It’s an unwritten rule of lunchtime that whatever food you’re eating should be somehow encased in a layer of bread or alternate form of carbohydrates. Yet despite the waning popularity of the Atkins diet, few establishments are bold enough to up the ante and serve lunch encased in two layers of said carbs. You wouldn’t wrap a quesadilla in a taco shell, throw a bagel sandwich on a sub roll, or stuff spaghetti inside a bread bowl. OK, well at least most of you wouldn’t do that last one.
Fortunately, Jamaicans (well, specifically the Jamaican Buff Patty lunch counter by my house in Brooklyn) observe no such standards of carbohydrate restraint. I was shocked/delighted to learn that their patties — which come with beef, veggies or jerk chicken inside — are not only surrounded by a crispy fried shell, but that shell is then wrapped inside a hefty hunk of coco bread. Insane? Genius? Both, I say. You get crispy carbs and doughy carbs in each and every bite. Now that’s what I call a lunch.
PS – this concoction costs a whopping $2.50 — cheapest lunch ever.
PPS – Yes, I went for a 5-mile run afterwards. No, I don’t think that burned off all the carbs I consumed.