Debe

Debe is a town in south Trinidad whose main road is lined with stalls selling Indo-Trinidadian street food, and it has become the place people drive to for it: doubles, the curried chickpea sandwich in two pieces of fried bara that is the national breakfast; saheena, split pea and spinach fritters; baiganee, aloo pie, kachourie and pholourie, all fried to order and eaten with tamarind and pepper sauce. The stalls work from the afternoon into the night.

Background

Debe first gained importance as a train stop in the era of sugar cane production, and after the sugar industry closed it stayed known for doubles and other local food. It has since grown from a small settlement into a transit point that has partly merged with Penal, and its population stood at 7200 in 2016. The Namdevco wholesale market for farm produce here is the largest in the country. Chutney music is thought to have begun in the Barrackpore-Debe-Penal area. The Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway was extended to Debe in 2013, and building of the University of the West Indies south campus started in 2012. Parvati Girls College was founded by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha.

Source: Wikipedia, "Debe"

What's there

• The doubles - curried chickpeas between two pieces of fried bara, made to order.
• The fried snacks - saheena, baiganee, aloo pie, kachourie and pholourie.
• The chutneys - tamarind, mango and pepper sauces served with everything.
• The stall strip - the run of vendors along the main road.

When to go

Year round; stalls work from the afternoon into the night and weekends are busiest. Divali brings crowds. Mornings are quiet as most stalls open later.

Things to know

It is roadside eating with limited seating and no facilities. Traffic on the main road is heavy and parking is improvised. Pepper sauce here is genuinely hot and asking for slight is wise.

Nearby

San Fernando is north, and Moruga is east.