- [Prez] My name is Prez, I work at Thrillist.
Around these parts I'm known as the 5 Dollar Lunch Guy.
Every episode I'm going to put you guys
onto the very finest New York grub for $5 or less.
Oh, oh, OK, hello.
Happy birthday?
Dude, it's not my birthday.
Oh, it is my birthday.
Beef patty, yeah!
All right guys now I thought we were getting
nostalgic with salt fish, but beef patty is the next level.
You can't live in New York as a Jamaican kid
and not consider yourself a bit of a beef patty connoisseur.
Now the beef patty, the iconic pastry is
elevating itself beyond just the Caribbean community.
And is available in most major retailers like Costco,
Walmart, and even the New York City public school system
served over 3 million of them in 2016 alone.
Now I really wouldn't trust a public school beef patty,
but I do hear that Tastee Pattee in Bed-Stay is a hidden gem
for anybody looking for an authentic Jamaican flavor.
It's five bucks somewhere.
Guess where we're going?
Have you ever had a Jamaican beef patty before?
- I have.
- Yes, I have.
- I have not.
- You haven't, OK.
Beef patty is just kind of seasoned up beef with curry.
- Like an empanada.
- There you go, it's kind of like an empanada.
What is your favorite thing about it?
- Um, I like that it's crunchy on the outside.
Um, and that there's meat in the inside.
- OK.
- Almost like a sandwich on the go kind of.
- Sandwich on the go.
- It's either spicy or it's regular
with cheese or without cheese.
It's just a regular beef patty you get from a store.
- It's clear that the beef patty
has transcended the Caribbean
community and become something that
people all over the city enjoy.
I mean, come on, it's perfect:
You can eat it with one hand and no mess.
You can't beat that.
This is the spot, 1371 Fulton [Street].
Prime location.
Right on the corner.
Well it's not much to at look on on the outside.
I'm sure I'm going to get hit with amazing
smell as soon as I step through that door.
From out here it kind of looks like
there's only a handful of seats,
but I think we can nab one.
Let's get inside.
Is this your first time here at Tastee Pattee?
- No, Tastee Pattee is my joint.
I come here all the time,
because their food is awesome.
- What are you getting here today?
- I'm going to get a little callaloo,
crawfish, fried dumpling, plantains.
I recommend for you eat meat or your vege?
- I'm going to go meat.
- OK: meat curry goat.
- Ooh.
- Or oxtail.
- I might have to hit that up.
- Yeah, that's good.
- So we're actually here for the beef patty.
How can you tell a good beef patty from a bad beef patty?
Especially in New York City.
- When you order it you go and you open it,
it got to be that steam is coming right out it.
Hot.
And when you bite it, you taste that freshness.
The meat fresh.
When you open the patty, the bad one now.
When you open it, it's cold and meat look extra white.
Stay away from that.
I'll get a belly ache.
- Yeah.
So this is my first time here at Tastee Pattee.
What do people need to know about this place?
- Well, it's a Caribbean restaurant.
We specialize in Jamaican food
that most likely for a patty, the Tastee Pattee.
The oxtail, jerk chicken, and a jerk pork:
it's amazing.
- What would you say is the most popular dish here?
- Oxtail.
- The oxtail?
- Yep.
- But how many of those do you sell maybe a day?
- A lot.
- You can't even count.
- I'm here for the beef patty,
but I think I'm going to do two this time.
I'll get a beef patty and a chicken patty, please.
- OK.
- How much would that be?
- $2 each.
- $2 each?
- Yeah.
- Perfect, all right, thank you.
- Here's your change, I'll get your patties.
- Thank you.
Roll over.
- Your beef patties ready.
- Ah, thank you so much, I appreciate it.
- All right, come again.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- Ah, look at that thing.
Come here, come here and look at this.
Let's break it apart a little bit.
Ooh, you got that nice flake and ready.
Oh man.
Ah.
You know she wasn't joking, you know a good patty when you
open it and it's steaming on the inside.
That means it's fresh.
Let's go for it.
Um, wow.
(camera clicking)
Holy crap.
Fresh, it's hot, it's good.
Oh yes.
Straight off the bat, this is the perfect size.
Even a little bit bigger than what you
might get in a lot of other shops,
but it's still fits perfectly in one hand,
which makes it the perfect food.
Yo, straight-up, the aroma is like super-enticing.
Of course I'm smelling the curry, the thyme.
a little bit of onion.
This is absolutely mouthwatering.
Listen, you know a good beef patty when the crust
is flakey, and that's absolutely what it's doing right now.
So what you're getting a lot of times
is that people are putting a
extra accoutrement in their beef patties.
Patties in general sometimes cheese,
sometimes Tabasco sauce.
It's not really traditional.
To each their own,
but for me, if it ain't broke, you don't have to fix it.
Listen: This meat patty is absolutely fantastic,
but even if you're not in the beef patty mood,
you can come down here and get any one of dozens of
fresh classic Jamaican dishes like oxtail,
jerk chicken, brown stew.
I mean, everything's made in-house fresh.
So there's something here for everyone.
So do you know on YouTube, there are people
kind of trying to finagle on how to eat a meat patty.
It's kind of like the Jamaican
"how to eat a Reese's" campaign.
I say don't overthink it and just dive in --
mouth first, of course.
Um.
Best part: I got another one, ha.
Oh yeah.
I just had two patties for four bucks.
I'm absolutely stuffed.
Let's take this outside.
And ah, if you're looking for an authentic Jamaican taste,
head down on the AC, hop out on Nostrand
and check out Tastee Pattee.
And tell them Prez sent you.
Maybe they'll give me ah discount next time.
You know what I'm saying.
Hook your boy up.
With that being said, today's mission
was an absolute success.
It's in budget, it's not a big chain, and it's damn good.
Anyways I'm going to get out of this rain.
I'll see you guys later.
(camera clicking)
Hey what's going on guys?
Thanks so much for watching my show.
If you have any suggestions of where we should go next time.
Leave them in the comments below.
Also follow us on Instagram @5dollarlunchguy.
I repeat, @5dollarlunchguy.
And other than that, follow, like share, subscribe
and I will see you guys next time.
Peace.