Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Killer seafood?

So yesterday B takes me out. We decide to try something new. We visit 3 different restaurants that we have not been to, but they all appear to have either closed down or are currently under renovation. As a last resort B says “Jimmy’s Killer Prawns it is!”

Now I’m a little sceptical coz’ I am not a seafood fan but hey, don’t most seafood restaurants do steak too? And I’m sure I can remember eating Calamari once that was not too bad, maybe I could give that a try….

The restaurant is situated upstairs, in a busy shopping centre. We climb the stairs and find a waiter, Nathan, waiting for us at the top. “Smoking or not?” I dread this particular question… I no longer smoke but B does. If he decides on the smoking section we will once again be shunned to the little outside area where we will either freeze or boil depending on the temperature and most likely have to sit on uncomfortable garden furniture with plastic tablecloths being treated like the lepers from bygone days. The reply…Smoking….aagh!

The question was immediately followed by “Inside or out?” My turn now – inside please and voila we get seated in an enclosed smoking section decked out like the main restaurant area in style! Great place smokers feasting area!

Nathan handed us our menu’s and we took a peek. It has got to be the most interesting menu I’ve yet to come across. They have a “make your own meal” set up called “Choose your table” where you choose from a bunch of individual dishes and they get laid out as a platter serving for the table to share. We ummed and aahed and eventually came up a selection including:
Garlic snails
Queen prawns
Calamari strips
Line fish “Being butter fish on the day”
Rice
Tartar Sauce

The food was quick and tasty. What I loved was that you order what you want so you do not pay for garnishing or items on your plate you do not want.

Nathan watched us like a hawk, we never noticed of course, but the second we needed him he appeared from nowhere. He also had heaps of information regarding both the specials and the franchise as a whole, which apparently has restaurants in as far a field as France and Dubai.

I ordered a chocolate mousse for desert, my ultimate temptation, while B just had a filter coffee. My mousse was made from both dark and white chocolate and I took my sweet time about eating it.

For a seafood place it was not overpriced, the whole meal including soda’s and dessert came to a cool R200. Killer deal for Killer prawns!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Barbados Dining – Waterfront Café is a Bridgetown Favourite

Next time you're in Barbados, stop by Waterfront Café for lunch or dinner. Like many restaurants on the island, Waterfront offers a water setting - but the water at this eatery is not the seaside but rather the peaceful careenage in the capital city of Bridgetown.

Next to the outdoor tables are deep-sea fishing boats and across the waterway are buildings painted lively colors. Such a pleasant setting for a very good, reasonably priced, and beautifully prepared mostly-Bajan food.

Waterfront Café: Live Jazz, Great Food
Live jazz entertains at dinner as you dine on fabulous local and regional food in a relaxed atmosphere. Last time we had dinner at Waterfront Cafe, we took friends and each of us ordered different entrees and then shared. We all agreed the pepper pot was out of this world (it always is at Waterfront) and the gazpacho had a perfect amount of garlic.
We sampled each other's veggie samosas, crab cakes, flying fish, and coconut shrimp, which were all excellent. We had to try a Bajan dessert, of course, and found the guava with ice cream did not disappoint. We also ordered carrot cake, which was moist and frosted in classic cream cheese frosting. Oh my!
I mustn't neglect to mention our rum drinks, made with Old Gold Mount Gay rum. If you've ever had Barbados' Old Gold, then you know the smooth taste it gives rum libations.
Sitting under the stars along the peaceful boat-lined waterway, eating wonderful food, soft jazz drifting through our lively conversation, I dare say it was a perfect Barbados evening.
Barbados: The Most Repeat Visitors
Temperature-wise, of course, most nights in Barbados are "perfect Barbados evenings:" not too hot with a very slight breeze. In winter months I take a very light wrap when I dine by the water; in the summer, bare arms are perfectly comfortable.
Experiencing such an evening while lingering over scrumptious food, drink, and music at Waterfront Café ... well, this is one reason visitors to Barbados return time and time again. Indeed, Barbados is the Caribbean island with the most repeat visitors.

About the Author
Get the real scoop on Barbados by visiting Jane Shattuck's blog at http://OneLoveBarbados.com For casually elegant beachfront Barbados vacation rentals, please check her site, http://BarbadosBeachVacationRentals.com Ms. Shattuck is an American living in Barbados, married to a Barbadian, and building a vacation rental business and a life in her new home.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jane_Shattuck

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Flying Solo

So B is going away this weekend and we got speaking about being alone. Last time we were single was more than 9 years ago and he had eaten (and watch some exotic dancers) at a little pub called Silver Wings at the Springs Airfield, I had to see this so off we went.

It was a small place with about 10 wooden bench style tables around the pub. Two of the tables were already taken so we opted for one on the other side of the room located near the door. I sat looking towards the windows, which gave me a bird's eye view of the airfield, watching Gyrocopters and light aircraft taking off and landing. B, as always, sat so he could watch the entrance (a curse of serious military training).

The service astounded me! We got the most efficient service I have had in years. The waiter was over within a minute and took our drinks orders. A Coke each and gave us a menu. We pondered over the menu, umming and ahhing, as we tried to decide what to choose. We giggled as we noticed each item on the menu was cleverly named after a type of aeroplane, Leer jet breakfasts and chopper burgers. We had both settled on a burger but when I turned over the menu in finality we discovered they served baskets. After a quick glance we both decided we would rather share a basket called a Spitfire. Fussy me had to ask for items to be swopped but the waiter was on the ball and nothing was too much trouble.

It was brilliant, a large tray with a barbeque dip in the centre. The tray was heavily ladden with goodies to eat from onion rings and chips to Russians, cocktail sausages and chicken wings, not to mention the chicken nuggets and fish bites, everything a great platter should comprise.

The waiter still quick on his feet, got a second round of Cokes whilst we sat chatting about the last time B visited the Silver Wing pub. B headed off to the toilets, his regular haunt, and upon his return commented on the clean but rudimentary toilets. He told me I just have to take a look before we leave so I agreed to go on our way out.

After a while we were both to full to finish the tray so we left some of that devine food and asked for the bill. When the bill arrived B nearly fell off his chair, how cheap was that, for a mere
R 92.00 we had had a feast. I wished I could take my kids to enjoy this feast but it really is a pub and no under 18's allowed.

We headed for the door and I slipped into the bathrooms to examine B's rudimentary comment and to my surprise I could not have thought of a better description. The place was clean but the doors we non existent, the basin was moulded from concrete with a plain silver drain in the middle, definitely no plugs used here and in the mens the urinal was a concrete tiled drain. So simple so functional, so much work to clean.

As we headed for the car I commented that we would once again be flying solo this weekend but the Silver wing was no longer B's solo spot.