Trini Paki Boys’ New Chicken & Pigeon Peas Pelau
I don’t necessarily have some burning desire to eat pigeon (or squab, or whatever you want to call it) from a cart, but I will admit to being slightly disappointed to find that the Trini Paki Boys (on 43rd & 6th) were actually serving pigeon peas- not pigeon- yesterday. I suspected as much when I got the tip, but it didn’t lessen the let down. I’ve eaten a lot of gross things in the name of Midtown Lunch’ing, but I’m pretty sure pigeon from a New York City street cart would have gotten me inducted into the Andrew Zimmern hall of fame (if such a thing existed.)
As long as I was there, I figured I’d try the “pigeon” dish they were serving… chicken pelau (with pigeon peas.)
This is the first time I’ve ever had pelau, but from what I’ve read on the interwebs it’s pretty much a staple of Trinidad cuisine. A one pot rice dish (think biriyani, jambalaya, or pilaf), it can be made with any kind of meat (usually chicken, beef, or goat) and usually has pigeon peas, onions, garlic, coconut milk, and some kind of squash or pumpkin. The meat gets browned in the pot first, and gives the rice it’s dark brown color (apparently the darker the better, like a good creole roux!)
I’ve got nothing to compare it to, but the Trini Paki boys version tasted pretty good to me. It was spicy (a good thing) and tasted like you would imagine rice from the Carribean would taste (helpful, right?) The rice was a little over done, but the cook (Trini Paki “Mom” if you will) told me that it’s been awhile since she made pelau, and it will be better next week. They plan on selling it every Tuesday and Wednesday, alternating between chicken and beef. The chicken was $4 for a small, $5 for a medium, and $6 for a large, the beef will be $1 more.
Personally I prefer their biriyani (which they are now selling on Thursdays and Fridays), but if you’re craving some homecooked Trinidadian pelau, I don’t think there’s another place in Midtown that does it like this. (Or does it at all for that matter.)
Related:
The Hidden Delicious Mysteries of the Trini-Paki Boys Cart
At Lunch Now: Pigeon Peas is Different Than Pigeon
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, July 23rd, 2009 under Trini Paki Boys Cart.
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is anyone else seeing that ‘cut down 32lbs! you can too! ad?…….looks like the checkout at a arkansas Kmart.