Left side: Pesto Pizza with Mozzarella, Pine Nuts and Basil; Right side: Pizza Bianca with Double Pepperoni and Mozzarella
MidiCi Fort Lauderdale makes wood-fired Neapolitan Pizzas. Neapolitan Pizzas are authentic Italian style Pizzas that are made with San Marzano tomatoes grown on volcanic plains in Italy and Mozzarella cheese made with milk from water buffalo that are raised in the marshlands of Italy. The Mozzarella cheese used is known as ‘white gold’ because of its high premium quality and taste.
MidiCi has a Daily Happy Hour from 3-7pm and all day on Thursdays. They also do Wine and Cheese on Wednesdays for $19.95USD.
They have quite a salivating Instagram page. Looks like they are worth a try on my next trip!
MidiCi Fort Lauderdale
The Neapolitan Pizza Company
Location: 510 North Federal Highway. Fort Lauderdale. Florida
Crispy Pig Ears by Executive Chef, Mark Cole at The Jamaica Pegasus
Have you ever had Pig Ears? If you were at the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival’s event, Crisp, in November 2017, you would have had the pleasure of tasting crispy Pig Ears from two Suga Endorsed Chefs! – Chef Christina Simonitsch of Simo’s Bread and Catering and Executive Chef Mark Cole of The Jamaica Pegasus, who cooked divine dishes for President Barack Obama, Prince Harry and Princess Ann. They put on quite a display.
Last December I tasted long cuts of Crispy Pig Ears (hair removed of course) prepared by Chef Cole at The Jamaica Pegasus.
I loved it! It tasted like a cross between Calamari and Squid.
The entire Pig Ear was used, so all of it was not crispy. My friends were not fans of the outer ear’s gelatinous texture, which they called the ‘gooey’ and ‘rubbery’ part. However, the cartilage in the center that is crunchy and tasted crispy to us, was their favourite. I liked all of it.
Pig Ears aren’t that popular to be a part of the Menu at The Jamaica Pegasus yet, but I am happy I had the experience of tasting it.
I can see Crispy Pig Ears as an Appetizer or Side dish that goes well with Beer.
Pig Ears can be eaten warm or cold and are cooked in various ways all over the world, often served with a lemon, soy sauce or even vinegar when pickled. They are usually Boiled first, then Grilled, Stewed, Roasted, Pickled, Smoked, Baked or Deep Fried.
The Bulgarian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, American, Lithuanian, Filipino and Vietnamese often offer Pig Ear dishes as part of their Cuisines.
I challenge Best Ethnic Restaurant of 2017 and one of my faves, Mystic Thai in Montego Bay to offer a dish with Pig Ears on the menu! Suga will be in Montego Bay soon. 😊
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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If you’ve been eating Whole Wheat, Whole Grain or Gluten-free Bread since the start of 2018 and you would like a change, then this is the Recipe for you!
You could be a Vegetarian looking for an exciting new Recipe too.
Ingredients
1 Yam (Complex/Good Carbs)
1/2 Avocado (Healthy Fats)
1 tsp Hemp/Sesame seeds (Protein)
Asparagus (Vegetables)
Olive Oil (Optional)
A sprinkle of Garlic Salt (Optional)
A sprinkle of Black Pepper (Optional)
A pinch of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
Method
Yam Toast
â— Cut 1 large Yam into even slices (around 2cm thick)
◠Place in the Oven at 220°C for 30 minutes OR Place on a Grill for 30 minutes on each side on medium-high heat
Roasted/Steamed Asparagus *(Edited by Gabrielle Burgess)
Roasted:
◠Preheat oven to 220 °C
â— Place the Asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with garlic salt, and pepper
â— Bake in the Pre-heated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness.
Steamed:
◠Fill a skillet with ½ cup of water per ½ pound of Asparagus and Add the Asparagus.
◠Cover the skillet with a lid and Boil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until the Asparagus turns bright green and tender.
