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It was 4 a.m., and syncopated, snare-heavy poured from a nearby truck, its flatbed filled with enormous black speakers. The music's intense rhythms echoed inside my chest. 

My feet moved to the beat, and I swayed my hips and arms in a kind of figure eight — one among hundreds of mud and paint-covered celebrants through the alleys and thoroughfares of Trinidad's Port of Spain.   

Together, we were a parade. Joy, music and energy carried us along. Soon, we would feast on , a sandwich-like street food comprising fried flatbread and curried chickpea filling.  

The Start of a Celebration

This was one small part of my experience playing J’ouvert. French for “day break,” J'ouvert is a Trinidadian celebration that kicks off Trinidad and Tobago's annual Carnival — and it has roots in resistance.  

In the early 1800s, Great Britain brought enslaved West Africans to Trinidad and Tobago. (Though it was then under British colonial rule, it was a French colony at multiple points prior; thus, its earliest colonizing settlers were French.) 

The French held elaborate pre-Lent masquerade parties. In defiance of rules forbidding their participation, : singing, drumming, dancing, and mocking plantation owners.

These parties, alongside the traditions of Canboulay (a nighttime festival celebrated at the end of the sugarcane harvest), enabled enslaved people to celebrate community and keep their cultural traditions alive. Today, members of the Caribbean diaspora celebrate Carnival all over the world.

A Taste of J'ouvert in Brooklyn

Though I didn't make it to Trinidad for this year's J'ouvert, a trip to in Brooklyn takes me right back to that 4 a.m. festival. 

A 2019 recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s American Classics Award, the restaurant has been serving Trinidadian fare since 2002. 

Mixing savory and sweet flavors, their doubles are made with fluffy, chewy flatbreads that envelop a delicious chickpea filling. Optional (but highly recommended) toppings include mango, tamarind, and pepper sauces.

As much as the food, the restaurant's sounds, smells and décor make me feel like I’m in the Caribbean. Flags from island nations hang on the walls, soca music plays in the background, and there’s always a cricket match on the TV.

Doubles for Carnival 2025

Restaurants and food have an uncanny ability to evoke memories; transport us to faraway places; and introduce us to histories and cultures different from our own. 

Carnival will be celebrated in Trinidad & Tobago March 3-4 this year, and though I wish I could be there again, I'm glad there are places like Brooklyn's A&A Bake & Shop to remind me of why I fell in love with its food and festivals in the first place.