How can a restaurant go wrong when it names itself after a poem? For CHOUKOUN’S BISTRO, the literary inspiration is an 1883 Creole French poem by Oswald Durand, which was eventually translated into the song “Yellow Bird” that Harry Bela¬fonte made a hit some 50 years ago. You’ll find simple Haitian food here, though when you give the name of anything in French, it sounds poetical: griot, tassot, dinde, cabri, poulet. (Pork, beef, turkey, goat, chicken. Sigh.) Nothing fancy, just everyday dishes like those being prepared in neighborhood kitchens, cheap enough to treat maman to an occasional night off. The most expensive choice is goat ($10.50), served with rice, beans, and a small salad. Try the beef plate, marinated to tender flavorfulness in a rich tomato-based gravy and then briefly fried to add texture — ingenious.
Choukoun's Bistro | 977 Manton Avenue, Providence | 401.432.7200