Avocado/Avocado Puree *(Edited by Gabrielle Burgess)
â— Mash the Avocado with a fork or puree in a blender until smooth, adding water if necessary to reach desired consistency
â— Top off the Yam slices with Avocado, Hemp/Sesame seeds, Asparagus and a pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt.
Benefits
A Fibre and Protein-rich Breakfast with Veggies and Healthy Fats all at the sane time!
ENJOY!
#SugaEndorsed Recipe by:
Jhanae M. PauleÂ
Vegan Humanitarian and Environmentalist
Instagram: @plantpoweredpaule
Website: jhanae.com/recipes
Reposted and Edited By: Gabrielle Burgess (Certified Personal Trainer & Sports Nutritionist)
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Simo’s Bread and Catering (Christina Simonitsch) will be doing a Valentine’s Brunch in Kingston with Tooksie Kay Catering (Alexa Von Strolley) on Sunday, February 11!
The Brunch will be at Kayter at 18 Balleter Avenue, Kingston 10 from 12 noon to 4 pm!
It will be 4 stations with All You Can Eat accompanied by Beverages!
It should be a Treat! Treat your Valentine with this Brunch that should have memorable eats.
Today is the last day to sign up for the Early Bird tickets that cost $60USD per person.
Comments:Â Modern, new, cosy spot with seating upstairs and downstairs complemented by free Wifi. Tasty Breakfast and Lunch options. Some Breakfast Options are overpriced, but I am happy there were healthy options available for both Breakfast and Lunch. I was disappointed by the fact that I couldn’t get a simple Frappuccino. They had Frozays a.k.a syrup and ice cream. My wait was a quick 8 minutes for Lunch and the standard 15 minutes for Breakfast when they had a full house. Members of Staff were pleasant.
The upstairs Lounge/Dining area at Cafe Dolce
When did Cafe Dolce Open?
Mid-December last year.
Who owns it?
Restauranteurs Lisa-Gaye and Kirk Chin, owners of Fromage Gourmet Market & Bistro, Fromage Brasserie and the Oak Wine Bar.
What did I have?
Lunch:
I had the Bruschetta Chicken Panini ($900JMD +tx) with Wheat bread, Chicken, Basil Pesto, Mozzarella, Tomato and Balsamic aioli. It was fresh, filling and flavorful.
I also had a Parfait ($500JMD+tx)Â that included healthy, plain Greek Yoghurt.
Breakfast:
I had the Smoked Salmon Bagel ($850JMD+tx)Â with lettuce, tomato, onion and cream cheese, Buttermilk Pancakes with Bacon ($600JMD+tx) and a Hazelnut Iced Coffee ($450JMD+tx).
I was disappointed that I didn’t get any capers with my Smoked Salmon Bagel, but I was satisfied since it was made fresh and it was tasty. I also enjoyed my Pancakes with Bacon.
What do they serve?
â— Coffee, Tea, Smoothies, Shakes and other Beverages
◠Breakfast, Salads, Soup, Sandwiches, Wraps, Paninis, Parfaits, Pastries, Snacks, and Dessert made fresh daily
After a horrible review from a Suga Bear late December last year, I gave Cafe Dolce some time and visited last Saturday and Sunday for Lunch and Breakfast respectively.
I was quite relieved I did not have her experience of an hour-long wait and poorly cooked food with a poor presentation. It was the total opposite for me. I am pleased to see that they seemed to have worked out their teething pains. If anyone had a distasteful experience there, I encourage you to revisit Cafe Dolce and I look forward to going back soon!
Cafe Dolce
Location: 114 Constant Spring Road (Inside of Tile City). Kingston 10.
Ph: 876-649-9971
Opening Hours:
Mon-Thurs, 7am-7pm
Fri-Sat, 7am-8pm
Sun, 7am-5pm
Instagram: @cafedolceja
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Grilled Chicken Breast with Steamed Callaloo and Boiled Sweet Potato ($550JMD)
Remember Suga Bears that directly across from Dunrobin Plaza, you can get a tasty and healthy Lunch from Gym’s Kitchen. It actually has a gym beside it!
