Food From The SOUL

Ok, ok, ok...I know I said I wouldn't post again until Friday, but a link my friend Steve posted on facebook last night inspired me to go ahead and blog today anyway.  

 May I Offer You A Drink To Start With? 

In my first blog Welcome To: The Din-HER Club, I said "Everyone loved my Grandma's southern hospitality, cooking and warm smile. Her faith in God and commitment to the church was so strong, it made us believe that the reason her cooking was so good and put people at peace after they ate it, is because God was guiding her hands and measurements".  #fact  Well, my fellow Din-HERs and Foodies to me that's what real soul food is all about, it's cooking from the soul! It doesn't matter what you cook as long as it's made with love. You don't need measuring cups and spoons when you're cooking from the soul because somehow over time you master how much to add/give and how much to take away/omit.
Bon Appetit!

Appetizer

If you leave it to me I could write this entire blog about my family's cooking all day everyday, but that would defeat the purpose of my blog.  One cuisine that I love and is in my top 3 is..... JAMAICAN FOOD!!!!

 (Oh boy, I can see Terri-Ann and Shawniel reading this now with their lighter fingers up in the air with joy.)

 

Outside of the southern fried chicken, grits, cornbread, collard greens, candy yams apple brandy and pound cake etc., I grew up on, I also fell in love with Jamaican/Caribbean food.  From the ackee and salt fish, stew peas, cracked lobster, brown stew red snapper, sorrel, red stripe, curry goat, bun and cheese, grape nut ice cream, ting etc....I just love it ALL! 

 

I have visited Jamaica (Negril, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay) for vacation every summer for the past 4 years.  I even dated a Jamaican guy that I attended undergrad with for 4 years and mastered a few of their infamous dishes, how to speak patois and do some of  their dancehall moves (nuh linga).  Terri-Ann and Shawniel ask me all the time "Girl, are you sure you're not Jamaican?"

 

 I use to enjoy going over my ex's house for gatherings and Sunday dinner. I would just sit in their kitchen with the lace curtains and watch his Mom and Dad (The Johnsons) chop up all the fresh produce, clean the meats (yuck), while he jerked the chicken on the grill with red stripe. His Dad's fish soup was my favorite and it was absolutely fantastic!  Like I said he's my ex so I don't eat over there anymore, but I am happy they were once apart of my life and able to teach me a few Jamaican soul food recipes.  
There were a few Jamaican takeout spots in my hometown, but nothing could come close to Mr. Johnson's Jamaican soul food, until one day my original Dinner Club buddy/BFF (Bootsy) took me to this little Jamaican restaurant out in Mt. Vernon, NY.  The food at this family run restaurant reminded of eating at the Johnson's home and even my home because it was so intimate and the food of course was made with love and from the soul (Mi tell yu di food wicked mon!).

Ripe Kitchen & Bar

Cuisine: Caribbean 

51 W. Sandford Blvd
Mt Vernon, NY 10550

 (914) 665-7689

Price: ($16-$25)

The Entree

I'll go back to my dining experience at Ripe in a minute:  Last night my friend posted a link to an article called: How I Learned To Stop Giving Boyfriends Husband Privileges (link below)... Yup, let it sink in and marinate y'all! The title in itself needs no explaining, but as I read the article I became attached to this woman's story and how she specifically related the negatives of food and cooking for a man before the ring as a clever metaphor.

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She stated: "It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon.  I was standing in my kitchen preparing an elaborate six course soul food meal for a young man I was dating at the time.  I remember preparing each dish slowly, paying attention to all ingredients carefully, sampling each dish to make sure they were just right and smiling anxiously every step of the way.  My companion enjoyed the meal, but shortly after, we parted ways and have never spoken a word to each other since. When I realized that the more I gave to my boyfriends, that the less of me I had for myself. It was then that I decided to shift my personal focus." #amen #message

Ummm, you know that moment when you're in church on Sunday and feel like the Pastor wrote his/her entire sermon about and for you??? Yup, that's how I felt when reading her article!  I know myself and some of my Din-HER Club ladies and even guys friends are guilty of this (who are ducking under the church pews now). Although I loved to cook anyway,  I too sometimes USE TO cook elaborate meals for someone I was dating and when things didn't work out, I wanted the guy to throw their food back up and give it back to me on my Pier1 plate (bad example, but you get the point).  I didn't literally want the food back, but I wanted my precious time back.  As I got older, even more beautiful-er (lol) and wiser, I too learned that IT WAS MY FAULT and that I needed to focus on me.  If  I did date during that process,  I needed to be 100% courted and wooed (in my grandmas voice) for a while before even considering making a bowl of cereal for a guy.

Yes, it goes both ways, but I think us women do it more often.  My Din-HER Club ladies and I have shared many stories about this topic relating to those odd creatures aka men.  I'm not saying a man doesn't deserve some appreciation or kind gestures from his lady during the pre-ring stage, but when we give up and do so much before the ring/serious commitment and they walk away, they also walk away with a piece of us and even our soul.  I know I didn't want everyone walking around with a piece of me so over time I mastered how much to add/give and how much to take away/omit to someone I was dating.  I too shifted my focus, personal goals and my stance on dating/relationship and it's the best feeling in the world! #girlpower

Back to My Dining Experience at Ripe: From the outside I thought Ripe was an Asian eatery because of the Chinese lanterns that hung in the front window, but as soon as I walked in, the old reggae tunes of Beres Hammond, Bob Marley & The Wailers and Sugar Minott had me ready to whine and twist up mi waist, the decor had a real home like feel because the walls were based in clay and painted in a rouge red color to give it that real vintage vibe. The lights were dimmed really low so the luminous flickers from the candle votives made me feel like I was at a real Jamaican bashment party. On the outdoor patio there were more dining tables set up, tikki torches, string lights, a projector showing muted reggae music videos and the DJ played slow reggae that had all the couples dancing and onlookers grooving at their tables.

  

I won't go into all the details about the food at Ripe because my words won't do it any justice!  Their *escovitch fish, oxtail, cuban stuffed plantain, (yes, I have tried all these dishes 0_o) *cod spring rolls, *jerk steak, rasta pasta and *rum punch (one and you're done) are MAGNIFICENT! Outside of one of the female hostess being a little rude, I have been there a hundred times and I plan to go back a hundred more times!  The summertime is my favorite time to go because of the outdoor patio and I can shoot down to Manhattan for some more fun afterwards.

Dessert

Overall, I give this restaurant a rating of 4.5 out of 5. I have kept this precious jewel of a restaurant a secret for years, but since taking my mom and my girlies there and seeing their reaction to how good it was, I figured I could share it with you all too (as I cringed and hesitated to push the publish blog button).

 

* Favorite Ripe Menu Items:  *Escovitch Fish, *Cod Spring Rolls, *Jerk Steak  and *Rum Punch

Cited Link:   

How I Learned To Stop Giving Boyfriends Husband Privileges / May 2012 - By Liz Lampkin

http://madamenoire.com/178488/how-i-learned-to-stop-giving-boyfriends-husband-privileges/