Thursday, April 19, 2012

Island Eating

I'm so far behind now with posting restaurant reviews that I can't worry about posting them in any sort of order. It'd be nice if I could write something roughly around the time when I eat at these restaurants, but alas...I'm just not that good! Between work, puppy training, traveling, and getting various other new technology toys (now a proud member of the iPhone family), writing blog posts has become more of a novelty concept for me. Luckily, eating has not!

A few weeks ago, my dad uttered a phrase I never thought I'd hear him say..."Want to try that Jamaican place out Shenandoah Avenue?" Uhhhh...heck yes! Depending on the type of person you are, this is the sort of restaurant you would drive by and either be really excited or really frightened. It is in an "interesting" part of town and there's not much in the way or advertising or marketing, but it definitely appeared to be authentic. The restaurant is called Little Jamaica, and they are serving up some unique Caribbean cuisine.
I had driven by Little Jamaica a couple times on the way to puppy obedience school and my dad had heard good things about it from one of his employees at work, so we decided to try it for lunch one day. He brought his employee along with us to help navigate the menu and we were the only people in the restaurant when we walked in. The menu featured an assortment of curry and stew dishes as well as a variety of meats, including chicken, fish, goat, and oxtail. I decided to have the Jerk Chicken, which came with black beans and rice, cabbage, and plantain chips.

After having eaten meals in various countries in the Caribbean, I can't deny that this dish was authentic. The jerk chicken had a strong amount of heat from the spices and the chicken was cooked on the bone, which meant having to deal with the bones while trying to eat. I mentioned I'd had a dining experience like this before, only it was in a slum town in South Africa called Ntabankulu. I never thought ANYTHING would remind of that place. The chicken was probably the least impressive part of the meal - there were too many bones and not enough edible meat, which made it not even worth the trouble. Again, probably a bit too authentic for my tastes. I tried some of my dad's oxtail and was much more impressed with the flavor and tenderness of his dish. However, the rice & beans and cabbage had good flavor and the portions were very well sized. It was a little expensive at around $9 for a plate, but I probably could have stretched it to two meals if I'd wanted to.

The restaurant offers very little in terms of atmosphere, and they appear to do a decent amount of takeout. We sat at a table outside and noticed a few people come pick up food and eat while sitting on the hoods of their cars - must be some sort of insider thing. I don't know if I would rush to bring a visitor here, but these are the sorts of restaurants that a give a town's dining scene true character. It's easy to find fancy and flashy restaurants when you hang out in the popular parts of town where everyone is trying to be seen. But it's more of an adventure to try the places that are full of character and off the beaten path. And Little Jamaica offers such an experience.

Little Jamaica on Urbanspoon

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Cookie Monster

Dear Diary,
I just ate 14 chocolate chip cookies. I'm off to read about the benefits of bulimia.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Best of the Year

This is my favorite sports week of the year. The NCAA Final Four, MLB's Opening Day, and The Masters all take place over an eight day period. My favorite of the three events is The Masters, but I also love watching the Final Four - especially the Saturday semifinal games. You get to see the conclusion of one season (college basketball), the beginning of another season (baseball), and the premiere event in one sport (The Masters). It doesn't even matter to me which teams are playing, it's just great to enjoy as a sports fan. I just wish I were Jim Nantz, who gets to cover the Final Four and The Masters for CBS.


Let the games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor.



Sunday, April 1, 2012

My Week in Pictures

The past week has been busy, crazy, and fun - all at the same time. There are times when a routine is helpful for being efficient and productive and organized. And there are other times when it's good to do something different, like taking a random trip, or enjoying a bizarre meal, or treating yourself...I did all three this past week. Here's some of the highlights in pictures:

Last Sunday, Nicole and I did something we never do...go to the movies. We don't feel like spending the money and we usually just rent things from the library. But we made an exception to go see The Hunger Games. We are big fans of the books and really enjoyed the movie. Already looking forward to the next one!

On Wednesday, Nicole and I drove to Richmond for the Virginia Food & Beverage Expo. This event featured hundreds of local food companies, many of them being small family businesses. We had a great time sampling their products and learning about their companies. It was also my first time hanging out in Richmond and it was a lot of fun - other than the miserable 8 hours of driving in one day.

Friday, I had lunch at a restaurant in Roanoke called Little Jamaica. I plan to write a full review, but I'll go ahead and say that this place had character. My jerk chicken and my dad's ox tail were legit...maybe even too legit. 

Yesterday, we went to Blacksburg and hung out at Virginia Tech's International Street Fair. As I wrote in yesterday's post, I was surprised at how big the event was and much diversity there was. I found out today that over 10,000 people attended the Fair and there were over 40 countries represented. I feel so cultured.

And then today, we did something I had been wanting to do for a long time - we hiked Mill Mountain. We started at the base of the mountain and made our way up to the Star. I wasn't able to get any good pictures but it was a good hike, minus all the bugs. To celebrate, we went downtown and enjoyed a snowball from Bayou Snowballs, another place I plan to write a review about soon.

I hope this coming week is just as fun!