Celebrate Haitian Heritage Month at local restaurants and bars: Brockton Eats with Alisha

BROCKTON – Celebrate Haitian Heritage Month by indulging in the deep flavors of Haiti by visiting local restaurants in the Brockton area and beyond.

Haiti is best known for its food, culture, music, vibrant fruits, and vegetation. Haitians all around are turning up this month, especially on Haitian Flag Day on May 18, to show love for their country.

On this week's installment of Brockton Eats with Alisha, we are visiting local Haitian food spots known in the Brockton area for their delectable fried griot (crispy pork), pikliz, rice and beans, and island cocktails. Events to attend surrounding Haitian Flag Day will be added towards the end of the article.

Navèt 1804 – local Haitian Rum brand

Navèt 1804 isn't a restaurant but an excellent choice of rum that embodies the flavors of Haiti. The rum is made from sugarcane juice, a unique spirit to Haiti called clairin, which translates to clear in Creole. According to the brand's founders, Haiti is known to produce "the best sugarcane in the world," which makes their rum so special.

Nativé 1804 officially launched their rum brand at Blanchard's at 102 Westgate Drive, Brockton.

Try this rum in a nice mojito or caipirinha.

American Food Basket - 300 N. Main St., Randolph

One self-taught local chef brings all his talents to Randolph and serves fresh Haitian food daily at American Food Basket.

At the grocery store, you can find a buffet of Haitian food, including mac' n cheese, plantains, rice and beans, various meats, Haitian spaghetti, stewed chicken, fried pork, and more.

The menu is filled with traditional and non-traditional items, including rice and beans, pasta, legumes (a vegetable and meat stew), and fried turkey, prepared the Haitian way: cleaned in vinegar, salt, and lemon, seasoned with epis and other vegetables, cooked in its juices, and deep fried to a crisp.

Sherlie's Kitchen – 263 Court St., Brockton

Sherlie's Kitchen, on the east side of Brockton near the BAT Center, serves Haitian food the way the people know best: fried, steamed, and boiled.

The restaurant offers a mixture of classic Haitian and American cuisine. Popular Haitian dishes include fried pork (griot), turkey (kodenn), beef (tassot), and goat (cabrit), served with rice, beans, plantains, and pikliz (a spicy pickled vegetable coleslaw).

The owner opened the restaurant to pay homage to her mother, who taught her how to cook as a little girl. What makes her recipes so special is the long process of preparing them.

The meats are carefully washed in a hot bath of water, lemons, sour oranges, and vinegar. Then the cooks marinate the meats in epis, a wet seasoning consisting of garlic, bell pepper, scallion, Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce, onion, parsley, cilantro, thyme, ground cloves, and chicken bouillon cubes all blended to create a green paste.

After it's marinated overnight, the meat is cooked, then deep-fried, and served on a bed of rice and beans with hearty sides.

Kreyol 17 – 115 Legion Parkway, Brockton

Find a slice of Haiti in downtown Legion Parkway at Kreyol 17, a restaurant with a grab-and-go takeout style. Kreyol 17 serves classic creations such as fried chicken, salmon, plantains, steak, steamed vegetables, and oxtail.

Popular items include fried goat, green plantains, fried pig, fried turkey, sautéed wings, white rice, and house-made drinks.

The business cooks different dishes daily to give customers something new and exciting. Kreyol 17 is helping revitalize the downtown Legion Parkway, bringing in more foot traffic and giving people more food options.

Sister's Restaurant, 158 Montello St., Brockton

You can fill up your car and order a plate of Haitian food at Sister's Restaurant, located inside Royal Fuel. The business has been open for several years to serve the community foods from their culture. The food is made fresh daily and ready for purchase around noon.

You can grab a piping hot bowl of bouyon (Haitian vegetable soup with meat), soup Joumou (squash soup), Haitian spaghetti, lalo with rice and beans, fritay (assorted fried foods), and many more ready-to-eat options.

Top Notch Caribbean Cuisine — 352 North Main St., Randolph

Top Notch Caribbean Cuisine offers a mixture of Haitian and Jamaican cuisines, giving you the best of both Caribbean worlds with their rich flavors.

The best part about this restaurant is that you can trust that the meat is kosher, organic, hormone-free, and Halal-certified.

An added bonus to the restaurant is the health superfood store inside, which offers a variety of organic herbs, spices, supplements, hygiene products, and hot, ready-to-eat food.

They offer food ready for purchase with almost no downtime. You can choose from jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat, red snapper, curry chicken, stewed chicken, and kingfish with hearty sides of mac and cheese, vegetables, plantains, sliced cabbage, rice, and beans.

Tamboo Bistro — 252 Main St., Brockton

Tambo Bistro in downtown unlocks the city's vitality with food and delicious drinks.

Tamboo is not your ordinary restaurant, from the mood lighting to the artwork hanging on the walls to the elegant décor. The restaurant offers an upscale Boston feeling without the hefty price or 30-minute drive.

Once you've parked on Main Street, you can smell the wonderful dishes outside. The aromas are intoxicating, and you know something good awaits.

Customer favorites include red snapper steamed in sauce and spices, griot (fried pork), djon djon rice (black mushroom rice), coconut shrimp, fried plantains, and Caribbean chicken marinated in the sauce. The cocktail is notable for a twist of tropical Caribbean flavors of the Haitian persuasion, packed with imported Haitian rum.

Pyramid Bar Restaurant & Function Hall - 1040 Main St., Brockton

A new gem in Brockton has arrived! Pyramid bar and restaurant has a significant function hall, food, cocktails, and ambiance. On the weekends, the restaurant turns into a place where you can grab dinner and listen to a live DJ or band playing while enjoying something unique. The menu has classic Haitian dishes from rice and beans with plantains and fried and stewed meats.

Haitian Flag Day events

Haitian Flag Day celebration - 118 Central Street Norwood, May 18

Boston Haitian Flag Day Celebration – 1040 Main St. Brockton, May 18

Flag Day After Party Raggae Vs Konpa – 1040 Main St. Brockton, May 19

Alisha Saint-Ciel can be reached by email at stciela@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Haitian restaurants to celebrate Haitian Flag Day near Brockton