Haitian Restaurant

In a country that struggles with hunger and malnourishment, many Haitians turn to the informal street restaurants known as "manje kwit" or "Chin Janbe" that line many of the city's major streets.

The manje kwit or Chin Jambe cooks offer meals for $1 or less. Their fare is a lifeline for many Haitians living on less than $2 a day.

From small houses made of sheet metal and draped with sheets, they serve teachers, students, porters and shoe polishers just to name a few.

If you have visited Haiti but never tasted their street food, your exploration is yet incomplete. You can identify over one hundred and fifty street food items in the informal street restaurants that line many of the city's major streets. Haitian foods are a blend of influences. Creole cuisine originates from a blend of several culinary styles that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely the French, African, Taíno natives, and Spanish influence. Mixed roots and spices, basic yet zippy, simple and grounded by the reality of the tropics and the back-story of its African heritage, yet touched with a hint of French complexity. Street food is comparatively a new concept in Haiti. Vendors sit under umbrellas on every Port-au-Prince sidewalk peddling fare like fried plantains, chicken, and spaghetti. Some enterprising Haitians, however, are consciously taking a cue from food truck scenes abroad and adding their own Creole twist.

Haitian Street Food Sellers are known as 'Chin Janbe'--they are the lifeline for many of the capital's food-insecure resident. The street food venders are simple poor men who prepare food in their small houses and shanties. Some of them are great chefs who sell their foods in the stalls near bus stations, churches or on the edges of local markets and serve local people at an affordable price like 75 gourdes ($1) or less, while the average cost of a plate of food in basic Creole restaurants here is 250 Haitian gourdes ($4). Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, where most citizens live on less than $2 a day.

In early July when protests against price hikes paralyzed Port-au-Prince, these informal street chefs known as "manje kwit, without prior notice, were forced close their stalls. They could not sell their prepared foods. Whatever they had, had to share within the family and rest distributed free to their neighbors. Thus, they lost a major part of their savings cum investment in a single day. During the five days of protest, many of their poor clients struggled to find food which they can afford to buy.

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This Saturday, April 16, 2016 many personalities of the Haitian media was present at the inauguration of Maison Kreyol in the city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The new Haitian restaurant in Santo Domingo opened during Diaspora Week.

It is primarily a Haitian restaurant which is considered to be the first of its kind in the neighboring country. It is already predicted to become a success for the Haitian community living in the Dominican Republic as the new Maison Kreyol will be a central location for Haitians either living or visiting the Dominican Republic.

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The Bakery Café and Restaurant is a hot-spot for Haitian comfort food and sweet treats. Located in Little Haiti, the venue is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their specialties include pate and pain patate.

If you wish to get more information about the Bakery Café and Restaurant, and locate more Haitian bakeries across Florida like Le Pate Parfait Bakery and the New Florida Bakery Inc., download the Florida509 app to your Apple or Android cell phone.

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"Tap Tap Haitian Restaurant" in Miami is a Haitian eatery, which was opened up with the inspiration of one time filmmaker Katherine Kean. The welcoming staff serves "authentic Haitian dishes like grilled goat, conch Creole and stewed oxtail, including an exceptionally "good Mojito" (a traditional Cuban highball that contains five main ingredients: white rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water, and mint). The warm service adds to the charm of bright, colorful mural artwork that provides "food for your spirit." Their Menus shows five items of Appetizers (Pumpkin soup, Goat Tidbits , Spicy Marinated Conch Ceviche, etc), three salad items (Avocado and Tomato Salad, Mango, Watercress, Carrots and Mixed Greens, etc), eight side dishes (like White Rice with Beans Sauce, Grilled Corn, etc), eleven items on Gwoplat / Entrees (like Shrimp in Creole or Coconut Sauce, Whole Fish In Lime Sauce, Grilled, or Fried, etc) and three Specialties From Charcoal Grill (Grilled Conch, Grilled chicken and Grilled goat).

819 5th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 672-2898

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A visit was made to Adolphe Take Out Restaurant on August 9, 2014 to evaluate the quality of the services provided to the Haitian community in the Little Haiti area. The place is located in a shopping area popularly frequented by many Haitians. This restaurant is one of the tree major restaurants in the area specialized in Haitian food. The other two are: The Bakery Café Restaurant and Park Supermarket - Creole Cuisine.

Parking was not a problem when I came in. I was able to park easily in front of the restaurant. However, that is not usually the case, specially on Saturdays when many people come to the area to shop. As I entered the restaurant, I did not feel very welcomed. The type of smile and courtesy you expect in entering a restaurant was not there. The staff who was present would not initiate any conversation with me. It feels like I was more of a nuisance to them when I arrived.

The place looks relatively clean. I did not notice any hazardous materials neither

I proceed to request what they have available and with an attitude that seems to be against themselves they helped. When I asked if they have a business card to order in the future, they did not have anything like that available. It was not long for me to understand that the people working at the restaurant don't know anything about customer services. They did not seem to care either.

According to other people in the area, Adolphe Take Out restaurant has been in business for a while. It seems to me that the reason it has been able to remain in business is their price. They are also a wholesaler in the food business.

I would not refer someone to Adolphe Take Out restaurant because of their lack of customer skill. The only way I would come to eat at the restaurant is if there is nothing else available in the area

Adolphe Take Out Restaurant in Little Haiti
Address: 215 Ne 82 Street, Miami, FL 33138
305-751-8075

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You will never understand the beauty of Haitian cuisine unless you unveil the mystery of Creole menu in The Bakery Cafe Restaurant located in Little Haiti in Miami. Suppose you have heard a lot and like to taste grilled fish in a Haitian restaurant. However, you will be in the darkness as it is listed there in disguise as "Poisson". Similarly, you love chicken a lot but dare to taste "poul"; so you have to miss the taste of an exquisite delicacy of boiled chicken marinated in sour orange, lemon juice, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper and other seasonings. It is fried crispy before serving. Such list for missing items may be endless: Legim is a wonderful thick vegetable stew at The Bakery Cafe Restaurant in Little Haiti. Gumbo is similar to sausage with enough crab and miniscule shrimp, taso kabrit is goat meat, griot is fried pork chunks and there are many more. Eating at a family-run Haitian restaurant such as The Bakery Cafe Restaurant in Little Haiti may be your life time experience.

The Bakery Cafe Restaurant in Little Haiti
8250 NE 2nd Ave, Miami 33138
(At NE 82nd Terrace)

(305) 751-2331

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