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Video with the Flash mob and other Highlights from JET’s 2015 ICC Day!

by CharitiesWhat's Hot

Check out the highlights of Jamaica Environment Trust’s (JET) 2015 International Coastal Clean Up (ICC) Day Jamaica. There were over 2000 volunteers at Fort Rocky on the Palisadoes Strip in Kingston.

The campaign for its theme, #nuhduttyupjamaica was well represented by a Flash mob in partnership with Respect Jamaica, as well as Brand ambassadors, Bella Blair and Dutty Berry.

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) sponsored the event, which was successful, as ~9000 volunteered at over 120 beach clean up sites islandwide.

Recycling Partners Ltd. also joined TEF in sponsoring the Palisadoes Strip clean up.

To learn more, go to www.nuhduttyupjamaica.org.

‘Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica’ Tanks and T-shirts are available at JET. Get yours today!

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Location: 123 Constant Spring Road. Unit 5. Kgn.  8.

(Monday – Friday: 9am to 4:30pm)

See video with highlights from ICC Day Jamaica 2015 here:

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Gabby from Suga Lifestyle has won the Jamaica Gleaner’s Restaurant Week Ambassador Competition!

by FoodpornRestaurant Reviews & RatingsWhat's Hot

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Suga Readers from Jamaica, USA, UK, Cayman, BVI, USVI, Haiti, Turks and Caicos, St. Marten, St. Martin, Greece, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Ireland and more, it’s official: Gabby from Suga Lifestyle is now one of Jamaica Gleaner’s Restaurant Week Ambassadors for 2015.

I would like to express tremendous gratitude to all readers, family, friends, Immaculate Conception High School Alumni and Rotaractors from District 7020 for voting extensively these past few weeks, resulting in a landslide victory.

Suga will start out by attending the Restaurant Week Launch this Sunday and will soon attend various dinners and outings.

Set your calendars and look forward to ‘Dig In’ with Gabby from Suga Lifestyle this November 13-21 during Restaurant Week!

Have a look at some of Suga’s faves for Appetizers, Entrees and Desserts. More to come!

Appetizers

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Entrees

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Desserts

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The Journey Continues for Jamaica rising as a Foodies Paradise and Suga Lifestyle will be there every step of the way.

FOLLOW https://sugalifestyle.com/ to get reviews and ratings of Restaurants, Sports Updates and more or LIKE the Facebook page, Suga Lifestyle.

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Suga Lifestyle Readers in Jamaica, USA, UK, Brazil and the rest of the world, Suga aka Gabby needs your Votes Today!

by Restaurant Reviews & RatingsWhat's Hot

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The showcasing of restaurants in Jamaica, especially new ones and what they have to offer at a discounted price, is what caught my attention and encouraged me to participate in Restaurant Week Jamaica since 2007 in the three cities of Kingston, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay that it has spanned. I am a Kingstonian, but my visit to The Houseboat Grill in Montego Bay in 2010 has been my most memorable experience.

I have travelled across the United States, the Caribbean and as far as Japan, where the local cuisines and fine dining options are a must stop. On most weekends, regardless of which parish or country I may be in, I can be found satisfying my fancy of exploring the culinary talents on offer at the restaurant of my choice.

I used to write on www.interestingarticles.com, where you will see ‘Gabrielle Williams’ in the author’s showcase and you can click on my name or the link,

http://www.interestingarticles.com/author/gabrielle-williams/4076/1

to see my articles, including ‘Jamaica: Foodies Paradise on the Rise’, which was at one point, the 2nd most popular article on the website.

My articles related to Food and Beverage, Health and Fitness, Charity, Technology and Sports are in order to inspire, educate and entertain. However, Restaurant reviews proved to be the most prominent of my articles that many looked forward to reading.

People now rely on this website, www.sugalifestyle.com for fresh information, honest opinions, reviews and ratings of Restaurants to suit various occasions. They get social media tags of the Restaurants, contact information, locations, whether or not reservations are recommended, an idea of the menu items and of course, a hint of how deep they will need to dig into their pockets.

