Canarsie’s TriniJam BK is Feeding The Neighborhood with Family Recipes and Terrific Caribbean Comfort Foods

By Scott Lynch

Calvin and Latoya Sennon have lived in Canarsie for almost 30 years. They met in high school here, they fell in love here, they raised their kids here. Their roots are planted deep in this community, and it means a lot to them.

Also important to the Sennons? Their heritage. He’s Trinidadian, she’s Jamaican, and though neither of them had any experience running a restaurant, every time they walked past the old Anna Napoli building on the corner of Flatlands and 95th—which was a lot of times, since their home is just a few blocks way—they fantasized about turning the space into some sort of celebration of their beloved Island cuisines.

Then about six years ago, after a series of happy coincidences and a big leap of faith, the Sennons bought the building. And on August 8, 2020, TriniJam BK was born. “I am not a professional chef,” Calvin Sennon told Brooklyn Magazine. “I’m a union carpenter. Local 608. But I love cooking, and food has always been our passion, and at TriniJam, we serve Caribbean comfort food. We really try not to chef it up too much. We’ll give you a nice plate, a nice presentation, but we really want you to taste the dishes we grew up with.”

(Photo by Scott Lynch)

The menu touches on favorites from several different Caribbean countries and traditions, but Sennon is quick to point out that TriniJam BK is not a “fusion” restaurant. Trinidad, Jamaica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and plenty more are in the house, but each dish here, he says, is authentic to its place of origin.

Curry goat roti, $25.95 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

The curry goat, for example, is Trini to the core, and it’s awesome. The meat is tender and fatty, seasoned with an unapologetic hand, and hacked in bite-sized bits. If you want (and you definitely want), you can get your curry served with an insanely large roti, prepared buss up style, and a couple of vegetable or starchy sides. If curry chicken is more your thing, they have that too.

Jerk chicken, $18.95 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Grenada’s national dish, Oil Down (Photo by Scott Lynch)

The jerk chicken comes courtesy of Latoya Sennon’s family recipe—it’s smoky, spicy, and sauced with restraint. And it’s very good, as is the special we ordered—Grenada’s national dish, an Oil Down, which is a stew of chicken, smoked pig tails, breadfruit, and bitter callaloo in a rich sauce that made us glad we still had some of that buss up left over from the curry to sop it all up.

Lucian green fig salad, $12.95 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

One of the best dishes I’ve eaten this year was the Lucian green fig salad, just a pile of sliced green banana-cooked soft, but not mushy-tossed with shredded bits of codfish, pickled onions and peppers, and a bunch of different herbs. It’s refreshing, hearty, and zingy all at the same time.

Escovitch shrimp with roasted breadfruit, $26.95 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Ackee and saltfish roll, $13.95 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

The ackee and saltfish rolls were also delicious, a mess of seafood, fruit, and herbs wrapped up and deep fried until crackling on the outside. We had a terrific escovitch shrimp dish as well, loaded with that pickled holy trinity (onions, green peppers, red peppers) and slabs of beautiful roasted breadfruit.

TriniJam also houses a whole separate takeout operation, with a separate entrance and a fully stocked steam table. And the Sennons keep a beehive on the roof! Shoutout to Will at the Infatuation for putting this place on our radar. Located an easy walk from the last stop on the L and featuring a big room that tips toward a party, blasting soca and slinging $17 cocktails.

TriniJam BK is located at 9501 Flatlands Avenue, at the corner of East 95th Street, and is currently open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8:00. Closed Monday and Tuesday