Eating Along the Q Line: Sybil’s Bakery & Restaurant in Flatbush is the place for Guyanese cuisine
Denise Bernard's popular spot caters to those from the South American country, but also offers a wide range of international fare
By Elyse Inamine / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, July 1, 2012, 6:00 AM
Jeff Bachner for New York Daily News
Denise Bernard, owner of Sybil's Restaurant & Bakery on Church Ave in Brooklyn
There are no secret spices or tricky techniques when it comes to making traditional Guyanese treats.
Just time and patience, says Denise Bernard, owner of popular Brooklyn Guyanese eatery Sybil’s Bakery & Restaurant.
“Most people in my country can cook this, but they just don’t want to,” she says. “It’s a lot of work.”
Together, Bernard and sister Gina McCarthy run the canary-colored restaurant located near the Q line’s Church Ave. station.
The pair learned to make the dishes from the restaurant’s namesake: their mom Sybil Bernard-Kerrutt.
Bernard-Kerrutt, a Guyanese native, started off selling West Indian comfort food from her Far Rockaway kitchen. In 1976, the Queens resident opened her now-famous restaurant.
Sybil’s has since expanded to four locations along the East Coast, in Brooklyn, Queens and Florida, and each one is manned by one of Sybil’s children.
Growing up, Bernard was Mom’s kitchen companion. She still remembers whipping up batches of round tennis rolls and pineapple jam-filled pine tarts — both of which are still on the shelves at Sybil’s Brooklyn branch.
On the menu, the restaurant offers seemingly far-flung foods, but Sybil’s most popular dishes actually reflect the many who called Guyana home at one time.
“Guyanese are a diverse people,” Bernard says. “When they settled over there, everyone brought their specialties, and it becomes Guyanese food.”
Diners can taste a little bit of India in the spicy curry goat and roti.
Chicken lo mein is just like the Chinese original, with thin, springy noodles and sautÉed veggies.
Pepperpot, a meat stew seasoned with molasses, cassava juices and cinnamon sticks, comes from the country’s native Amerindians.
Chicken and beef patties, filled with carrots and peas and enclosed in a flaky crust, evoke British meat pies.
Everything at Sybil’s is made from scratch and with local ingredients. Their fresh take on Guyanese staples is what keeps customers coming back for more.
“It reminds me of home,” says diner Janice Blackburn, 53. “What they have here is what we have back home.”
Sybil’s Bakery & Restaurant, 2210 Church Ave, Brooklyn. (718) 469-9049.
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