I feel proud and appreciate that the Culinary Industry in Jamaica has improved majorly over the past few years. I look forward to being a part of the journey of Jamaica rising as a Foodies Paradise and believe I should be one of Jamaica Gleaner’s Restaurant Week Ambassadors.

With that said, I have been shortlisted to become The Jamaica Gleaner’s 2015 Restaurant Week Ambassador.

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All Suga Readers from Jamaica, the rest of the Caribbean, USA, Canada, UK, Brasil, and more!

PLEASE VOTE for me 10 TIMES on

go-jamaica.com/rw/ambassador

*(Website does not allow Chrome browser)

by clicking ‘Vote for Gabrielle Williams’ below my video and refreshing the page each time.

You can vote 10 times per IP address. So please exhaust all resources you have, i.e. phone, tablet, house, office, different wifis. Everything! Today is the last day to rack up votes and tell family and friends.

The video with the most votes will be deemed the winner.

The race has been tight. You know how passionate I am about this from my Reviews and Promotions of Jamaican Restaurants, Caterers, Chefs and Foodie events. Help them to appoint the RIGHT Ambassador! Let’s do this!

Thanks to everyone who has voted so far to put me in a good position to win! The support has been overwhelming and I appreciate it.

What will I win? See below:

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Maybe they will even publish my reviews, who knows!

THANKS! I Will appreciate it a lot and you know I will do my best if I win!

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Throwback Thursday to Restaurant Week 2014 at Caffé da Vince!

by Restaurant Reviews & RatingsWhat's Hot

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Caffé da Vince

Ph#: 876-906-9051

Address: The Marketplace, 67 Constant Spring Rd., Kingston

Remember to VOTE for Gabby from Suga Lifestyle to be 

The Jamaica Gleaner’s Restaurant Week Ambassador!

Keep her in the lead!

Go to http://go-jamaica.com/rw/ambassador

You have 10 votes per device and wifi connection until TOMORROW, October 2, 2015. Just Refresh the page after each vote as instructed. Much love!

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Flambé is Today! Don’t miss out on Lamb for Dinner!

by Restaurant Reviews & RatingsWhat's Hot

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The menu is comprised of Lamb cooked in a variety of ways at an extremely reasonable price. There will be no Curried or Hawaiian Lamb today but they will have a Jerk Lamb Sausage Pasta! Water and mixed drinks will be on sale as well.

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About 35 pounds of fresh lamb is used for the event. Slaughtered lamb is not usually sold after 2 weeks. So the lamb from NCR Sheep isn’t only fresh, but it is unique in that it is local! Remember, large companies such as Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ) Meats sell imported lamb.

Lamb from NCR Sheep can also be consumed at the renowned Round Hill Hotel, Montego Bay, popular restaurants, bars and cafes such as Opa!, Saffron, 689 by Brian Lumley, Caffé da Vince, Tamarind, JoJo’s Jerk Pit and More, The Wine Shop, Cafe el Centro, Pushpa’s, Ribbiz Ultra Lounge and even by Hopeton the ‘Jerk Man’ at Northside Plaza.

Contact NCR Sheep Ltd. for lamb at 876.548.1178 (Ph.) or [email protected] (email). You can also like their Facebook page, ‘NCR Sheep Ltd.’ to keep updated with NCR Sheep Ltd. events.

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Remember to VOTE for Gabby from Suga Lifestyle to be 

The Jamaica Gleaner’s Restaurant Week Ambassador!

Go to http://go-jamaica.com/rw/ambassador

You have 10 votes per device and wifi connection until October 2, 2015. Just Refresh the page after each vote as instructed. Much love!

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JODY KAY Wins Rising Stars!

by What's Hot

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Congrats to Jody Kay for winning Digicel’s 12th Rising Stars Competition, but congrats also to Digicel for having a good season. It has been quite a while since Suga has followed a season of Rising Stars. I probably haven’t watched since the season when Brown Suga won. It had become boring and repetitive with less and less talent. But not this season! This season had a lot of talent, a more Professional feel to it, a good host (Terri-Karelle Reid), good judges including international ones, and good themes for the contestants to work with each week. What or who made the difference? Word has it that Sharon Burke is the lady responsible for taking over the show and making a positive impact.

