Wondering what to do for the long holiday weekend in town? B&D’s Pop-Up Kitchen is back tomorrow at Port Royal!
Stay tuned tomorrow for more options!
Suga does lunch at Chez Maria
Chez Maria Restaurant
Lebanese & Italian Cuisine
Ph#: 876-927-8078; 876-430-3822 (Digicel)
Address: 80 Lady Musgrave Road. Shop #3. Kingston 10
***Menu on Website
Website: www.chezmaria.webs.com
***You can now order online for delivery at www.myquickplate.com
***Like them on Facebook: Chez Maria Restaurant
Date and time of visit: July 9, 2016 @ 3:30pm
Suga’s Order for party of 2:
Chicken & Vegetable Soup: $340
Smoked Marlin appetizer: $940
Jerky (Jerked Chicken Pizza): $1650
Filet Mignon with Creamy mushroom sauce: $2400
NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum
Parking: ★★★★★
Ambience: ★★★☆☆
Decor: ★★★☆☆
Comfort: ★★★★☆
Service: ★★★★☆
Speed: ★★★★★
Food quality: ★★★★☆
Serving amount: ★★★★★
Plating: ★★★☆☆
Value for $: ★★★★★
Suga Endorsement: ★★★★☆
Suga’s Comments:
Love the options of indoor and outdoor seating. Quick service. Large serving size. Tasty, spicy pizza. Filet Mignon slightly overcooked for medium rare but mushroom sauce was delicious!
Nice variety of flat bread pizzas to order for take out or delivery.
The Oak Wine Bar on Hillcrest!
Two Fridays ago, Suga and one of the girls went to the fairly new Oak Wine Bar and Cocktail Lounge owned by Lisa-Gaye and Kirk Chin who also own Fromage.
With Fromage just below and El Centro beside it, parking may not always be available inside.
We entered the new hot spot at about 9:30pm, were greeted nicely and felt relieved to instantly get a table for 2 inside. They not only had a wide range of Wines, but Cocktails as well. I liked that if you were just a party of two with different tastes in wine, there were enough options to choose from by the glass. I prefer Chardonnays and Rieslings. There were no Rieslings by the glass so I had a Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay and my gal pal had a glass of Rosé instead of her preferred Moscato. Wine by the glass was mostly $800JMD/glass.
After a few glasses, when the ‘munchies’ kick in, Oak has some delicious, affordable bites such as Firecracker Spring rolls, Crispy Chicken sliders, Calamari and more. We shared the Smoked Marlin Ceviche along with Pita Crisps and Lemon Aioli ($950JMD).
Their Charcuterie Board with cured meats, olives, Danish blue etc. looked delish though and I am looking forward to trying it next time.
Our waiter’s name who kept slipping us with each sip was awesome. He was courteous with quite a sense of appropriate humour. I believe his name was ‘Dimel’, if not we already told him we would just call him ‘D’. Loved his bow tie and their modernised yet effective way of taking orders and seeing which wines etc. were available on their tablet.
Cheers 🙂
Oak Wine Bar & Cocktail Lounge
Unit #5, 8 Hillcrest Avenue.Â
Kingston 6, Jamaica
Email: [email protected]
OPENING HOURS:
Tuesdays – Thursdays: 4pm-12am
Fridays & Saturdays: 4pm-2am
Medusas is now LEVEL 96, revamped with a new owner!
Medusas has reopened as LEVEL 96 Bar and Lounge on 96 Hope Road under the new ownership of Dexter Huxtable, who has the business he is well known for, Spokes Apparel downstairs.
Suga visited with friends for drinks last Saturday and the bar has certainly gotten a facelift with Jack Daniel’s branding.
They opened at 5:30pm on Saturday, which was too late for me but I was told they are definitely considering opening earlier on Saturdays.
Steak night continues on Fridays and they still have ‘All you Can Drink’ on Wednesdays. They also now have Seafood night on Tuesdays.
