I visited Flatbush Avenue on a bustling Saturday afternoon to compare Jamaican beef patties. In American cities, beef patties aren’t as common (yet) as a pizza slice or a taco, but they have become one of the most common and delicious “fast foods” in New York City. How’d that happen? British explorers/invaders brought the “turnover” (like a meat pot pie) on their New World expeditions to the Caribbean. This dish was reinvented in places like Jamaica where its African and indigenous inhabitants integrated their own flavors like curry and Scotch bonnet peppers into the dish, making it the Jamaican beef patty we know today. With the migration of many Jamaicans to New York in the last 50 years, the beef patty has made its way into our city’s street foodscape. But the Jamaican beef patty has appeal to more than just hungry island expatriates looking for a taste of home. It’s an inexpensive, filling snack often made fresh by local bakeries, that provides enough needed sustenance for anyone shopping for electronics, sneakers, hair extensions and clothes along this commercial strip of Flatbush Avenue. While I naturally prefer mom-and-pop restaurants over chains, I thought I’d compare the Jamaican beef patties of Paradise Eats, a restaurant and bakery, and Golden Krust, a Bronx-based family-owned chain of Caribbean bakery/restaurants with 105 stores in 8 states.

The Paradise Eats beef patty has soft flaky outside layers that resemble a perfect, rich pie crust. It’s one of the biggest beef patties I’ve ever seen and could satisfy as a light meal. The beef filling is spicy, peppery and a bit vinegary-sweet. It’s an ideal consistency - identifiable meat, yet not too dry. The patty held its form well when I ate it from the brown paper bag. I would have tried other patty varieties but beef was the only one they had at the time. Paradise Eats doesn’t have seating, so customers stand at the counter awaiting their orders, humming and swaying along to old reggae songs. On the wall was a flyer for a memorial benefit dinner celebrating the crowned prince of reggae Dennis Brown. With dozens of traditional Jamaican specialties, Paradise Eats has a reggae vibe, with service running on island time. Enjoy the music while you wait.

Golden Krust is instrumental in the growing popularity of Caribbean patties, and probably all Caribbean food in American cuisine today. It’s brightly lit with quick, attentive uniformed employees and an R&B soundtrack. They are known for their signature flat, yellow, palm-sized patties. Golden Krust offers nine varieties of patties including fish and vegetarian options, and both a regular and spicy version of the beef patty. Of course, I ordered the spicy, but it didn’t match the heat of the Paradise Eats patty. Despite Golden Krust’s popularity, it seemed as though the beef patty had been sitting in the oven a long time, as the edges of the filling were overcooked and the crust was dry. Golden Krust’s filling was moist - a smooth goo that was not very meat-looking, perhaps because it was overdone or overprocessed. The meat was savory but with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Given its size, it’s more of a snack than a light meal. But with its crumbly “krust”, it easily split and disintegrated - tough eating if you’re carrying a lot of shopping bags.

Paradise Eats
875 Flatbush Avenue

Golden Krust
568 Flatbush Avenue

Originally published on Until Monday: Brooklyn.