Walk up to Crown Bakery on a nice day and you might think you’ve wandered back in time. The men gathered outside playing cards and listening to bebop on the radio are straight out of the ’40s. They’re part of the charm of coming here, but this Trinidadian bakery earns kudos for the quality and consistency of its from-scratch cakes, pastries, and cookies.
The savory pastries ($2.25)—filled with chicken, beef, callaloo, salt cod, and more—are excellent, the outer shell delicate, the fillings satisfying. A handful of them, with an order of the sweet-corn soup, make a good meal to go. It’s hard to resist loading up on the sweets. The selection changes, but we’re partial to the sticky coconut rolls, buttery biscuit cakes, creamy almond layer cake, and flaky currant rolls. Open Monday through Thursday 11 to 11, Friday and Saturday 11 to midnight.
>> See all Dirt Cheap Eats Restaurants
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
