Brockton Eats with Alisha: Where to find Haiti's tropical flavors of home in Brockton

BROCKTON — Come Along with me as we taste the flavors of Haiti on every corner of Brockton. Haitian restaurants are one of the many staples in the city for the people who visit daily.

This week’s round-up is a little special to me as I share the food of my heritage. We will highlight the many hidden gems of Brockton and what makes each establishment unique.

Stepping into a Haitian restaurant and eating the food gives me flashbacks of Haiti when I was a little girl. I used to help my aunt choose a chicken to cook, and we harvested fresh limes from trees and fetched water from the well to make juice by hand.

Coming together as a family to prepare a meal was the best way to pass the time, and everyone had their role.For me, my role was to chase the chicken once it got its head cut off, and man, that was a job, but the flavors were out of this world. This culinary experience is nothing like an average stop at the grocery store, for sure.

Sherlie’s Kitchen — 263 Court St., Brockton

Sherlie’s Kitchen on the east side of Brockton near the BAT Center serves Haitian food the way they know best — fried, steamed and boiled.

The restaurant offers a mixture of classic Haitian and American cuisine. Popular Haitian dishes include fried pork (griot), turkey (kodenn), beef (tassot) and goat (cabrit), served with rice, beans, plantains and pikliz (a spicy pickled vegetable coleslaw).

The owner, a classically trained chef, Sherlie Cherduville, who was born in Haiti, wanted to give America a taste of what she grew up eating in Delmas, a city near the capital of Port-au-Prince.

The recipes were passed down from her late mother, Marie-Claude Cherduville. Having a Haitian restaurant in Brockton means the world to Cherduville because there is a large Haitian community, but there are not many restaurants that reflect the people, she said.

Tamboo Bistro — 252 Main St., Brockton

Tucked away on the long main city street is a place where you can come to eat, dance and sing your heart out at Tambo Bistro.

Tamboo is not your ordinary restaurant, from the mood lighting to the artwork hanging on the walls to the elegant décor and elaborate DJ, plus a large dance floor, this might be your go-to place on Thursday and Friday nights.

Are you in the mood for some dance lessons? Well, there are international dance classes every Sunday from 6-8 p.m. Each class is $25, and the instructor gives one-on-one dance lessons with a dance partner.

Thursday evenings are cocktail night, which starts at 6 p.m. The idea is for the restaurant to attract working professionals to enjoy a nightcap filled with music and specialty house cocktails.

You can sit by the bar, get a hand-crafted cocktail, and watch everyone else dance if you’re shy. All are welcome.

Customer favorites include red snapper steamed in sauce and spices, griyo (fried pork), djon djon rice (black mushroom rice), coconut shrimp, fried plantains and Caribbean chicken marinated in the sauce. The cocktail is notable for a twist of tropical Caribbean flavors of the Haitian persuasion, packed with imported Haitian rum.

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Signature Kitchen — 1289 South Main St., Brockton

Dive into Signature Kitchen, a restaurant rooted in the South side of Brockton.

This take-out restaurant is a grab-and-go type of place. The owners, Marline and Genald Amedee want customers to know the service is good and the food will be done at a reasonable time.

They even let you taste the food if you’re unsure what your taste buds might be into.

Some of the most popular dishes are rice and beans served with a legume (simmered vegetables and meat), macaroni gratinée (a Haitian version of macaroni and cheese), red snapper steamed in sauce and spices or fried griyo (fried pork), djon djon rice (black mushroom rice), fried plantains and Caribbean chicken marinated in sauce, bouyon (a traditional soup with vegetables and meat).

Signature Kitchen is known for its fresh juice, made in-house daily. The drinks are notable for a twist of tropical Caribbean flavors of freshly juiced passion fruit, soursop, ginger watermelon, pineapple coconut, peach mango, and many more.

Tasty Haitian cuisineGenerations of family recipes fill the Signature Kitchen menu

Delicious Restaurant — 1753 Main St., Brockton

Since 2017, Delicious Restaurant has been giving the community a sample of what’s cooking in their kitchen. Owner Roody Musac, learned how to cook in Haiti from his mother and turned those recipes into a thriving business.Musac also owns the business with his wife, Junette Musac, and together, they brought the harmony of the islands to the south side of Brockton.

The restaurant offers an array of classic Haitian breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Customers can enjoy boiled plantains with eggs, pate kode (a flaky stuffed pastry), bouyon (a vegetable and meat soup), and Haitian spaghetti for a morning pick-me-up.

The restaurant has a selection of meats ranging from goat to chicken, beef, pork and turkey for lunch and dinner.

Popular dishes include rice and beans served with a legume (simmered vegetables and meat), macaroni gratinée (a Haitian version of macaroni and cheese), salad Russe (a potato salad with beets), mayi (cornmeal with spinach and codfish) and the conch shrimp plate served with rice, plantains and salad. All plates can be mixed and matched with your desired rice, beans, vegetables and meat.

Top Notch Caribbean Cuisine — 352 North Main St., Randolph.

Top Notch Caribbean Cuisine, which offers a mixture of Haitian and Jamaican cuisines, gives you the best of both Caribbean worlds.

I recommend trying the black mushroom rice (djon djon rice), a Haitian-style rice with jerk chicken with extra jerk sauce, and a side of cabbage and carrot medley.

The best part about this restaurant is you can trust what you’re eating is kosher, organic, hormone-free, and Halal-certified meat.

An added bonus to the restaurant is the health superfood store inside, with a plethora of organic herbs, spices, supplements, hygiene products and hot, ready-to-eat food.

They offer food ready for purchase with almost no downtime. You can choose from jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat, red snapper, curry chicken, stewed chicken and kingfish with hearty sides of mac and cheese, vegetables, plantains, sliced cabbage, rice and beans.

Jerk chicken, sea moss and smoothiesCaribbean Cuisine in Randolph is a one-stop shop at Top Notch

Kreyol 17 — 115 Legion Parkway, Brockton

Right in the heart of Legion Parkway is a new take-out Haitian food restaurant, Kreyol 17.

You can feast on the ready-to-eat menu of fried chicken, salmon, plantains, steak, steamed vegetables and oxtail.

Popular items include fried goat, fried green plantains, fried pig, fried turkey, sautéed wings, white rice and house-made drinks.

Table 22 — 25 Pleasant St., Brockton

Table 22 Restaurant in Brockton gives the community traditional Haitian dishes with a “pleasant atmosphere.”

Popular dishes include the classics: fried chicken in sauce, fried turkey, legume (simmered vegetables and meat), yellow rice and beans, meatballs, ragu (vegetables and cow feet), fried pork, turkey in sauce, all plates of protein come with a plate of rice and beans with dressing on the side.

Sister's Restaurant 158 Montello St., Brockton

At Sister's Restaurant, located inside Royal Fuel, you can fill up your car and order a plate of Haitian food simultaneously.

You can grab a piping hot bowl of bouyon (Haitian vegetable soup with meat), soup Joumou (squash soup), Haitian spaghetti, lalo with rice and beans, fritay (assorted fried foods), and many more ready-to-eat options.

These weekly lists of tidbits and food finds are not restaurant reviews, but they go beyond a bare-bones round-up. Staff writer Alisha Saint-Ciel gives tips and takes to help Brockton-area foodies find those mouth-watering hidden gems, old favorites, and exciting new offerings. Do you have a suggestion for the food series? Email Alisha Saint-Ciel at stciela@gannett.com.