- [Prez] My name is Prez, and I work at Thrillist.
Around these parts, I'm known as the 5 Dollar Lunch Guy.
Every episode, I'm gonna put you guys
onto the very finest New York grub for $5 or less.
(Prez sighs)
Fishing, in New York?
Are you serious?
I mean, I know we're trying to save money but--
(grunts)
What if we catch a dead body?
OK, salted fish.
Thank God -- listen, I am no good on a witness stand,
but judging Jamaican food, I can do that.
I'm Jamaican, so I'm no stranger to salt fish.
Now, if I had to explain to somebody,
I would say that it's cod that's preserved in salt.
Then it's boiled to take off the salt crust
and rehydrate the fish.
Then, it's sautéed with
onions, peppers, sometimes fruit like ackees.
But when you think about it,
the name's really not that sexy.
It's literally salted fish.
But today, we're headed to Rowe's Restaurant in Bed-Stuy,
where I hear the Jamaican food is legit.
But when my base reference is my mom's home cooking,
this might be our most difficult mission yet.
It's five bucks somewhere.
Do the drop.
(jazzy music)
Have you ever had Jamaican food before?
- Um, once.
- I love Jamaican food. It's one of my favorite kinds.
- I have.
- What do you love about Jamaican food?
- Ooh, curry goat, rice and peas.
I mean, you got morning dishes as well like porridge.
- Oxtail.
- I'm not from New York, but that's the classic...
It's the, what's the name of the--
- Beef patty. There you go, you got it.
- Rasta pasta, I had sorrel.
- Jerk chicken.
- Have you ever heard of a dish called salt fish?
- No. - Bacalao, maybe?
Another name? - Yes.
- Bacalao, they have the same one in Portugal.
- They have the same one in Portugal, right?
- For breakfast, right?
- For breakfast, there you go, good!
If you have to describe it for somebody who's never had it,
what would you tell them it is?
- I'd tell them it's like the jerky of fish.
- Mmm, oh that's so good!
- The skin is dehydrated, so it absorbs better,
the ingredients.
- Do you feel like salt fish maybe serves the proper name
to kind of make it sound appetizing?
- I think they could get a better name.
I don't know if I'd try it.
I mean, fish jerky, maybe?
- Oh, fish jerky!
- Sexy name?
Rihanna fish.
- Ooh, OK OK. I could do with that.
- I would probably eat a Rihanna fish in the morning.
- I would eat a Rihanna fish every day of the week.
I am so sorry.
A lot of folks are more familiar with jerk and oxtail
when they think of Jamaican food.
But they might be more likely to grab a salt fish
if it was called, like, Jamaican Breakfast
or Fisherman's Delight or Sexy Yum Yum Times.
You know what I mean?
Here we are 310 Tompkins [Avenue], Rowe's Restaurant.
No frills on the outside.
That makes me think they maybe have a poppin'
delivery and takeout situation inside.
And I can smell the food from over here,
so let's go inside.
Hey, what's goin' on, man, how you doin'?
- I'm good, man, and you?
- I'm good, I'm fantastic.
So, this is my first time to Rowe's Restaurant.
What do people need to know about this place?
- Wow, we started this business approximately 13 years ago.
We brought our recipe from back home
which is No. 1 in the world.
And the recipe we don't really discuss with anybody else.
It's typically Rowe's recipe.
- What is your favorite dish here?
- My favorite dish? - Mm-hmm.
- Oh my God. - Puttin' you under pressure.
- No, my favorite dish is jerk chicken.
- Jerk chicken? - Yes.
- OK, OK, so I'm here for the salt fish.
So I'll take the salt fish with the fried dumpling,
and yeah, I guess I'll find out how good it is.
- Most definitely.
- All right, thanks so much.
(jazzy music)
- Yo, $5 family, look at this thing.
Jesus!
I don't know if I've ever seen so much food
for $5.
Here we go, guys.
Godd*mn.
Mmm, you know, I gotta say,
these flavors are incredible, very intense,
and they immediately transport me back to my childhood.
I mean, minus the fact that I used to dress like a slob,
but I mean, let's stick to the food here.
Look at these colors.
Of course you have the red and the green
from the peppers and tomatoes.
And of course you get a nice kicking of onion,
which will lend itself nicely to flavor.
If I had to compare salt fish to anything,
for people who might not know what salt fish is,
I would say it's like if bacon and sardines had a baby.
You get the saltiness from the bacon,
but of course you get the texture of a sardine.
The way that all of the different ingredients kind of
find their way into every nook and cranny of a pulled meat,
this is is the same kind of texture
and the same kind of effect.
Take a look how big this is.
If you go to a lot of other Jamaican joints,
they're much smaller than this, they're not as,
they're just kind of like a round fried ball,
which is kind of cute, I still mess with it, but.
A proper fried dumpling has a thin crust on the outside,
and it's super soft and sweet inside.
Look at that.
Light crust.
Now the most popular way to eat salt fish is with ackee,
which is Jamaica's national dish.
But you can also pair it with fried dumplings,
boiled dumplings, yams, green bananas.
And those things are called ground provisions.
Why they're called ground provisions in Jamaica,
I don't know, but if you do, leave it in the comments below.
(jazzy music)
Now a little back story on this dish
is that this is 100% started as a working man's dish.
Of course you get the protein from the fish,
but you also get a lot of starch from the fried dumpling,
and the fried dumpling will sit in your guts,
and you will be full all day long, which works for me.
So good.
Mmm, wow.
Last bite.
Wow, I gotta say this has been an incredible meal.
I am stuffed, it's time to go pay.
Hey, listen, that was absolutely incredible.
I gotta say, that's probably
top-10 salt fish I've ever had.
How much do I owe you?
- $5.25 - $5.25, all right.
Got a little bit of rollover, there you go.
- Thank you, man.
- And here's your change.
- Thank you so much.
- And have a good day.
- Thank you so much.
- And make sure you come back.
- Oh, for sure, I will 100% be back.
- And bring company with you, companies.
- Yes, many companies!
- OK, take care, man.
- Today's mission was salted fish
here at Rowe's Restaurant in Bed-Stuy.
Now, whether you're looking for your first Jamaican bite
or you're looking to explore
the flavors of your childhood like me,
this place will definitely hook you up.
And, on top of that, good food, good people,
and good vibes only.
Today's mission was an outstanding success.
It's in budget, it's not a big chain,
and it's on par with my mom's recipe, so it's damn good.
Anyways, guys, I'll see you later, peace.
(camera noises)
Hey, what's goin on, guys?
Thank you so much for watching my show.
If you have any suggestions of where we should go next time,
leave them in the comments below.
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