Not many people outside Haiti are familiar with Haitian food. That's a
shame, because the island's cuisine is a colorful blending of African- and
Caribbean-influenced fare. And — just like the language — Haitian food also has
a bit of Creole mixed in for good measure: root vegetables, meats like oxtail,
peppers, and a unique blend of spices working together to form basic, zippy
dishes that sing with a soupçon of French complexity.
That's exactly what you'll get at 1-year-old Piman Cafe, a small Haitian restaurant
located on the outskirts of Wilton Manors just a few steps from Fort Lauderdale
High School. According to co-owner Frandy Cardichon, Piman Cafe is also
one of the few places in the area that offers several authentic Haitian dishes.
Though there's no menu to help you decide what to order, the friendly staff
will gladly explain the basic offerings that range from fried fish, chicken,
and oxtail served with heaping portions of rice and beans and fat wedges of
fried plantain.
For something hearty, order a bowl of Haitian legim stew: a complex dish
with plenty of spices that help to make this combination of eggplant, cabbage,
carrots, peppers, and spinach taste near sublime. The dish is a
traditional Haitian meal typically flavored with braised meats like pork or
oxtail and even seafood like conch or crab. It's thick, filling, and spicy and
sticks to your ribs the way any good stew should.
For meat lovers, griyot (fried pork) is one of the more popular dishes
of Haiti. But the pork itself is not the star of this dish; rather, it's the
orange-based marinade that walks the fine line between sour and salty before
resolving into a peppery heat that lingers on the tongue. On the island, it's
often served with a spicy salad known as pikliz, Haiti's official condiment, a
pickled vegetable slaw made with white-vinegar-soaked Scotch bonnet peppers,
carrots, and cabbage. That's also how you'll find it prepared at Piman, where —
if you're so inclined — you can even purchase a jar of the house-made condiment
to go.
Piman Cafe is located
at 1560 NE Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-356-7995, or follow them on Facebook.
Nicole Danna is a food
writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and
drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find
her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/restaurants/taste-haitian-home-cooking-at-piman-cafe-in-fort-lauderdale-7396672
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