03-06-2015, 11:18 AM
Ladies night (Thursday) at the Jungle was packed with tourists/Jamaicans alike, but hardly anyone was downstairs (which is probably best to be avoided). There's a new bar outside the front entry at street level. And just in case you were wondering, yes, the ladies were looking NICE. Gals got in free until midnight; $1000 for the gents.
Expect the cab drivers to be waiting for you when you leave. If you're a guy still without a gal to escort at this point then this would be a good time to tell the driver you'd like to go to Scrub a Dub--and not because you think he needs to wash his car.
Sadly the fabulous soup/porridge joint across the road from the Jungle aka Kingfishers wasn't in operation and apparently hadn't been for some time.
Didn't get a chance to support a familiar street jerk chicken vendor aka Blue Dandy because Jerry said he was taking a long break.
Chatted with Miss Sonja outside her restaurant one morning. Got a big smile and wave as I approached. For those of you who don't know Miss Sonja's is a hidden gem--vastly superior to the box meal outlets the locals frequent while being affordable for economy travelers.
Made seemingly one disasterous meal purchase after another one stretch of the trip.
Waited forever for a mid-afternoon veggie patty at Niah's. Apparently his wife/gf? wasn't there that day. Anyway I was throwing up everything in my gut in less than an hour. It wasn't pretty. At least I'd made it back to my room before hurling.
Then there was the old rasta peddling his rasta stew along the road. What the heck, I'll help him out. Hey, wait a minute, this glop is ice cold. Oh great. Oh well, not going back. Toss in receptical.
Next on the list of dismal meals wasn't the restaurant's fault--it was mine. I'm the one who felt adventurous and ordered curried octopus. For those of you who don't know octopus is chewy. Imagine trying to eat a rubber ball. Would you like seconds?
At this point my Jamaican girlfriend decides I need a good meal so she prepares her own version of Rasta Pasta for me which is good, but not being a vegetarian my hunger really wasn't abated. Food. I need food. And by that I mean meat.
So I ordered beef stew from Colletta's for my next meal and returned to my porch with a big smile on my face in anticipation of finally feeling gastronomically satisfied. Only I quickly discovered I'd paid for a box of inedible bones topped with gravy along with an enormous helping of rice. "TELL YOUR CHEF I AM NOT A DOG," I said as I returned the un-eatten meal before storming off. Looking back this was unquestionably one of the best things I did on my trip. Received many kudos from the crew at Bamboo.
Norman the patty man was still working the beach arriving around noon with his bicycle. Saw a couple new items with shrimp and pumpkin patties included on the hand written menu on the box balanced on the bike. I did my best to mess with him a little innocently ordering koo-koo bread instead of coco bread and of course asking "how much for the whole box?" Best food bargain on the beach.
Don't miss the 2-for-1 Dirty Bananas ($500J) at Yellowbird daily from 9-6. If you don't know what a dirty banana is well it's like Dairy Queen for adults.
More to come. Lots of musicians (Luciano, I-Octane, Richie Spice, Yellowman, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt) took the stage--but not Sizzla.
Expect the cab drivers to be waiting for you when you leave. If you're a guy still without a gal to escort at this point then this would be a good time to tell the driver you'd like to go to Scrub a Dub--and not because you think he needs to wash his car.
Sadly the fabulous soup/porridge joint across the road from the Jungle aka Kingfishers wasn't in operation and apparently hadn't been for some time.
Didn't get a chance to support a familiar street jerk chicken vendor aka Blue Dandy because Jerry said he was taking a long break.
Chatted with Miss Sonja outside her restaurant one morning. Got a big smile and wave as I approached. For those of you who don't know Miss Sonja's is a hidden gem--vastly superior to the box meal outlets the locals frequent while being affordable for economy travelers.
Made seemingly one disasterous meal purchase after another one stretch of the trip.
Waited forever for a mid-afternoon veggie patty at Niah's. Apparently his wife/gf? wasn't there that day. Anyway I was throwing up everything in my gut in less than an hour. It wasn't pretty. At least I'd made it back to my room before hurling.
Then there was the old rasta peddling his rasta stew along the road. What the heck, I'll help him out. Hey, wait a minute, this glop is ice cold. Oh great. Oh well, not going back. Toss in receptical.
Next on the list of dismal meals wasn't the restaurant's fault--it was mine. I'm the one who felt adventurous and ordered curried octopus. For those of you who don't know octopus is chewy. Imagine trying to eat a rubber ball. Would you like seconds?
At this point my Jamaican girlfriend decides I need a good meal so she prepares her own version of Rasta Pasta for me which is good, but not being a vegetarian my hunger really wasn't abated. Food. I need food. And by that I mean meat.
So I ordered beef stew from Colletta's for my next meal and returned to my porch with a big smile on my face in anticipation of finally feeling gastronomically satisfied. Only I quickly discovered I'd paid for a box of inedible bones topped with gravy along with an enormous helping of rice. "TELL YOUR CHEF I AM NOT A DOG," I said as I returned the un-eatten meal before storming off. Looking back this was unquestionably one of the best things I did on my trip. Received many kudos from the crew at Bamboo.
Norman the patty man was still working the beach arriving around noon with his bicycle. Saw a couple new items with shrimp and pumpkin patties included on the hand written menu on the box balanced on the bike. I did my best to mess with him a little innocently ordering koo-koo bread instead of coco bread and of course asking "how much for the whole box?" Best food bargain on the beach.
Don't miss the 2-for-1 Dirty Bananas ($500J) at Yellowbird daily from 9-6. If you don't know what a dirty banana is well it's like Dairy Queen for adults.
More to come. Lots of musicians (Luciano, I-Octane, Richie Spice, Yellowman, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt) took the stage--but not Sizzla.