Sharon Burke is CEO and President of Solid Agency responsible for booking artistes such as Shaggy, Tessanne Chin, Wayne Marshall, Tifa, Marfia Griffiths, QQ and more.

She was a promoter in the local entertainment business for years, managing events such as Fully Loaded, working with Reggae Sunsplash, being a co-producer for the Shaggy and Friends Show and the list goes on. So she is very involved in the industry with regards to Event Production and Artiste Management.

She has worked with International artists such as Rihanna, P Diddy, John Legend , Shakera, Chris brown and Mary J Blige. She therefore must have used her International contacts to help spice up Digicel Rising Stars this season. Very current and influential persons in the music and entertainment industry were brought onto the show as judges. They were also scoping for talent, probably hoping to discover another Rihanna as they have done before.

It was refreshing to see honest critiques but in a more dynamic way, highlighting where the contestants went wrong or right and how they could improve. I believe that vibe and quality critique became contagious as the competition went on, filtering to the other judges such as Conroy Wilson, Alaine and well we all know Anthony Miller.

So what’s in it for the winner? A lot of International opportunities will be created for Jody Kay, for instance, David Miller from New York will do an international campaign and will give her a Developmental Contract. There will be an album distribution deal and more. The money? She won a million dollars (Jamaican). Peanut money. So perhaps they can work on the prize money.

Sadly, Suga doesn’t think Jody Kay will go far with music. She is a lovely singer and was the most consistent throughout the competition, but runner up Marsha K who was a wild card entering the competition, improving tremendously towards the end, seemed more passionate about music in her future. She was the better performer in my opinion and showed she enjoyed  performing as well. She won $600,000JMD. When asked before the announcement of the winner what they would do with the money, Jody Kay mentioned going to school, the spa and helping family. Marsha K on the other hand said she would ensure she puts some into her future for music.

I think the 3rd place winner, Anna Mariah was the most marketable contestant in terms of stage presence and sound. With time and more growth she could make it big. Unfortunately she was a late bloomer in the competition and was not consistent with good performances and song choices, preventing her from winning the majority of Jamaica’s votes. But win or lose, if you really want it, it is not the end of the road.

So wow, I am actually looking forward to the next season of Rising Stars! A bit less confetti next time though.

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Throwback Thursday to the Garlic Shrimp Appetizer from The Wine Shop!

by Restaurant Reviews & RatingsWhat's Hot

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The Wine Shop 

Ph#: 876.620.5098

Address: Shop 7B, Southdale Plaza, South Avenue

Did you like this Promo? VOTE for Gabby from Suga Lifestyle to be 

The Jamaica Gleaner’s Restaurant Week Ambassador!

Go to http://go-jamaica.com/rw/ambassador

You have 10 votes per device and wifi connection until October 2, 2015. Just Refresh the page after each vote as instructed. Much love!

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Gabby from Suga Lifestyle checks out Food and Drinks from The Terrace at 100!

by Restaurant Reviews & RatingsWhat's Hot

Last Saturday, Suga went to check out the early vibe at 100 to see if service and more would be better than a Friday night. Although I wanted to go for lunch time, I made it for dinner. I arrived at about 6:50pm.

My other half and I were pleasantly greeted by a waitress who we are familiar with from other bars, who seems to be doing more supervising now. We were seated in a comfortable area with some plush, colourful cushions. I loved the modern decor and lighting. Colours were mainly grey and white with splashes of colour and the staff looked neat in their uniforms. Music was not loud either. We were even asked if the volume was suitable for us.

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Then suddenly, I was in First class on a plane. We were offered damp rags to wipe off our hands. They weren’t warm though, but definitely a nice touch. When we reached America, we were asked if we wanted lemon in our water. Keep it up 100, keep it up. It got even better, we got Complimentary Chips and salsa while we decided on what to order.

Our waitress was Cardia, who had a very sweet, humble personality. She was not sure of the costs and availability of everything off of her head but being new with such a large menu, she did well considering. She was also quick with following up on requests.