They have bar food available such as Stamp and Go, Wings, Wraps, Soup, Burgers, Jerk Chicken and Jerk Pork with sides of Bread, Fries or Wedges. They also have Pasta available. Prices seem reasonable, ranging from $200 to $2400JMD.
Their Drink menu had a range of Cocktails and Mixes. I tried their Mojito before I went on to my regular consumption of V/X and Pepsi. Their Mojito gets a thumbs up. Refreshing.
Service was good, expected for a reopening. Patrons were scarce in the early evening but more came out later in the night.
Suga always looks forward to a new bar for casual drinking, especially an old favourite and will return.
Brick-Stone Pizza on East Street in Kingston!
Suga bears went on an adventure last Saturday and found Brick-Stone Pizza, which they enjoyed.They even have healthy whole wheat Pizza! Give them a try.
For Delivery, call 876-854-1384.
Escape to Blue Ridge Restaurant in the Cool Mountains this Summer!
Last Saturday, my husband and I made it all the way to Blue Ridge. A 40 minute drive from Papine that was worth it.
We made reservations for 5pm and we were on time. Upon arrival, I loved the colourful landscape driving in. We were greeted nicely and offered fresh market lettuce with lovely foliage to purchase.
We were seated and given enough time to become acquainted with the picturesque view and fresh air that surrounded us. We admired the rustic decor, use of colours and cute centerpieces with fresh rosemary.
After we thought the decor was nice, they just kept stepping it up a notch with uniqueness and creativity. The main menu came in a picture frame that stood on the table so you didn’t have to hold up anything. We ordered the Soup of the day ($650JMD), Corn Chowder that came out in a reasonable amount of time and was decent.
Then came our exciting entrees with a twist. I had the Blue Ridge Pork Chops in Guava Glaze with a side of mashed potatoes ($2700JMD) and my husband had the Homemade Chicken Pot Pie with a side of macaroni and cheese ($1800JMD). The Chicken Pot Pie came in a tray with a globe and my Pork Chops came with a huge elephant head sculpture.
There was a burst of flavour upon tasting the Chicken Pot Pie. The macaroni and cheese was ok but the mashed potatoes that accompanied my Pork chop was herby and tasty. The Pork chop was tender and succulent. I enjoyed every piece of it.
We topped off our meal by sharing a delicious Coffee Rum Ice cream.
Since persons travel all the way up there, I love that they make special efforts to be unique. I enjoyed their creativity and the fact that the majority of their food was fresh and homemade. They also found a way to incorporate our famous Blue Mountain Coffee into their menu with the Coffee Rum Ice cream, Blue Hot Chocolate and Blue Ridge Coffee.
A bit pricey but when you have good service, good food, excellent presentation with a spectacular view and fresh air, then your bill comes in a gift box, that’s value for money and a lovely experience that was worth the long drive.
Blue Ridge Restaurant and Cottages
Location: Salt Hill Lot 9 East Rural, St. Andrew, Blue Mountain
Ph: 562-7580
***Reservations recommended
Cruising out to Pelican Bar!
Pelican Bar is a rustic bar that was built from wood by a fisherman, Floyd Forbes in 2001 on a sand bank in the middle of the sea. It is half way between Black River and Treasure Beach.
Of course it was named after the flocks of Pelicans that used to rest on the sand bank.
It is now an established attraction as the hotels quickly recognized what a nice get away it is. Local fishermen will ferry you over from Black River and Treasure Beach, that are about 20 minutes out.
Suga enjoyed the Catamaran Cruise about a month ago with Island Routes from an hour and a half away. The boat was anchored about 2 minutes away from the Bar and we were carried over the low waters by a small motor boat that would collect us in an hour.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the local fishermen that took orders for fish and drinks from the bar. They keep it simple as they are literally out in the middle of the sea so options are limited. For food, the only meal of the day was Brown Stew Fish and rice an peas. Rice and Peas? Yes. Asking for a side of Bammy was a special order. That’s it. As a tourist attraction and for the experience, I found $15US for the food to be quite reasonable. Tourists mostly enjoyed Rum, Red Stripe Beer and Heineken and the food was ready by the time you explored a little and had a drink.
