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- D Roti Hut: A Trinidadian Gem in Queens Village
D Roti Hut: A Trinidadian Gem in Queens Village
Roti, aka ‘Buss up shot’ from D Roti Hut
Rating: 8.9/10
I’m a big proponent of the New York subway system. Want to go from the Upper East Side to Herald Square? Take the Q. From Midtown to Flushing? Hop on the 7. From Union Square to Crown Heights? Get on the 4 or 5. You get the idea. As grungy and delayed as the subway system may be, there is no denying the ability to navigate from points A to Z traversing its multitude of lines. When it comes to the above-ground MTA methods of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North, my feelings change. Just a lot more effort, you know?
And so with that in mind, I initially balked at my friend’s suggestion to take the LIRR to meet for post-work Trinidadian food. After a half-hearted session of laboring against the idea of joining the ‘Bridges & Tunnels’ crowd on the way home, I relented, settling into my seat on the LIRR amid the torrent of those heading back to the worst place on earth, Long Island (half joking, half not).
“This better be worth it,” I thought to myself as I transferred at the Jamaica station from the Ronkonkoma line to a Hempstead-bound train where my friend would be waiting for me at Queens Village station. However much I wanted to hate it, I knew the extra effort would likely pay off, as these excursions often but not always do.
The reason for the trek of the week was D Roti Hut, a Trinidadian steam table restaurant in Queens Village that I’d previously visited 2-3 times. After driving several minutes from the station, we found parking and moseyed down the industrial-looking block and into the restaurant. The ladies that run the place are as kind as can be, and their patience never wavered despite our litany of menu questions. Simultaneously, a steady trickle of patrons came in, mostly ordering doubles and roti by the armful (don’t worry, we let all of them go ahead of us in line). |  The inside of D Roti Hut |
After scouring the day’s offerings, which included items like stewed chicken, beef, and lamb, I ordered a plate of the stewed oxtail with ‘buss up shot’, a roti that literally translates to ‘busted up shirt’ due to the tattered look that unveils flaky layers of dough. My friend opted for a vegetarian plate filled with eggplant, tomato stew, bok choy, and stewed mango, along with a denser-looking bread called sada roti. He also added an order of doubles, a traditional breakfast item consisting of chickpea curry sandwiched between fry bread. I am no expert on Trinidadian food, but it feels like a mix of Caribbean and Indian flavors. As ChatGPT confirmed, the mix of flavors can be traced back to 19th-century indentured Indian servitude.
 Stewed oxtail with potatoes |  Vegetable platter with sada roti |
The Food:
Where do I begin. When I picked up the roti and extended my arms, it spread out as big as a tire. I hungrily ripped off a piece, and in the process exposed layer after layer of flaky dough like a Russian Babushka doll. Soft as a warm blanket, with a distinct chewy texture. I took the bread and dipped it into the oxtail stew. A deep wave of flavor rushed over me. Anise, bay leaf perhaps? It didn’t matter. I separated some fatty oxtail meat from the bone and inhaled in one bite. The oxtail melted. Divine.
 Doubles, fry bread with chickpeas and sauce. A breakfast staple in Trinidad | While one might expect stewed oxtail to be tasty at a number of places, what I didn’t expect to enjoy equally if not more than the oxtail were the stewed vegetables. At first it started out platonic. The bok choy was very flavorful but nothing that knocked my socks off. However, the stewed eggplant and the stewed tomato brought me from platonic to romantic in a heartbeat. Both tomato and eggplant were smoky, garlicky, and packed with flavor. Like the good boy I am, I repeatedly scooped up the stewed veg with torn pieces of roti. If my love of carbs hasn’t been obvious, it is now (but hey, who doesn’t love carbs). |
Do you ever have a bite of food and feel like it’s so far outside the realm of previous experiences that you don’t know what to think? The stewed mango fits this profile. I love mango. Fresh mango, thai mango on sticky rice, mango smoothies, pudding, you name it I eat it. What I hadn’t had before D Roti Hut was hot and savory stewed mango. The chefs create the dish by slicing up mangoes, pit intact with skin on, and cooking them for hours. What ensues is a dark syrupy stew with little pieces of mango breaking the surface like minature canoes. Add in some seasoning both spicy and acidic (reminds me of chamoy), and you have yourself one of the most confusing and complex dishes I have ever tasted. It’s both sweet and savory, chewy and soft, and hot like apple pie that’s just come out of the oven.
We polished off as much food as we could. Despite what felt like my 100th bite of roti, I looked down to see at least half of it remaining. As much as I told myself to stop, I kept reaching for the roti. "My head says no, my heart says yes, my mouth says 'nother round."
Overall:
D Roti Hut is a gem, the kind of place where the staff is as nice as the food is tasty. A spot where the influx of patrons seems to come from all walks of life to enjoy meals that are both nourishing and affordable. The D must stand for Divine.
Address: 208-01 Jamaica Ave, Queens Village, NY 11428