They offer a range of options with a different menu according to a theme each day. For those that don’t eat Chicken, there is usually an option for Salmon and sometimes there may be Ackee dishes on the menu.
I took a few bites from my Lunch before I thought that I should snap it and share, but they do properly portioned Lunches. I have been ordering from them for some time now and I love that I can consistently get a healthy, tasty, reasonable Lunch from them. #SugaEndorsed
Check them out! They deliver too. However, ensure that you give them an earlier time than desired.
No excuses for January on your road to health and fitness!
Comments:Â Neat, under the radar spot in town for Jamaican-style Seafood with a different presentation and its own unique, flavourful taste. It is a simple and comfortable atmosphere for a date or groups of families, friends or coworkers to dine where the food is visibly prepared, fresh to order.
Suga’s Experience
Two Wednesdays ago, my husband, Randy and I still had family visiting in town and we wanted to all meet up for some Dinner. Being Jamaican-British, their choice was Seafood and the natural decision would be to go to Gloria’s in Port Royal. However, we were back at work and we deciding we would not be doing a trip to Gloria’s at night, mid-week.
Randy always passed a Seafood Restaurant by Balmoral Avenue, but never got to stop by and try it. I told him with Seafood there is usually a wait. It would surely be a gamble with it being a fairly new Restaurant too.
Prices online looked reasonable, generally $1600JMD+tx for Fish any way you like it. We decided to brave it.
Randy called ahead to order and for them to expect our group of almost 20 persons. However, they cook everything not only to order but fresh to order, that is, prep and everything. So when persons arrived they would need to pick out their Fish.
I heard I missed Chef and Owner, Lloiid Thomas who came out to greet everyone and was quite confident about the quality of food he would be serving.
He also explained the authenticity of how Organic his foods are and how he liaises with suppliers to ensure that is reinforced as well as keeping seasonings, herbs and spices organically farm to table. It was evident from the shelves stocked with ground provisions and more and the staff who handpicked items from it back and forth, that meals were prepared fresh.
Our Conch Soup came out first. I loved that it wasn’t salty, noting that MSG is not used at Organic Seafood. Instead, even though I did not have any conch in my cup, it was thick with a rich flavour.
Food started to come out by 8:30pm. My in-laws had the Caribbean Salmon.
Caribbean Salmon
The Salmon was well cooked and creatively presented on a fresh bed of lettuce that rested on a furnished portion of tree bark. The sauce was what added the special touch and flavour to the Salmon.
Served side of Plantain, cooked fresh from the Restaurant shelf
Their sides of Plantain, also well presented were tasty. I had to ask for some.
Orders of Brown Stewed Fish and Steamed Fish followed. The family was pleased so far, including myself who had the Steamed Fish. It definitely wasn’t like any Steamed Fish you would normally get. The Chef had a right to be confident, as the richness in flavour of the dish was truly unique. Snaps for offering it with the option of Wheat Crackers too.
Steamed Fish, varying in size based on Customer preference, served with Wheat Crackers (Top) and Traditional Cream Crackers (Below)
We had family that decided they were still coming, so we picked out fish for them at that point in order to get things moving before they arrived.
The tiniest member of that party had a Shrimp Pasta that had a huge serving he could hardly make his way into.
Shrimp Pasta
Two brothers enjoyed their Fried fish to the bone. They were the second to last to get their food, but stated that it was definitely worth the wait.
Marcus Perkins (left); Tariq Perkins (Right)
The sides of Festival and Bammy were enjoyed as well. The Festival was done true Jamaican style and it was delicious.
It was reported that the Fried Bammy tasted as if it was soaked in sugar-water or cinnamon rather than milk, but it was tasty nonetheless. Perhaps it could be requested that it be soaked in Almond milk.
