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Fast
food hang out
LINES
OF well-dressed citizens, 'dibbi dibbi' teenagers, 'dancehall'
characters, dreadlocked brethren, 'sketels and montels', children
of all sizes... everybody dressed in an array of colours with
many squeezed into mind-boggling new 'barrel' fashions (according
to my Kingstonian friend) with hair styles that defy gravity.
They patronise the halls of Mother's, Island Grill, Wendy's,
Burger King and MacDonalds daily, settling down to their bounty
of burgers, grilled steak; chicken or fish; little colourful
bags of fries of all types, large icy drinks with fat straws
and boxes and paper.
Lordy!
Lordy! paper and more paper strewn everywhere! Isn't there
something we can do about all that paper? Is it really necessary
to have every individual fast food order wrapped in reams
of rain forest?
I
am not a fast food freak but when in Rome ... so I joined
the long queues nightly in my quest for that Hmmm Hmmm Good!
mind-boggling 'special taste'. You know -- the one that causes
kids to suffer temper tantrum syndrome with voices that can
whine like sirens and beg unmercifully all in one fell swoop
forcing adults to capitulate without a fight? Yep! That's
the one! Wars could be won with that strategy!
In
the world of this ever expanding commodity which is in our
face constantly through radio and television ads, there is
so much to take into consideration and, of course, an endless
choice of fare. It was really difficult task to pit US concessions
against 'local names', so I relied not only on my taste but
on patrons to help me decide.
Island
Grill
I
saw Norma Shirley, the famed Jamaican Chef (and now - shhh!
fast food connoisseur) with the food editor of 'de other'
newspaper at Le Island Grill, digging into some fine jerk
fish! On sampling same and trying my best to be fair -- decided
without a doubt that the Roast Jerk Fish at Island Grill hits
the top of the chart for taste!! And at J$130 totally affordable.
Yes!
Go Island Grill! Ray! Ray! Ray!
And
a special prize for the Half Way Tree Branch for having the
best 'barrel' fashions in the world of in-house-fast-food-haute-couture.
It was a joyous sight to behold.
Seriously
though I love everything about your design concept Island
Grill, even the boxes. Very, very innovative and very Caribbean
-- no wonder you were able to branch out beyond your shores.
Spotted your peppery delivery vans on the streets too! Congratulations.
I
am crazy about your (I can hardly believe I am writing this!)
seasoned fries, the green banana and plantain ones in particular.
The Pumpkin Rice is divine but you do need to have another
look at the Jerk Burger. Could be wonderful, I am sure. Back
on the drawing board I hope? Oh! the wooden Suggestion Boxes
are a great consideration.
Wendy's
I
dropped into Wendy's at Liguanea. Cool, clean, friendly staff,
amazing array of grub. Healthy salads and just love those
baked potatoes! I really enjoyed eating there actually and
have since returned. Not as much as I have gone back to Island
Grill for that fish 'though.
Had
a chat at Wendy's with a gentleman whose wife was in hospital
after a serious operation. He highly recommended their salad
bar as he prepared a take-away for her. Nice touch, a much
better gift than chocolates, flowers or magazines when faced
with hospital food.
Another
Kingston family told me they are not allowed by their father
to eat anywhere else! Okay then! 'Not even at home kids? Your
Mom must be an awful cook.'
So
Miss Wendy, that square burger in the round bun was delicious.
Where did that little spark of genius come from? Reminded
me of Eddy Murphy in his famous video 'Raw' describing how
poor his family was growing up in New York, the horror of
having to face neighbourhood kids. He with his mother's fat
hamburger patty, oozing with greasy onions, slapped between
white square bread, soppy from the gravy, they with Big Mac's
in hand and whiny taunting words "We have MacDonald's!
We have MacDonald's."
Experiences
like this can change a child's perception of life forever!
Hey! if Eddy came to Kingston and ate a MacDonalds at the
'Dullhaney' Branch, he would honestly welcome his childhood
experience.
Dullhaney's
Big Mac
This
is a major pit stop but Jurassic flies, indifferent 'mi nuh
kno' staff', cardboard burgers, the smell of floors mopped
with dirty water and that so-called Orange Juice! Give us
a break. Shame, shame MacDonald's. Not surprised you need
brighter than bright colours, huge monster plastic signs with
clowns aglow, give-away toys and massive playgrounds to lure
the children in. Its certainly not the food I tasted for sure.
And where's that local food promise? Come on Mr. & Mrs.
Mac, you all have been in business too long. Let's get that
quality control thing working.
Un-be-lie-vably
bad! One bite of the normal burger, one bite of the fish burger
and it landed in the rubbish. Not before I got a picture though,
this tells it all! Get with it or the competition will mam
you dung.
Burger
King
Burger
King at Liguanea was excellent and came within inches for
the best burger. It is just that Wendy's square one is a little
juicier. Maybe the square look is juicier than the round look,
who knows. (Does that work with bodies by the way?).
My
companion swore that Burger King's Fish Burger contains by
far the "fattest, juiciest, tastiest" piece of fish
than any other in the world! Well, excuse me! Had to admit,
it was excellent.
Love
the little girl who waxed profound on the qualities of Burger
King and the play place.
"Mi
nah eat de hamburger nowhere else" said she, giving me
that evil eye and stuffing her larger than life burger in
her face -- sweet.
Kudos
for the smiling, happy and efficient staff! Great colourful
uniforms. Congratulations Mr. Foster for the training efforts!
Just grill that hamburger a little less.
That
leaves me with Mother's. Stopped in at Liguanea branch. The
outside decor was appealing but inside left a lot to the imagination.
The staff was very friendly and helpful, I might add. Nothing
on the menu really said "eat me now!" I was expecting
a good comparison to Island Grill. However, was made to understand
that they were primarily a Chicken & Patty Place, that
is how Mother's began -- with the best patties in Jamaica.
So with all due respect, I leave them for when I get into
patty or chicken tasting. Pitting them against the big fast
food guys this time was not in order.
Oh!
Staff all round need to speed up a little and pay a little
more attention to orders. Too many get them wrong creating
havoc at the counter -- and all those questions per order.
I thought I was applying for a US Visa half the time! Please.
I
shall repeat -- Go Island Grill Go, Ray! Ray! Ray! With a
quick hooray to both Wendy's and Burger King. You have all
surprised me pleasantly and I may yet become a fast food freak.
By
Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor
Source:
jamaica-gleaner
- 22/09/2001
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