#81 – PEANUT PUNCH at ALI’S TRINIDAD ROTI SHOP

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

How does Time Out find some of these places? I know they have quite a few food writers who live in Brooklyn and they scour Queens and Manhattan for all the latest hot spots and ethnic restaurants. But how did they find this place all the way in the middle of the Bronx. Who travels to the Bronx? Seriously?

Well, I guess this shows Time Out’s dedication and versatility. If it wasn’t for this list, I would have never discovered Ali’s Trinidad Roti Shop. It’s not near Yankee Stadium or the Bronx Zoo. And I can’t find anything about it on Chowhound.

I would have been less surprised (and impressed) if Time Out wrote about one of the other Ali’s Roti Shops in the city – three other more famous unrelated Ali’s are situated in Brooklyn (Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, and Prospect Gardens). And while this Ali’s is not too far a walk from the 2, 3 train at 233rd Street in Wakefield, it still feels way out of the way and truly undiscovered. And the plexiglass on the ordering window makes you realize you’re not in Manhattan anymore.

And what surprised me even more is that the list item Time Out included was not one of their famous rotis or doubles (we had one of each and they were both quite good), but a bottled beverage that was written on the menu down a list of unusual concoctions. This is called the Peanut Punch and it comes in a plastic bottle. If the label didn’t correct me, I would have thought this was manufactured somewhere else and Ali’s just sold it.

Turns out Peanut Punch is a popular drink (along with sorrel and mauby root) in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s a rich drink made from peanut butter, milk, sugar and spices. And a little dash of something called “essence.”

The initial sip was wonderfully creamy, like a peanut butter milkshake all hopped up on Christmas. Nutmeg and cinnamon were the most prominent flavors. But the finish had a strange subtle syrupy flavor that reminded me of amaretto (maybe that’s the essence). It was a little too sweet on top of all that rich peanutty punch.

And as much as we tried, it was next to impossible to finish the whole bottle. Some of the sips were pleasant, but the richness and sweet essence finally got the best of us. Even if we didn’t finish the drink, I’m glad that Time Out steered me this far into the Bronx to try something that would not have been immediately on my radar. Now maybe I can influence somebody else to do the same.

Would Ali’s Roti Shop’s Peanut Punch make my Top 100 of the year? The drink was a bit too rich and sweet for my tastes so it gets a 6 out of 10, but it’s a nice unusual drink for those that love peanut buttery confections.