Welcome to Chicago’s taste of Haiti! As part of your culinary adventure at Kizin Creole, let us share with you a bit about Haitian cuisine. Haitian food is often compared with other Caribbean islands and classified together generally as « Caribbean cuisine. » However, Haiti maintains an independently unique flavor. Unlike its Spanish-influenced counterpart, the Dominican Republic, Haitian cuisine is based on Creole and French cooking styles. Strong pepper flavoring in many dishes also sets Haitian food apart from the other islands. Several dishes are specifically native to Haiti, including rice with djon-djon which requires Haitian black mushrooms, locally grown fungi. The stems of the mushrooms are used to color the rice black, then the mushroom caps with lima beans are used as a tasty topping. Pain patate, a sweetened potato, fig, and banana pudding, are other native dishes to Haiti. Bouyon (hearty Haitian soup with vegetables and meat) is traditionally served for lunch on Saturdays and Soup joumou (pumpkin soup) on Sundays.
