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Wordless Wednesday
Good Food, Great Company & Tiramisu
TT Restaurant Week wrapped up on Sunday night and this is my love note to all that prix fixe yumminess!
Here are my top three picks for 2014 plus a little lagniappe because I was feeling sad that the Week was ending.
Chop Chops
(Dinner & Mini Blogger Meet-Up)
At the beginning of 2014, one of my blogging goals was to host a meet-up of some kind with other local bloggers. I have been following (and secretly crushing on) some pretty awesome ladies and felt that the community of bloggers in Trinidad are so positive, it would be fantastic to meet them in person. Of course I spent almost all of 2014 working up the courage to reach out to them.
As it turned out the lovely ladies behind Living & Loving Life and Introvertly Bubbly were thinking the same thing! Thankfully, they are more ballsy than I am, long story short, Restaurant Week 2014 presented the perfect opportunity to plan a mini meet-up. It was a fun night, the highlight of which was some spirited after dinner conversation about cell phones, social media and disengaging from dinner companions to post photos to IG. Bacchanal!!!
I really enjoyed my dinner at Chop Chops. The food was excellent, the basil mashed potato which I unfortunately didn’t order but only sampled was so delicious, that I wished it could turn into a person…then I could take it to Las Vegas and marry it. It was that good! The service, unfortunately was a little sketchy, but it was the result of poor planning on the side of management which resulted in two servers for a busy Restaurant Week night. However, I was happy for the opportunity to try their food before committing to a more pricey dinner.
Chop Chops Gourmet Market & Bistro: 628-5555, 43 Mucurapo Rd, POS
Appetizer: Pimento Crab in Filo Tart – crab tart topped with cream cheese cilantro salad topped with pepper relish.
Entrée: Roulade of Chicken Breast stuffed with goats cheese, bells peppers, mushrooms and basil, served with orzo red pepper cream sauce. The sauce was really good!
Dessert: Tiramisu. The tiramisu was the reason I wanted to try Chop Chops. I wasn’t wowed by it, was kinda meh…despite the generous server giving me two pieces.
Stand outs: The Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg Lemonade was pretty refreshing and that oh so good Basil Mashed Potato.
Things to note: Phone service was sketchy there for some reason, but the staff will give you the password to their Wifi if you ask. Also, I found the tables to be poorly lit. But it could just be where our table was situated due to the busyness of Restaurant Week.
Cafe Mariposa
Cafe Mariposa has been on my Must Try List for at least year. I have been hearing about their Award-Winning Cocoa Ice Cream for a while and since I’ve been in a pretty serious long-term relationship with chocolate for most of my life, this was a no-brainer.
It’s a long-ish drive, at least 30 minutes from the main road and I’m ever grateful to my brother-in-law for being game for the adventure. The experience is worth it, I’m talking down home, “sweet hand food” at it’s best. The chutney which accompanied the dasheen sticks was to delicious I took some home with me. The food was unfussy, delicious and beautifully presented.
Cafe Mariposa: 669-8647, 58 Lopinot Settlement, Lopinot
Appetizer: Dasheen Sticks with chutney and Pumpkin soup.
Entrée: Cocoa Crusted Leg of Lamb with green banana casserole, Bianca Festive Rice (ground cocoa beans and beets gave this rice a rich color), fresh arugula salad and a stuffed cheesy Chayote.
Dessert: Award Winning Cocoa Ice Cream. Now you would think Award-Winning kinda gives you a heads up on what to expect…but it really doesn’t. It does not prepare you for the assault on your taste buds that will leave you looking side ways at lesser versions of chocolate ice cream.
Stand outs: The Award-Winning Cocoa Ice Cream. If I only had that, the lamb, the casserole and the chutney I would have been satisfied. The other dishes were just gravy on top. We were also serenaded by the family during dessert. So lovely.
Things to note: Mariposa places a strong emphasis on using vegetables that are grown in their backyard as well as by farmers in the area. While it is not a vegetarian restaurant, a vegetarian would certainly not go hungry here. Their Restaurant Week menu was pretty vibrant and told a lovely tale of refreshing home-grown earthiness.