We didn’t order any Appetizers but they had Wings, Tuna stacks, Meatballs, Pita chips and dip and Quesadillas in the $750 to $1200JMD+tx range. Soups were also available for $400JMD+tx.

For a more Sports bar vibe, they had a variety of Flatbreads, Pizzas, Sandwiches and Burgers available mostly for $1200JMD, that went up to $2000JMD+tx.

For a proper dinner, there were Pastas ($1600-$2600JMD+tx), Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Salmon, Shrimp and Pork in the range of $1700 to $3200JMD+tx.

The Drinks menu had a wide range of choices as well. But the prices! $800+tx for a Blended drink and $1339+tx cue of V/X.

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Service time and Quality of food? Quick service within 15 minutes. Supervision of staff was obvious. I ordered the Beef & Reef ($3200JMD+tx), a 6oz filet mignon and a skewer of grilled shrimp, served with a chimichurri sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies. My other half ordered the Beef au Poivre, an 8 oz filet mignon with a peppercorn sauce served with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies ($2400JMD+tx). Neither of us felt like switching it up to test other items on their menu, so Beef all the way to check their consistency. There is lots of time to return. We both requested our Beef to be cooked medium rare. Mine was on point but my other half’s was slightly overcooked, obvious by the difference in colour and texture when cut. His White rum and tonic was a standard shot so tasted a bit weak. Good for him to know for the future. My Hummingbird was tasty with a twist. Wait, what’s a Hummingbird? Suga was introduced to the Hummingbird back in the day when TGIF was poppin with popular bartender, St. Aublyn the Kidd. When you don’t feel for the cliché Piña Colada or Strawberry Daiquiri, especially at all-inclusive resorts on the North Coast, it’s perfect. A Blended mix of mainly banana, vanilla ice cream, vodka and kahlúa or tia maria. Each bartender has their special touch. 100’s twist was a first, they added chocolate. Not bad at all. It was not overwhelming because I could still taste the banana.

The skewer of shrimp was not that impressive, it needed some flavour. Also, where was my Chimichurri sauce as described in the menu? It was MIA. Stush in the Bush needs to hook them up. That would have given my dish an excellent finishing touch. So, overall, similar to Rojó at Spanish Court’s serving size and price, aka ‘likkle bit’ and the meal assumes you had an appetizer, but lovely plating and presentation. The quality was good not great.

For a restaurant that is not within a hotel, is not fine dining and is more of a bar with a casino feet away, does it really need to be so fancy and expensive? Probably not. Especially if people would be consuming a lot of liquor and need some affordable, wholesome ‘grub’. For instance, Monte Carlo’s tasty burgers for $900JMD does a great job satisfying just that.

What’s going on for the rest of the new hit spot? – The Lounge, Gaming Lounge and Island Bet

Suga took a tour. The TV logistics of The Lounge was excellent. Great for sports and A/C for the hot times. There was also a screen that covered the whole side of one of the walls behind the bar, it was huge, bigger than the Projected screen at Cuddyz.

People seemed to be gambling casually in the Gaming Lounge. It wasn’t crowded. Probably not as popular yet. BUT I know what will be popular soon! ISLAND BET. Again, a familiar face. They got one of Just Bet’s competent employees, Marc-Anthony Pinnock who patiently took me through how Island Bet works. No paper or scratch pads. Purely Electronic. Print outs with the odds are not available as yet, but will be soon. Otherwise, the odds are available on the monitor they have there for customers, including a wider range of bets. Just Bet would have to have their employee take about 10 minutes to check the system online or just say it isn’t available as yet.

Here comes the best part. Island Bet will offer Live betting so you won’t be blocked by Just Bet who change their odds quite often. You will also be able to create an account, add money to it and BET ONLINE. How convenient! Ha! Of course there is an up side and down side to that, but wonderful when you don’t have to leave your house. Also, bets will be made in US dollars. But fret not, the payout is in the US equivalent as well. So if the dollar slides more than the day you bet, you get more money than expected if you win.

One monitor for logging in would not work for a crowd betting on the World Championships for example, but they are finetuning their logistics so that betting is not a hassle and there is time before the Olympics!

