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21 Catt. 1: In re Caribbean Cafe Truck

2013 June 5
by JEREMY, C.J.

JEREMY, C.J., delivered the opinion of the Cart. CATTLEYA, J., wrote a separate concurrence.

We granted cartiorari to Caribbean Cafe Truck (CCT), a downtown mobile gastronomic enterprise, on the question(s) of its beef patty and coco bread.

As a point of introduction, we had initially decided to grant cartiorari only to CCT’s beef patty. The beef patty–a bright golden affair filled with seasoned ground beef–is a staple of Jamaican street food. (No further explanation is needed to determine that a Jamaican patty, like an empanada, pasty, and other stuffed pastries, meets our test for “street food” and is therefore entitled to the presumption of affirmance. See, e.g., In re Rolls on Rolls, 13 Catt. 3 (2012) (a samosa is “street food”). We were eager to sample CCT’s take on this classic street food.

Caribbean Cafe Truck

Caribbean Cafe Truck

In preliminary research, my clerk happened upon a fascinating image: a beef patty ensconced in coco bread. Coco bread is a fairly heavy, fairly starchy bread made with a bit of coconut milk (or maybe it’s just split open like a coconut) and imparting a subtle touch of sweetness, cut in half and, apparently, often stuffed with a Jamaican beef patty. That’s right: a pastry-filled sandwich. Articles on both the Jamaican patty and coco bread corroborated this image. There were many more images. The Grey Lady reported on it back in 2005. An online Jamaican grocery verified it. So there you have it: a carb sandwich.

And why not? It makes some intuitive sense as street food. Bread, like my sister’s talk, is relatively cheap and, though generally lacking in substance, fills you up quickly wanting no more, as we found out. So why not wrap a pastry in more bread? And so we ordered a beef patty and a coco bread from CCT and assembled for ourselves a park-bench meal.

Coco Bread & Beef Patty

Coco Bread & Beef Patty

The predominant flavor of the beef patty sandwich is heavy–given the nature of our work, the Justices of this truck are no strangers to heaviness–but the sandwich was, I daresay, gastronomically harmonious: the cakiness of the coco bread, the turmeric-tinted flakiness of the patty crust, and the stewed beef core. A Red Stripe probably would have helped wash it down. (On second thought, I should have ordered a ginger beer.) Overall, the patty sandwich satisfied more traditional goals of street food: quick, simple, moderately satisfying food that is sold cheaply ($5) and fills you up fast. See, e.g., In re Street Vendor Near National Mall, 9 Catt. 5 (2012).

Coco Bread Stuffed with Beef Patty

Coco Bread Stuffed with Beef Patty

As for the patty itself, the crust was very good–just flaky enough and a beautiful color. It held up without giving way to the filling. The filling–the spiced ground beef–was good. It was perhaps not as hot as I might have expected of a cuisine I associate with the Scotch bonnet pepper–having lived my entire childhood with an ancient bottle of Bajan pepper sauce in my refrigerator, I might have unreasonable expectations of West Indian heat–but it was nicely flavored. Not a complex profile, but certainly a satisfying one.

Coco Bread & Beef Patty Sandwich

Coco Bread & Beef Patty Sandwich

Given the presumption of affirmance for true street food, I would certainly affirm both the patty sandwich and the beef patty by itself. Even without the presumption, however, I would affirm. Beside the relative novelty of a carb sandwich, this is a decent presentation of world street food at its most prototypical. It’s nice to see that nod to tradition in a scene that seems increasingly taken with what is essentially streetside take-out.

AFFIRMED.

CATTLEYA, J., concurring.

Despite the unprovoked attack in my brother’s words, he reaches the same conclusion that my “cheap talk” would, except he talked in circles before finally arriving to the point: “the patty sandwich satisfied more traditional goals of street food: quick, simple, moderately satisfying food that is sold cheaply . . . and fills you up fast.”

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