I think my brother-in-law and I missed out on what appeared to be great ambiance during the day. There were hummingbird feeders located all along the verandah, so the next time we visit and there will definitely be a next time, it will be for lunch. We were told by owner and our chef for the night, Marcia, that you can request the Restaurant Week Menu if you wish. Also, they are a cash only establishment and the nearest ATM is at least 30 minutes away. So make sure to walk with cash.
Shesha
When I made my reservation for Friday night at Shesha, I prepared myself mentally for a crowded restaurant and possibly slow service. It helped greatly that I was promised by the voice on the other end of the phone, that their Tiramisu was lauded as one of the best in town. I assured the voice, that I would give my verdict after I tried it…since I have done the leg work. Once again, with my brother-in-law in tow, we set off for another great dinner. We were not disappointed.
Yes, there was a crowd, because it was Restaurant Week and a Friday night but we were not adversely affected by that. Let me stop here and say this, our server for the evening was Jahdeliah. She was engaging and helpful and clearly likes what she does. I was very impressed with the overall service of the staff – but especially her. The ambiance was nice and the snapper was really really good. I’m still thinking about that crispy crust.
Shesha: 622-4927, Shop #4, One Woodbrook Place, 189 Tragarete Rd, Woodbrook
Appetizer: Mushroom Caps stuffed with mushrooms and cheese.
Entrée: Pan seared Red Snapper served with sautéed potatoes.
Dessert: Tiramisu. The tiramisu was good…not the best I’ve had.
Stand outs: The service. We were treated really well despite it being a very busy night. I will definitely be back.
Things to note: Shesha’s regular menu promises a great meal for an affordable price.
Crews Inn
I was a little down that Restaurant Week was ending and there was some wiggle room in my budget…sooo I decided on a lagniappe(lagniappe is a creole word that means a little something extra). Crews Inn was the only place I could secure a last-minute reservation on Sunday night.
Since I have only ever done their Sunday Brunch and I have never been disappointed with their service, I was intrigued by what they offered for dinner. Folks, I have been missing out!!! Dinner had some stellar elements – the geera pork and plantain was a bestseller and I had a chocolate martini that I will be talking and thinking about for a long time to come. It was sooo damn good.
One of the downsides to Restaurant Week: The best restaurants may not take part and even if they do, they may not serve their *best* dishes. I was not impressed with the snapper I ordered and I suppose because I had a perfectly prepared filet on Friday night it was hard not to make the comparison. I am also guilty of eavesdropping on another diner’s conversation with her server about dessert and apparently Crews Inn has Tiramisu on their regular menu. I was tempted to go rogue and order it anyway, but my budget didn’t have that much wiggle.
Crews Inn: 634-4000, Chaguaramas Bay, Chaguaramas
Appetizer: Geera braised Pork with plantain bouchee, corn puree and pineapple salsa.
Entrée: Pan fried Red Snapper with provision risotto, tri color pepper slaw in an american sauce.
Dessert: Passion Fruit Panna Cotta with a ginger and clove sorrel compote and a passion fruit gastrique.
Stand outs: The geera pork. I ordered the Avocado Salsa, that way we had the opportunity to try both dishes. I shoulda ordered the pork. The avocado salsa was okay but that pork…was WOW! So you know I will be back for the tiramisu, the pork and another yummo chocolate martini.
Things to note: The restaurant overlooks Chaguaramas Bay, so if ocean views are your thing, you wont be disappointed.
Aww man…looking at these photos and reliving all that prix fixe fun has made me very hungry! Good thing Aioli is now offering a prix fixe Lunch Menu.Time to make a reservation!
Wordless Wednesday
Be nice to me. I gave blood today.
