Lentil Stew!!! Meh dahlin!

Okay so I didn't actually eat out for this one but it was an experience so hell i writin bout it anyway!!!!! I am officially a stew person... beef stew, lamb stew and now lentil stew!! and for allyuh trinis i don't mean stew meat (aka burn sugar). I had the bestest bestest lentil stew ever the other day and i'm not saying that cuz i made it because i've made lenti stew before this one just tasted real great. I think it had something to do with the fact that i froze it with the rosemary and then slowly defrosted on the stove making the idea conditions to draw ever last ounce of flavour from the herbs. It was (in the words of Mos Def) nutritious and delicious. Yummy sausage, caramelized onions, soft potatoes and carrots ohhhhhhhh fresh mushrooms all happily playing in harmony!!!!!! STEW !!! And for the love of the Almighty... butter is your friend! To ass wit all the health nuts out there everything in moderation a little butter never hurt nobody and if it did i assure you they were done for anyway! Butter adds tonnes of flavour to this and almost any other dish that it is added to.

Now yuh can't get cheaper than lentils in this day and age of rising food prices and this is a fairly simple dish, extremely healthy (protein out the ying-yang) and did i mention it tastes the bomb!!! (yes i said the bomb). Probably the most expensive part of my lunch was the bread but HA! i made that too!!! Really crusty home made bread is the only way to go for this meal cuz Lord knows as soon as dew starts to form Kiss bread turns to pap far less if you try to dip it in stew. And save electricity cuz toastin it is a waste of time. Anywho if you dare...try almost any recipe with the aforementioned ingredients and you're almost certain to have a hit on your hands or for the lazy jus call meh! (disclaimer that pic is off the net not an actual representation of my stew but close though)

J. Malone's restoring my faith in chain restaurants!

I take it back eatin at the inspots aint too bad!! J Malone's... if i had some extra thumbs i would put them up too. It was basically wat it was supposed to be! If wat you see in movies and stuff is accurate they got the decor right all it needs is some wear and tear, some drunk irish football fans and boom yuh feel as irish as a clover. Sooo my real reason for going... the food !!

The menu was ur typical burgers and cutters but they tried to keep adding a touch of Ireland here and there with Shamrock this and that but the truly traditional section contained things like Shepard's Pie , Fish and Chips and Irish Stew, I had the stew (after all it's an irish pub man!) ohhhhhhh stew!! ohhhh beef!!! yes i know traditionally it should be lamb but hey I was glad for beef! It looked great with its pastry crusted bowl and side of vegetables. A+ I loved it from start to finish, Guinness and all. My peeps mostly had burgers but i got my brother to try the Herb Crackling Chicken. That too was great unfortunately I saw cackling and assumed it would come with crisp seasoned skin which would have made for better presentation and flavour but hey it was still a great meal. and for all you “Wanna try Bleu Cheese Trini's” out there if you don't like the smell of funky socks and the taste of mould just don't !!! I still laughin at Kareem silly boy!! That stench gets into ur pores and ur hands reek for hours!! They serve wedges REAL WEDGES!! seasoned and crispy mmmmmmmm good stuff with a garlic sauce/dip ohhhhhh good stuff! Much love to our server, Sasha I think was the name. She dealt with us like a pro straight forward and not just loads of fun but very well informed!

Second time around ... yeah I was a repeat customer i had an adventurous group this time (I love my foodie family) we sampled Ribs, Beer Battered Chicken Sandwiches, Quesadillas, Chicken Alfredo and more stew! Everything was just as the menu described and was a good choice. To all the titty fans the beer battered chicken is for you!!!! Mucho meat!! It took me back to when Piarco was tiny there was a vendor who used to fry chicken and drop it in a hops nothin fancy but it was good chicken (bone and all) with great hops mmmm i think he still sellin there!!! Any way back to J's, dessert! Baileys Cheesecake shhhh ur interruptin the heavenly chorus....... yeah ! that was by far the best cheesecake I have ever ever EVER bought (please note i said bought not tasted) it was mile high New York stlye Cheesecake with a splash of Baileys poured on it. I guess you could ask them to hold the Baileys but y would u? the fact that they didnt try to bake the cake with the Irish Cream in it preserved the true flavour of both the cake and the Baileys. From its super thin crust to its simple presentation this was a great way to end a meal. It was unfortunately imported. The Chocolate Cake was sweet as a mofo but good once you had a sip of coffee to go with it and you can get your coffee “dressed up” if you know what I mean wink wink!! two very very good dining experiences I will most definitely be returning.Take time to read the Irish proverbs and stuff in the menu it makes for good kicks especially if read in a shitty wanna b Irish accent.