Suga senses an exciting Sports season ahead and will be returning.

100

Location 100 Hope Road. Kingston 6
Ph: 876.665-3BET (3238)
Instagram: 100hoperoad
Facebook: 100 Hope Road

By: Gabrielle Williams

If you liked this review, FOLLOW https://sugalifestyle.com/ to get other reviews or LIKE the Facebook page, Suga Lifestyle AND VOTE for Gabby from Suga Lifestyle to be 

The Jamaica Gleaner’s Restaurant Week Ambassador!

Go to http://go-jamaica.com/rw/ambassador

You have 10 votes per device and wifi connection until October 2, 2015. Just Refresh the page after each vote as instructed. Much love!

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How was last Friday night at the New Bar and Hot Spot, 100?

by Restaurant Reviews & RatingsWhat's Hot

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Terrible. Suga and many others left sober.
Located at literally 100 Hope Road, is the new Bar 100. It is not only a bar but has a casino with the new, Island Bet and not 1 but 2 restaurants, The Terrace and The Lounge.

1 week after their opening and having people watch the last fight of Mayweather’s career, they should have been ready for the crowd. A huge crowd. People have been wanting and waiting for a new spot eagerly for quite some time now. With the controversy surrounding Don Creary from Ribbiz with his rape charges and The Regency enforcing new policies to keep their guests more uptown in Suga’s opinion or to manage ‘crowd control’ as they call it, 100 is in a real good position to hit them where it hurts.

The bar has a lot of space, upstairs and downstairs, but the parking lot was filled to capacity AND so was the additional parking at 80 Hope Road when it was still early. Wow. So eventually people were parked on the side of Hope road and that is not safe, especially with the fast driving that occurs on that strip in the day much less late at night.

Thankfully the security loves polite ladies not too bad on the eye and Suga just had to wait two minutes until a parking spot freed up inside the venue. But really, how about being creative or innovative and having a proper 2 or 3-storey parking lot, with the hope that your spot is buzzing for a while. Afterall, they have Island Bet and the Gaming Lounge to buffer temporary expenses.

Anyhow, I loved the look of the place. Decor was very modern and tastefully done. Lighting could be better upstairs aka the Rooftop that had thatch covered seating areas, but was good in the other areas. Due to the large crowd, seating was limited. There was only 1 bar upstairs behind a sea of people. Waiters were not abundant or accessible upstairs if one wished to run a tab. It took ages to get a beer by the bar. It’s simple, open and close the cooler door, that’s why I chose beer! Then there was only one computer to cash out people and most persons did not have tabs. The bartenders were not all well versed on the system either. Some persons may have walked out without paying, Macau had that issue when they just opened.

There was a wide crowd variety though; young, old, hype, nerdy, you name it. A sea of out of many one people, with only one exit from upstairs, quite dangerous if you ask me. If something went down, people would have to be jumping off the building. Something for them to consider. What happened to the building code anyway and how did that get approved?

The music? Well it was neither here nor there, I was not impressed. It was not a consistently good mix being played. Maybe the DJ was also confused by the wide genre of people there and how to please the majority. A good DJ always finds a way though. I think it was DJ Bambino playing, who is supposed to be experienced but he either had a bad night or is just better on the radio.

Well, what can I say, when you don’t have any Instagram pics you either shouldn’t be there, were having too much fun or it was too ‘lame’ to be ‘instaworthy’. For me it was the latter.

I wouldn’t advise persons to hit that spot on a Friday night for the next month, especially if you are not a fan of crowds. If you wish to check them out, I suggest going during the week to the bar, as people have had better experiences on week nights.

Fret not though, Suga went to the Restaurant on the Terrace the day after, also scoped out Island Bet and has a fairly good review coming soon!

100
Location 100 Hope Road. Kingston 6
Ph: 876.665-3BET (3238)
Instagram: 100hoperoad
Facebook: 100 Hope Road

By: Gabrielle Williams

If you liked this review, FOLLOW
https://sugalifestyle.com/ to get other reviews or LIKE the Facebook page, Suga Lifestyle.