Well not today today but this is what is says on the sticker the nurse gives me when I’m finished “giving” blood. Today’s prompt asks what was the last donation you made and my last “donation” was on September 26th, the afternoon before I left for my NYC/DC vacation. So what had happened was…
My first time giving blood was for a friend’s mother who had to have major surgery and she needed blood. I’ve been donating pretty much every year since. I have a rule though…I don’t withdraw what I have in the “bank” for non-family members. For friends and friends of friends who are in need of blood, I usually visit the bank and have them take the blood and then donate that pint to that person. This way I always ensure I have a stock for my family and myself. Most people only realize the importance of blood donation until it affects them. *steps off of soap box for a bit*
While I’ve been a blood donor since 2001…the needle…the blood…the blood coming out of my arm still freaks me out. It’s quite an ordeal every six months. Yes siree. So it helps a lot that The Blood Bank has a mobile unit and they visit my office every six months, it is comfortable and familiar there. The nurse who usually does the actual “needle-sticking” and who I’ve grown accustomed to for more than a decade had major surgery earlier this year and has since retired. SOOO imagine my nerves when I realized it was going to be a someone new. A stranger who is not familiar with how finicky my veins are…which arm is best to use and generally understands that I need some extra attention because I’m a big baby until the needle is out of my arm.
For the last 12 years or so I’ve been using the vein which runs almost to the edge of the inside of my elbow. This vein has been used so much there are little needle point scars in that area. The veins on my left arm have always been tricky…either too small, not stable enough or in danger of collapsing…just typing “vein in danger of collapsing” has me feeling faint. But I will forge ahead…my trusty vein on my right hand was pumped and ready.
Then the nurse said that she just couldn’t use it because it wasn’t coming to the surface. In my mind I was like…YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU’RE DOING and I’m going to die on the 16th Floor having bled to death because of your incompetence. Dramatic I know…but hey giving blood is freaking dramatic for me. So she preps my left arm. The arm I’ve NEVER used before. The arm with the tiny veins…that are shaped funny that can OH.MY.GOD.COLLAPSE!!!
I’m hyperventilating at this point. She’s like relax….you will be fine. Deep breaths. I see her with needle in hand ready to stick. And I’m like you better focus on what you’re doing and STOP telling me to relax. I look away and…I…I…I don’t feel a thing! The needle is in and I didn’t feel a thing. But guess what, I worked myself into such a frenzy thinking about her making me bleed to death because she is using a new vein, I started feeling light-headed.
So much drama…she ended up having to tilt my chair backward…so that I was lying down. Blood started flowing again…and I was eventually feeling okay…embarrassed but okay. A little over twenty-five minutes later…I was done. She took the needle out and once again I didn’t feel a thing. I learned that day that the new and unfamiliar are not to be feared. That was the first time I didn’t feel the needle at all and that was the fastest I’ve ever filled the pint. That nurse got skills!
Of course the drama didn’t end there. Like I said at the beginning of the post I gave blood the afternoon before I was heading off on vacation. I mentioned to the nurse that I had an early morning flight and she suggested strongly that I get a good night’s sleep. Long story short…I never got to bed that night. So when I got the airport I felt dead on my feet. I bought a cup of coffee to keep me awake. BAD.EFFING.IDEA. No sleep after giving blood meant my body was working overtime…then to have caffeine on top of that…my poor heart was in overdrive. I started feeling ill even before we boarded.
By the time I was seated I knew I was going to be sick. As soon as the plane started moving I felt like I was going to pass out. It was freaking scary. Thankfully when I told the stewardess that I was feeling sick and why she immediately sprung into action. She made a cold compress for me and made me drink some very sweet juice. By the time the seat belt light was off I was feeling better. Thank you Jesus! Yep I felt like an idiot for not listening to the advice from the nurse and then compounding my error by having coffee…Upside is that I learned my lesson well. The hard way but…well.
*steps onto soap box once again* Here is my plug for blood donation:
People need to be more proactive about donating blood and not wait for something to happen to realize the importance of it. Don’t wait until someone close to you is injured and in need of blood to donate. Giving blood is really about community, and helping each other. According to the Ministry of Health, Trinidad & Tobago needs at least 65,000 units of blood annually yet only about 20,000 units are donated annually.
Also not everyone who volunteers can donate. For example people with hypertension or low iron are not eligible. You can read more about eligibility and where you can donate here.
Did you know that one pint of donated blood can save up to three lives? Blood donation is a trauma I willingly go through because blood is life. There will come a point in my life when I wont be able to give for any number of reasons. And let’s face it, life happens. I don’t want anybody close to me to be in need and I not be in a position to help. So I need to be prepared and do it while I still can.
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I’m participating in BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo Challenge for the month of December:
You can read some awesome entries here: NaBloPoMo December.