"Founder Sybil Bernard-Kerrutt, a hairdresser who immigrated to the city from Guyana, started selling bread to friends to make rent and support her family. In 1976, she opened her first bakery in Jamaica, and later this location, their flagship in South Richmond Hill. A striking yellow and turquoise triangular building on Liberty Ave., Sybil’s is impossible to miss, and you can expect a line, even in the middle of a weekday afternoon. The Caribbean specialities on offer here are extensive, and uniformly delicious—try the pepper pot, goat roti, and pine tarts—but the currant roll is our very favorite thing here. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Molly Fitzpatrick Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Pepper Pot Sybil’s makes a great rendition of the national dish of Guyana, a beef stew made with cassareep, a molasses-like bitter cassava syrup. It’s warmly spiced with cinnamon and clove and just a little sweet—just one bite and you’ll immediately understand why this dish is a beloved Christmas staple. photo credit: Kate Previte Goat Roti Sybil’s flaky roti is the perfect vessel to soak up all the rich, velvety sauce, and the goat meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender. photo credit: Kate Previte Pine Tarts There’s a reason you can, and should, order these delicious triangles by the half-dozen. The jammy, caramelized pineapple filling is sweet but not too sweet. photo credit: Kate Previte Currant Roll The pastry is tender and flaky and the currants inside are plump and juicy. We would gladly eat this for breakfast (and a few between-meal snacks) every day." - Molly Fitzpatrick
