St. Vincent Bakery

Yeah, I know: codfish patties sound like something that you would find in your aquarium after your pet cod drops a deuce. And oildown sounds like something sexy that might happen to you on a beach in Grenada. But really, they’re both innocuous, non-​sexual food items served at St. Vincent Bakery.
The codfish patties ($ 1.50 each) are delicious: spicy, dry shredded salt cod – slightly chewy, with bits of onion, hot pepper, and unidentifiable bits of green herbs – folded into a pocket of flaky dough. Great stuff for $ 1.50 per patty. The bakery also sells some excellent, inexpensive currant and coconut rolls for $ 1-​$ 2, depending on the flavor.
And if you’re really lucky, the friendly people at the bakery will give you an oildown… but only on Saturdays, when the bakery is taken over by friendly Grenadians. Oildown is the national dish of Grenada, made from breadfruit, meat, and vegetables that have been simmered in coconut milk for hours and hours. When the dish is finished cooking, only a coating of coconut oil remains on the meat and veggies.
It isn’t exactly light fare, but oildown is pretty amazing. If you’re a carb lover, you gotta try breadfruit – it tastes like… well, bread dough that’s been tightly packed and coated with spices and coconut oil. And the dish contains a mixture of chicken and pig tails… which are underrated. Pigs apparently reserve their tastiest flesh for their tails. Who knew?

Formerly down Nostrand Avenue a few blocks to the south, this small bakery has recently relocated to this address. Luckily a friendly patron in the barber shop next door to the old location directed me to the right place when I peeked my head in to ask about the shuttered «Vincie Bakery» at 1729 Nostrand Avenue. St. Vincent is no holy person though, this name comes from the fact that its proprietors, who bought a new awning and made a slight adjustment to the name, come from the tiny Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
The pick of the litter are the salt fish patties ($ 1.30 each) which seem unassuming from the exterior but have a sharp spice bite within. They are slightly fishy, but that is easily overcome by these tasty spices.
There are many sugar-​loaded items, like any Caribbean bakery should have, including the staple sugar buns ($ 0.50) which would make a great snack at any time of day, a few coconut-​themed items, amongst others. Deciding between a couple pastries with coconut inside, I went for the bright pink one pictured below ($ 1.75) simply because it looked more interesting. It was a bit dry on the inside in places, but had enough coconut to satisfy. Combined with tea it becomes quite agreeable.