A man walked around that would etch your names in the wooden floor of the bar, who I am sure collects a lot of tips.
Some tourists did a bit of swimming and snorkelling and collected sea eggs and sea urchins while I enjoyed chilling in the water, chatting and drinking beer. Before we knew it, it was time for those who came by Island Routes to head back to land.
It was not an oh so spectacular place but it was all about the experience and it was definitely an opportunity to get away, relax and enjoy the simplicity offered. One thing that could really amp up what they had to offer? It’s St. Elizabeth, so they could get some Shrimp aka ‘Peppa Swims’ at that bar!
Awesome, Picturesque Beach Day. Lovely spot to enjoy with family and friends. Explore Jamaica! Suga endorsed.
Pelican Bar
Location: ‘Di middle of di sea’ – St. Elizabeth
Ph: 876-354-4218
Café El Centro, cosy spot to eat all day long
About 2 Saturdays ago, Suga faced the famous question from her other half, ‘Where should we go for lunch?’. After the usual pondering for a few minutes, I mentioned that House of Loaves was having a New York ‘Halal’ Cart-Style day at Active Home Centre. His response when he looked at the ad showing that their food ranged from $800-$1500JMD was, ‘No sah. 15 bills for food from a truck that sells in New York for $7.99US and we can still sit down and have something nice somewhere else for that price or less?!’ He suggested Café El Centro above Fromage on Hillcrest avenue where friends have been going and enjoying their food, so I agreed to go.
We arrived at about 3:30pm and we were greeted pleasantly and seated. I instantly felt cosy in the quiet, quaint atmosphere with vintage décor. I loved the use of wooden palettes for the ceiling, hanging lanterns, decorated wooden signs on the walls and wine glasses hanging from the palettes in part of the ceiling above a wine and pastry cooler. All of this was complemented by a calming colour scheme of browns, beiges and a pastel green.
There were a few diners and one of them was enjoying Pancakes and Eggs beside us because they serve American-style Breakfast all day!
My husband and I were discussing items on the menu which they seemed to have revised again including items for dinner as well. The menu had quite a range of items including Paninis, Sandwiches and Wraps, Pastas, Soup, Snapper Fillet and Shrimp dishes, Pork Chops and more. The prices quoted were tax inclusive as well.
The diner beside us overheard us trying to decide and since I mentioned that I felt for a Wrap, she said that their Chicken Roti Wrap was really good. So my husband ordered the Lamb Burger with fries, which you can get with a wheat bun ($1200JMD) and I ordered the Curried Chicken Roti Wrap with veggies on the side ($950JMD).
Our food arrived quickly and the manager, Tina Newman who took our order was very attentive. She was Professional but friendly at the same time. She gave my husband the option of having Mint jelly on the side, which she brought and I also ordered their homemade Lemonade ($300JMD) that was refreshing.
The Curried Chicken Roti Wrap was very tasty and did not kill me with pepper, it had just the right amount of spice that I enjoyed. I liked that the veggies were fresh as well.
The Lamb was tender and flavourful for the the Lamb Burger, the bun was fresh and it was appreciated that the meat filled the bun perfectly. Not many places get the meat and bun proportion right.
Even though we were sitting and chatting after our meal, our table was cleared quickly. The Chef came out and asked for our feedback, which was positive.
Tina came back over to our table and told us about their Steak night that they started on Fridays. Since Medusas is now closed, the same Chef Robin Rickhi does Steak night and I know his Steaks are succulent and he has a special marinated seasoning.
We were told they face the demand for Steak on other days so she said you can call in your order early if you wish to do so and the Chef there will whip it up for you, whether you are ordering steak or not.
The newlyweds had a delightful experience and we will return.
Café El CentroÂ
Location: 8 Hillcrest Avenue
Ph: 876-927-8415
Opening hours: 9am -10pm
Email: [email protected]