The Original B-B-Q Hut!

So yeah this was not ur typical eatery but it is exactly what opening an establishment should be about. According to what I’ve been told they started small and grew and grew and grew not because of funding or fake fame cuz i ah trini and i didn’t even know bout them. Apparently they consistently put out good food and it brings people and they bring people and like a pyramid scheme we all profit!!! So yeah like a pyramid junky my friend swore this was the best bbq in south if not the country so i packed my bag settled my mind and journeyed down to the south land.

The setting was super simple... a really oversized tent with a large parking lot, half the tent dedicated to customers and seating the other was the kitchen. Just a note it was a beauty to see, an active lively kitchen is a wonderful thing to watch almost distracting so i made sure to sit with my back to this distraction (a really fun distraction). Hygiene was not an issue, for an open air facility they kept things really clean and organized. I loved the fact that they served dessert REAL DESSERT!!! I didn’t like the dessert..... but at least they tried!

The food was what I expected but sorry baby not the best. They had good a variety of meats (no pork) but as a person who’s accustomed eating her own food I am not going outside of my safety zone yet so chicken it was!!! AND FOR ALL YOU TITTY HOUNDS OUT THERE !!! leg and thighs have so much more flavour try one once in a while!!! It came with a small salad and fries. Simply put it was simple food done right, no complications. They understand that a fairly limited menu allows you to focus on each element and do it right, no worries. It also allows them to serve customers quickly so even though when we got there we met a serious line we still got to the head quickly and were served swiftly. I had the Cheesecake but like I said I didn’t really like it. All in all a good dining experience i really enjoyed it and hell you can’t beat the price!!!The best I’ve had for the record was from Neil Seepersad of Seepersad Catering in St. Augustine.

My Woodford Experience!

Fiesta Plaza, Movie Towne

UHHHH i hate hate HATE trendy places!!! But we fell into Woodford Cafe and so here I am. This place reminded me of all the reasons i dislike places known by the in-crowd as the place to “hang” and not as the place to eat cuz the food is good. So yeah onto the food.
The menu once you strip away the tonnes of padding like pelau with cole slaw and other local dishes i would never leave my house to go buy was a nice blend, it really gave you alot to choose from. The padding is good for one thing though.. showcasing local food in a nice atmosphere so take ur tourist friends when they come down.

I went simply in the hopes of not getting something too screwed up. The Jerk Burger with Spicy Potato Wedges........ so i thought you couldn’t mess up a simple Jerk Burger WRONG !! it was lame i sincerely think they took a cheap burger patty grilled it and 10 sec.b 4 it came off the grill slapped some jerk seasoning (store bought) on it and BAM Jerk burger. The bun was buttered and toasted very nice contrast to the burger. The wedges.... well after the initial charred flavour (eyuck) seemed to be coated in a combination of smoked paprika, fine black pepper and couple other indistinguishable spices in a liquid and who the hell cuts wedged into little potato cubes huh!!!!.

My partner feared better with the Shrimp Boat which was seared shrimp served with seasonal salsa which turned out to be mango chow finely chopped minus the pepper (very nice) which came with two sides. He ended up with Corn Pie and Fried Plantains both of which turned out to be really nice. My only complaint on this plate was no sauce even some stew gravy would hav been alright but thankfully nothing was too dry. For dessert i had the Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream. The Crumble was just spiced sliced apples with a walnut and flour topping and it tasted like that!! it was served with a lumpy tasteless custard and a scoop of Haagen Daz ice cream so the best thing on the plate? the ice cream!!! If i were them i would take homemade off the menu.

All in all not a great dining experience. My friend swore that usually the food is good but HARD LUCK PATNAH Food too expensive for me to go fishin in the hopes that things might be better second time around. Maybe if they cut the menu in half and concentrate on making everything with more love and real ingredients then MAYBE i'll return. On a positive note..... The staff were helpful and vibrant! From the manager to the cashier very pleasant ppl. i would only recommend it cuz i heard its a hot spot for liming on an evening but if your going for the dining experience try Zanzibar next door it will have less people and I hav a feelin the food will be better or so i hope will tell you when i get there.