There were two diners that were not so pleased with their food though, including our cousin who was a member of the late party (arrival a bit after 9pm) and got her Fried fish last, some time after 10pm. They were very disgruntled.
They stated that their Brown Stew and Fried Snapper were fresh, needing more salt and seasoning. I can testify to the Fried Snapper needing more seasoning because I tasted it after her complaint.
The sentiment of not getting to eat together was also expressed, but personally in a situation like that, I prefer to get food once it is ready. Even though food came out at different times, there was a steady flow once service started and the wait was not unusually long for such a large group. The wait was definitely shorter than what you would have at Gloria’s.
With that aside, to please a hard crowd of 15 out of 18 diners is quite an accomplishment on their part. Each person’s meal including Soup, a Main dish with sides and a drink came to about $3000JMD including tax and service charge, which was reasonable.
I must mention though, that the winner of the night was Randy’s Jerked Fish. It was not oily, even though it was fried, then jerked. The burst of flavour as you had one bite was amazing.
Jerked Fish
It was nice to see courteous Diana, a member of staff who had a long night on her feet, come out and take some time to have a little chat with some of the gentlemen in the family.
Organic Seafood Network’s Diana having a chat with members of Suga’s Family
Owner and Chef Lloiid Thomas also came out to receive his honest feedback and pleasantly said he is open to requests to cook fish the way it is preferred. Whether it is more or less seasoning, herbs etc., he can be notified from the fish is picked out and adapt to such requests.
Chef Lloiid Thomas (center) with Veronica Burgess (left) and Reginald Burgess (right)
Chef Lloiid came from Atlanta, Georgia, to set up his Organic Jamaican Seafood Restaurant and it has been open for 9 months.
I intend to return to compare service with a smaller group or even when just two persons are dining and I am interested in trying their Smoothies. I am already impressed and happy to see almond milk as an ingredient option. Many other places need to do so. Straying a bit from that healthy note, they also had a salivating video on Instagram of their creative preparation and plating of Shrimp. That is on my list as well.
Kudos to Chef Lloiid and his team who remained pleasant and professional with a hungry set of almost 20 demanding diners and still produced predominantly good food to please the majority.
Organic Seafood Network – Restaurant, Bar, Market
Location: 19 Balmoral Avenue
Ph: 876-620-9242
Facebook: Organic Seafood Restaurant
Instagram: @organicseafoodrestaurant
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Baked Rabbit with sides of Baked Carrot, Sweet Pepper and Irish Potato
Last Sunday, my husband, Randy had put on a show in the kitchen.
He surprised me by coming home with some Rabbit that he and his family raises in Jacks Hill. He said we were going to have a Rabbit Feast. That we did! I am a proud wife indeed. He is no stranger to the kitchen, but he didn’t need much pointers after all.
Baked Rabbit fresh out the oven!
The Rabbit was baked to perfection. It could have used some Jerk seasoning to be completely over the top, but that’s my fault because I didn’t restock the kitchen in time.
The sides that were baked with it such as Carrot, with no offense to the rabbit, Irish Potato and Sweet Pepper, were great to have with it as well.
Quite a healthy meal too!
Reasons why Rabbit Meat is considered to be Healthy:
â— Rabbit meat is the Leanest meat of all Proteins
â— Rabbit meat has fewer Calories than other meats
â— Rabbit meat has a high percentage of easily Digestible Protein
â— The Sodium content of Rabbit meat is less than others, it is almost cholesterol free and it has more Calcium content than other meats
Did you know that Calcium helps to break down fat?
â— Rabbit meat is one of the best White meats available on the market today
Important Tip to know when Eating Rabbit:
Do not try to eat the Bone. It’s not possible. You may break your teeth.
Where can you get Rabbit meat to cook?
Ask the Burgesses!
Name and Contact Information:
Randy Burgess
Ph: 876-425-5487
By: Gabrielle Burgess  (Certified Personal Trainer & Sports Nutritionist)
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