Shark Burgers Hit Gowanus

For those of you hankering away for a shark burger — hanker no longer. Now, at the Island Burger in East Flatbush, you can get your fix for $9.50. Located at 915 Utica Avenue, the hotspot is hoping to help customers to imagine themselves on the beautiful beach, purchasing a shark sandwich from the grass hut nearby.

Linette Beckles and Tracy Agarrat own the takeout burger joint that offers six-seats for enjoying their shark delicacies.   The restaurant has three chefs who take the shark meat, season it for 12 hours and then fry it up and top it with chadon beni, tamarind sauce, cole slaw, lettuce and tomatoes.

Shark Burger Brainstorm

Beckles got the idea for the shark delight after visiting a street stand in the Port of Spain. She returned home and told her sister to forgo on their plans for a clothing store.

“Let’s sell burgers and fast food made the Trini way” she said to her sister, instead.

They figured they had a creative idea when they scoured their area for anyone doing Trini burgers — and came up empty.   Chef Humberto Dominguez has been with them since day one, making important tweaks to their recipes.

Large Customer Base

The London-born sisters who also lived in Port of Spain for many years are bringing Trinidad to New York.   Customers drive from Bedford-Stuyvesant and Fort Greene, and even as far as Connecticut, to get the Trini burgers they miss from home. As Agarrat explained, “They’re missing Trinidad.”

Picture by Nicholas Fevelo for New York Daily News