The Lure #2 Stella Maris Dr. Chaguaramas

While writing this post i came across one that sited a racially biased and unfortunately bad experience at this restaurant and warned others not to visit SORRY THIS IS NOT THAT BLOG !!! i had a good time and this is my account!

Well not exactly on the list but a fun addition none the less. The Lure was very quiet (probably the night we went) but it proved very comfortable and the ambiance was inviting. You had a choice of indoor or outdoor dining, we chose to sit out on the patio overlooking the water which didn’t smell like stale fishy sea water. Points on the board for that!

The service staff were friendly and the menu was varied enough. Ironically the two things we ended up eating had very little descriptions but our server knew enough to inform us and help in our choices. While we waited for our meal we were served warm crusty artisan style bread with an unusual melongene choka which didn’t look appealing at first but after a quick taste proved to be worth the try. It was smoky and flavourful without a hint of ‘slime’ and for the less daring they also served two pats of butter.

On to the main course. I had the Chicken Switzerland which consisted of grilled chicken, more bread and fettucine served with what can only be described as a red sauce. The pasta portion was smaller than what you usually see in restaurants now a days but it was sufficient and the meat was more than enough, I had a chicken salad sandwich for breakfast the next morning to say the least. All that meal needed was a nice small salad to accompany the rich sauce which didn’t taste like glorified bbq or marinara sauce !!!!!! whooo whoo!! Unfortunately the Chicken Pocket was not such a big hit. It was essentially a large chicken wrap served with fries and cole slaw. The tortilla itself was bland and could have probably done with some grilling or toasting and the chicken was okay but it didn’t really compete with the lettuce in the wrap. Well fries are fries they didn’t mess those up and like I said not really a big hit but not a total flop. The evening was overall a good experience would recommend for couples or small groups not looking to party just quiet out of the way dining with a little class no tie required but please no football jerseys i said class!! That night there was a private party upstairs with karaoke and dancing I'm pretty sure the same would be true on any other night definitely a fun trip if you throw that into the mix!. My headliner for the evening was the melongene choka or as they called it roasted eggplant spread LOL!!!!!!

If you really want to make this a journey/escape start out from home at about 2p.m stop off at Macueripe for about two hours of cool Triple S therapy (salt,sand and sun) you should be done by about 6-7p.m. Throw on the clothes you neatly hung in the car and then head to the restaurant.

Paprika Restaurant and Bar the start of my journey!

201 Western Main Road just before Bayside Towers!

25^th April went to Paprika. Even from the car park it seemed very hidden and on entry the atmosphere was very very captivating. It was very busy without being overwhelming. It felt like a combination of a traveller's treasures mixed with a raid on some grandmoms prized old stuff. Candle light and hip, cool, jazzy, mellow music but onto the food......

The menu was simple but varied in that there were a reasonable amount of appetizers but we went straight to the main course their pasta selection was great you could choose one of four pastas (fettucine, penne, ravioli and something else i no remember) and then choose your sauce from a list of about 10 sauces ranging from heavy to light, meaty to vegetarian. Since it was Paprika i thought it only right i had the “Pasta Paprika” it was a light tomato sauce with mushrooms and veggie goodness with pieces of ham and bacon. OHHH it was good. My friend had the Seafood Pasta which was also tomato based and held exactly what its name suggested a combination of mussels, shrimp, scallops and calamari (big shock no fish! great shock but still big!!)

The wares like the decor were far from normal. Mine a blue printed antique looking bowl of sorts and my friend's a large platter like dish shaped like a fish. Even the coasters were unique (i still have mine cleptomania acted up!) To end i really would have liked to try their Almond Coconut dessert it sounded promising but unfortunately they were out of it so i ended up with Tiramisu HOMEMADE!!! Whooo hoooo! It was very very nice rich and creamy but still light if thats even possible and the Apple Crumble served with Vanilla Ice Cream. Also quite good. And to end our meal a glass of Port. Ohhhh Port warm and soothing! In true Paprika fashion the bill did not come in a padded check book thingy rather in an old Turkish Delights box unfortunately no Turkish Delights inside but two Hershey's kisses.. all in all a wonderful experience which made dining out really seem worth the effort. But don't make the effort while you're broke. To really enjoy the experience one needs to be able to spend.... not necessarily wild money but not have to forgo your 1^st choice simply cuz u don’t have the money! A definite repeat on my list of places to eat out at and even if you don’t go to eat you can still just chill at the bar have two drinks and make good conversation. A great start to my journey!