From The Mountain Express:
The Simma Down Caribbean Café just recently opened on Market Street downtown [Asheville], in the area formerly occupied by One Love. The restaurant is also surprisingly affordable, offering lunch plates laden with jerk chicken or pork and heaps of coconut rice and peas, greens and plantains — for the rock-bottom price of only $7. Chef/owner Sam Briggs says that the prices might go up eventually, but for now his aim is to draw customers through the front doors. The menu offers other traditional island dishes like salt-fish …

Last month the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a piece on a Trinidadian food stand called Calypso in Chestnut Hill’s Farmers Market.
Excerpt: “It is time to make the next round of roti. Campbell slides balls of dough made with ground split peas and garlic from under a kitchen towel, flattens them, and rolls them out with a big, wooden rolling pin. Then she lays the tortilla-like rounds on a circular griddle called a tahwah, brushing them with oil, and flipping them repeatedly with a blunt spatula.

The roti I buy is wrapped in …

MovieTowne is turning into quite a culinary hub for those in North-West Trinidad. When it first opened it was a bit of a wasteland (outside of the cineplex). The biggest non-movie attraction for the longest while was ‘Shakers’, an outdoor pub/bar. However over the last 12-18 months there’s been an explosion of eateries, representing everything from sushi (Hanami’s), to Trinidad Creole (Woodford Café) to American chain eating (TCBY’s and Ruby Tuesdays), Chinese (Shanghai Experience), Irish (J. Malone’s) and much more!
On my latest jaunt (to see the Simpsons movie) my …

I was first introduced to Häagen Dazs when I lived in the US so it was with great joy that I received the news several years ago that Häagen Dazs would be distributed locally via local supermarkets! Although the prices were astronomical, the quality of texture and flavour made it the perfect occasional indulgence for my palate. Then, in 2003, Hadco (the local distributor for Häagen Dazs) opened a Häagen Dazs cafe at Ellerslie Plaza in Maraval. Although I often passed it I never went inside. I’m a creature of …

Several months ago I was excited and surprised to be asked to join the Caribbean panel for The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants survey. Of course I said yes!
Two weeks ago my official thank you letter, and the issue of Restaurant magazine that presented the final top 100 candidates, arrived. Sadly (but not surprisingly) no Caribbean locations made the cut. There simply isn’t enough population I think for us to garner enough votes. I was a bit sad that there was not a list of the top finalists by …

The above advert for a restaurant (new?) called Angelo’s caught my eye in the Saturday Express. Ariapita Avenue is the main culinary artery for dining in and around Port-of-Spain and it really is amazing how many restaurants it seems able to contain! I think I”ll have to check them out, especially as Tiramisu is currently my Häagen Dazs flavour of choice (for reasons that will be posted in the near future ).
If you’ve eaten at Angelo’s why not leave a comment to let me and others know your …

In my continuing quest to share the ins and outs of Trinbagonian cuisine I have decided that its time to also include our ‘ambassadors’. I’m talking about those brave mom and pop operations that open up at home and abroad offering our fare to foreigners and locals alike. The quality of these places can range from the sublime to the abysmal which is why I want to begin compiling recommendations and warnings from readers and visitors of Caribbean eateries all over the world, especially those that offer and feature …