a Barbadian thing, but a Trinidadian specialty." It should also be noted that all of my other co-workers from some of the other West-Indies (Jamaica, Guyana, St. Vincent, and Grenada) will tell you that no-one can do roti like the Trinidadians.

Where is Trinidad ?
Trinidad & Tobago are located at the very south end of the Lesser Antilles and are situated right north of Venezuela, South America.

I then asked Mustaafa "So where's the best roti shop in town?" and he said "Ali's. It's the best hands down." Of course I knew where my next food excursion was going to be after that. I began researching the different Ali's roti shops in Brooklyn and found two that were somewhat close to me. One of the locations near me is in Bedford-Stuyvesant (aka Bed-Stuy) Brooklyn which is only four stops down on the G train, and the other one is in Crown Heights which is about a 30 minute bus ride on the B46 bus (which starts its route on Broadway at Marcy Avenue for all you Williamsburgers) and takes you directly to Ali's on Utica off near Eastern Parkway.

I opted for the Crown Heights location as the reviews I read on it had better things to say. However, after I started my internship at a nursing home in Bed-Stuy last September (2010), I realized the location there is only a 10 minute walk from the nursing home. In turn I started eating there recently and more frequently out of convenience. Because I've tried both locations, I will say that the Crown Heights shop serves better and fresher quality Trini cuisine. Also the one in Bed-Stuy has a big bullet-proof glass surrounding the counter area which makes it much less inviting.

There she goes. If you notice that bus on the right; that is a Williamsburg bound B46 bus that stops DIRECTLY in front of the store. So when you're done gorging and if you're headed to Billyburg you can just waddle out the door and walk 15 measly feet to the bus stop...pretty sweet.

These are my two favorite counter attendants at Ali's. We've never formally introduced ourselves, but they always recognize me and since they hadn't seen me since June last year, they made me feel really welcome when I made the trip today (1.25.2010).

Now there are a lot of different culinary influences in West-Indian cuisine and especially Trinidadian cuisine. Because the country is a former British colony, there were many slaves and indentured servants brought from Africa and India to all of the Caribbean colonies. The indentured servants from India brought the curry dishes and the actual "roti" to the area. The roti you will find at an East-Indian restaurant will usually be significantly different that what you get at a West-Indian joint. And even the West-Indian spots have there own spin on the skin.

This is Alex's roti. A roti consists of a large circular "skin" or bread that is infused with a dried and crushed channa (chick-pea) mixture making it a "dhal phouri" roti skin. You can have it filled with your choice of curried chicken, beef, vegetables, shrimp, conch, goat or duck. This roti in particular is filled with a mixture of curried beef, potatoes, channa and a green pepper sauce.


I know this pic might not seem like the most appealing thing, but you'll love it if you're a curry fan. The skin is very large and folded several times over curried beef. The beef roti is my all-time favorite. Normally you wont find beef at an East-Indian joint because they tend to hold the "cow is sacred" belief. For some reason many West-Indian restaurants don't subscribe to that.

This time I got something I have had before but at my job and not at Ali's. It's called "Buss-Up-Shot". The term "buss-up" means that when they are making the skin on a large skillet, they take these two big wooden poles and literally "bust-it-up". Search the term "buss-up shot" on Youtube.com if you're curious, there are some cool videos of it being made. Anyway, when you order the buss-up shot, they essentially serve you the innards of a roti in a separate foil pan and then you have to place the mixture of curried goodies on top of the busted up roti skin.

Here is the skin of the buss-up shot. The only difference between this skin here and the folded up roti dish is that this skin isn't dhal phourie. It is only made of flour with no chick pea infusion.

A foil pan with all of the curried shrimp, channa, potatoes, and green pepper hot sauce. Originally I wanted to get a conch buss-up, but they only serve that on the weekends so I went with the tasty curried shrimp instead.


This is the actual buss up shot. It's busted up roti skin covered in an amazing combination of curried goodness. I'm not necessarily sure if you are supposed to cover the buss up roti with the curry concoction, but that's just how I roll. Regardless, it explodes with incredible flavors...so do yourself a favor and go try an order.

While roti and buss-up shot are the main specialties of Trinidad, there are several other goodies that I've explored and even learned about a new one on this trip. Among the other specialties are: doubles, aloo pie, pholourie and a homemade drink called sorrel.

The infamous double. These things are out-of-control good. A double consists of an amazing curried chick-pea mixture with a yellow hot pepper sauce sandwiched between two thick pieces of bread similar to that of a roti skin, but much thicker and fried. Not only are they super good, but they only set you back $1.50. You could get by on two if you're hurtin' and hungry.


Aloo pie.

Aloo pie is a crispy fried dough stuffed with an very well seasoned potato mixture and a green pepper sauce. Really incredible. These are also only a $1.50, which is damn good for NYC.


Alex liked the first one so much he went for another. When he was ordering, the lady at the counter said "You know you can get another fillin. How about squash?" He agreed. I had never had this one but I am going to say that the seasoned potato, squash, pepper sauce delight was out-of-this WORLD. So so so good.


These are the pholourie (pronounced pa-loor-ee). They were introduced to me by a former co-worker of mine from Guyana. Pholourie are deep-fried balls of dough, kind of like doughnut holes. They are meant to be dipped in the tamarind sauce on the side which is most awesome.
They are labeled as appetizers but I treat them as dessert. Also, these puppies are only $1.00!!!


I really enjoy completing my roti experience by drinking an ice cold glass of Ali's homemade sorrel with dessert. It is most refreshing after a large, hot and spicy curry meal.
Sorrel was introduced to me by another co-worker of mine from Guyana. It is a very, very sweet drink and I think it tastes like Christmas/Holiday times. I say that because of the the cinnamon and ginger flavor combination picked up in this fragrant and fruity drink.

Well that about sums up the epic curried food festival at Ali's in Brooklyn. Check em' out if you're ever in the borough. The one in Crown Heights can be found at 337 Utica. The Bed-Stuy location is at the intersection of Nostrand and Fulton Street. And there is a third location on Flatbush Avenue near the Atlantic Avenue Mall which is 2nd best out of the three in my opinion. So there are your options. Go forth and experience the goodness of the curry.

You can thank me later.

- Boatner