D Ital Shak Health Food Restaurant & Bakery

Just what Sienna didn’t like about the patty crust, I loved. It was crisp, tasty, and nothing like the normal patty crust. I love patties, but usually the crust is kind of dry and rather plain. It was like the difference between a flour taco tortilla, and a fresh maiz tortilla. But here’s the thing. I have had two patties here, and one had the crispier crust, and the other had the more normal, drier crust.
I have been a couples times so far, but am guaranteed to be a regular. It’s true a number of the menu items weren’t available, but that can be a frequent problem at a lot of nice little eateries like this, so I don’t take off too much from Ital Shak for that.
The first time, I got the jerk tofu patty, and agree the tofu on the inside was great. Okay, I splurged, and also got a corned beef burger, which was a little more boring, but still good. Later, I returned for an ackee patty, which, like I said, had the kind of crust Patty would have preferred. As time goes on, I’m sure I’ll have tried every patty on hand, and some entrees, but I liked Ital Shak and plan to go first-​name-​basis with the counter staff. They will know my name.
Unfortunately, they were out of Mauby. Or, maybe fortunately. It’s an acquired taste.

This spot is cool. Since I moved a couple blocks up the road, we def need one there. This is by far the best Ital Eatery in BK. Patties are always off the hook. The food isn’t great all the time but good for $ 5. The service can be a bit annoying. Sometimes they’re there and sometimes they’re not. You actually have to bang on the counter or talk to the Cook, who’s in the back where he should be. Yeah but the soy fish patties, what!!! They seem to always be out of em.

Best veggie patties ever. The soy fish patties are the best, but seems like they are often out of them (probably because they are the best…). Also like the soy beef, callaloo, and jerk tofu. The crusts come in either super flaky regular or the less flavorful or flaky, but healthier whole wheat. The cooked food can be sort of hit or miss, I think if you catch it earlier in the day when it’s fresh, it’s not bad, but later in the evening after it’s been sitting around for a while, I usually pass on it. Also, like a lot of vegetarian places these days, they use a lot of fake meats, which I’m not convinced are healthy for you at all. So while I love the patties, I wouldn’t recommend eating them all the time. I do like how they are open around the clock, and it’s one of the few if not only place in BK to get a vegan dish in the late night. Oh and the service isn’t exactly friendly, you just gotta know what you want and keep it moving…

I was running some errands around the neighborhood when I realized that I was hungry. And while I am a big fan of fried foods, I wanted something else. Unfortunately, this stretch of Nostrand has nothing but chain restaurants that fry everything and little hole in the walls that fry everything.
I entered Ital Shak because it advertised itself as health food fare. Although I am not a vegetarian by any means, I wanted something else than Kennedy or Crown or Kentucky fried chicken. The place is a small take-​out joint that offers two things – a platter combination of various food items and patties. Because I didn’t feel like getting anything that had been sitting on a hot plate, I decided to get a patty instead. And while on the menu they offered a wide array of patties (beef, pork, chicken, fish, duck, tofu), when I went to go order my duck patty, they told me they only had fish and jerk tofu.
So with hesitation, I ordered the jerk tofu patty. It’s not that I don’t like tofu (are you kidding me? I love it!), but I just tend not to like tofu used as a substitute. It was $ 2.50 for the rather large patty.
My biggest complaint about the patty is that it is too flaky and too fried on the outside. The bread layer is so thick and is nearly all crispy that it didn’t compliment the tofu inside too well. But! The tofu inside was absolutely delicious. It didn’t taste like meat, it didn’t taste like tofu, but it just tasted great. It was perfectly seasoned (okay, a bit on the spicy side, and that’s coming from a spice addict); it had a kick, wasn’t too salty, and was just enjoyable all around.
I went outside and there also happened to be man selling flavored shaved ice near by. And I have to say, on a summer day, a tofu patty and pineapple-​lemon-​lime ice cone combination is, oddly enough, almost perfect.

D Ital Shak has a wide assortment of vegetarian patties and other West Indian dishes. It’s open late and is perfect for a late night bite in Crown Heights.