It all started about a year ago.  You know when you taste something and just can’t get it out of your head?  My husband and I were driving through Brooklyn, famished, and our usual West Indian haunts were closed.  We happened to drive by this one, completely unassuming restaurant in Crown Heights and watched in awe as grown men and women sashayed up to the door while Latin music bumped from the inside out.  One lady, with a slightly extra hip swing, had on a full jean-style jumpsuit.  Curiousity peaked, we went in.

It was a small dine-in, take-out spot with about 20 seats and a counter packed with people waiting for their orders.  Latin, Black, West Indian, Caucasian (and clearly one lone Indo-Pakistani/East African me…) were all patiently biding their time as the single waitress navigated the diners, avoiding eye contact when not wanting to be bothered, while the two ladies in the back kitchen hummed away as they took their sweet time filling the orders.

The wait worth it, the food Panamanian, and we had some of the best peas and rice ever.  I decided to go back recently, and again it did not disappoint.  I literally ordered everything they were serving that day – Latin-style stewed chicken, beef patties, corn fritters, curried kingfish, maduros, and braised beef, all served, of course, with the infamous peas and rice.  I realized at some point during the meal that my speed-eating from days spent in restaurant kitchens (where you have to scarf everything down in about 90 seconds between tasks) was paying off – I now can eat faster than my husband (a serious accomplishment).

I think everything cost around $25, and I was quite fat and happy with our discovery until I looked online.  It’s not sooo secret.  Time Out mentions it as does the Village Voice. Either way, for those of you adventurous to venture even further off the beaten path, this is the place to do it.