The battle over a beloved Caribbean dish is simmering in Brooklyn.

“You use coconut milk, you got the cheeses, the cream, the bell pepper. And usually you use red, yellow and green, which are Caribbean culture colors," said Yvette Ervin, the co-owner and executive chef at Brooklyn Chckn N Lbstr in Brownsville.

What You Need To Know

  • There are countless iterations and interpretations of Rasta Pasta, which typically includes fetuccine, cheese, cream, jerk seasoning and multi-colored peppers

  • Footprints Café trademarked the name of its signature dish, Rasta Pasta, with the state of New York back in 2016

  • Brooklyn Chckn N Lbstr has since changed the name of their Rasta Pasta dish to Pasta Rasta in order to prevent further legal action

The popular restaurant serves everything from jerk chicken empanadas to lobster mac and cheese. But its Rasta Pasta has sparked some controversy.

“We all know that it’s Rasta Pasta, but I know people get a sense of, I’m not going to say territorial, when they feel like they really gotta trademark the industry with a name," said Ervin.

Last month, the restaurant received a notice from Footprints Café, a Brooklyn-based restaurant chain known for its Rasta Pasta.

“There was a letter in the mail just saying, basically, if we didn’t change the name or stop selling Rasta Pasta altogether that they would like to take legal proceedings against us," said Ervin.

The president and CEO of Footprints Café provided NY1 with the letter, which reads in part, “Footprints Café Home of the Rasta Pasta has been utilizing Rasta Pasta and Home of the Rasta Pasta since 2001 … To date we have served over 6,000,000 and counting Rasta Pasta dishes and are far beyond the point that consumers in New York equate Footprints Café to Rasta Pasta.”

The president also provided documents, which show the restaurant trademarked signature dishes with the state of New York back in 2016.

“No one place has a burger, even though McDonalds is known for its burgers and Big Macs, they’re not out here saying no other restaurant can make burgers. I feel like it’s more of a competition thing," said Ervin.

Despite that initial scare, Brooklyn Chckn N Lbstr are still going strong. In fact, one of the co-owners said the restaurant has benefitted from the controversy.

“Our Rasta Pasta was not our top dish until two weeks or so. That’s now our top seller and oxtail empanada is second,” said Ervin.

Brooklyn Chckn N Lbstr has since changed the name of their Rasta Pasta dish to Pasta Rasta.