Tucked away on Phoenix Avenue, the recently opened Kushite’s Vegetable Cuisine restaurant has brought a little country comfort to Kingston. Sharing a car park with several other businesses, Kushite’s is the one closest to the road.

Heading straight ahead upon arrival, past a cosy waterfall feature on the right, I was greeted by co-owner Keisha McDonald, who was standing inside a large open-fronted wooden hut, thatched exactly like the dining gazebos. Just behind was her business partner and head chef Kushtafari, who was busily getting things started in the kitchen, along with a couple staff members.

Having opened only two days after the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards grand finale event this year, four other judges and I were keen to be among the first to enjoy the rave reviews we’d been given by a fellow judge.

Observer readers, the 2013/14 search for the best dining experience has begun!

Advised to order straight away because the meal would take 45 minutes to prepare, we made our choices and ordered lemongrass lemonades.

Comfortably seated inside one of the dining gazebos, McDonald joined us to relate their story.

“I have been a vegan for 10 years,” she told us, “and my partner Kushtafari, a little less time. He’s a trained chef, from HEART Trust/NTA, and has worked at the Hilton, Ashanti Oasis, and the raw food place up the road.

“We cook at home, and the things we were making we could not find outside. There was a gap in the market, and also, rather than always working for other people, we wanted to do something ourselves.

“We came here shopping one day, saw this site built, and literally thought to ourselves ‘Oh no, someone stole our idea’. We asked about it and found out that it was available. It was like the proprietor had unknowingly built it for me.”

On the subject of why we were not to call it a vegetarian restaurant, she had this to say: “It is vegetable cuisine, which should be about the taste and not just health and lifestyle. Those who are not vegetarians should be able to come here and enjoy the food, too.”

Twenty minutes after ordering, we waited for our drinks, and idly decided to throw in a glass each of peppermint wine and sorrel blackcurrant wine. Thirty minutes into our waiting time, two bowls of lentil broth containing little uniformed cubes of pumpkin and carrots arrived piping hot. A few sips and we were able to decipher the subtle kick of ‘Scotchy’, the perfect powers of coconut milk and its oil, and the aromatic lemon basil. “The lemon basil comes from Potosi Farms,” McDonald informed.

What a great start, but where were the other two starters? Ten minutes later, two plates of barbecued tofu kebabs with passion fruit sauce arrived. Searching for the apparently non-existent grill marks on the tofu and tomatoes, I removed the vegetables from their skewers and hungrily tucked in. The tofu was in fact fried, and dry, and the sauce was so full of sugar that any semblance of passion fruit had disappeared.

Finally, the lemonades arrived. While most refreshing and tasty, the undisclosed ginger overpowered our drinks, and none of us would have known that they contained lemongrass.

One hour after being seated, my zucchini ‘pasta’ in coconut and mushroom sauce was placed in front of me. It had an overwhelming punch of coconut milk, and the mushroom’s flavour was indiscernible. Only one other dish arrived at the same time, and that was one of the two Basil-icious Pita Burgers we’d requested.

Five minutes later, the second was set down. Again, there was that overpowering taste of coconut oil, which the limp sweet potato fries had been cooked in, and then, rather than being lightly dusted with chilli or paprika, they were doused in the stuff.

Two main meals and a salad were still to reach, by the way. Double the estimated time (45 minutes) later, the khematic platter and the sweet and sour balls were presented without any apology. Well, good things do come to those who wait. “I am quite enjoying this, and would come back for it,” Cathrine Kennedy commented on the khematic platter, which consisted of a trio of salads: a delightful tomato and onion with roasted cumin; a sweet and succulent beetroot; and an awesome arugula. These sat on separate parts of the plate next to a delicious crispy basil flat bread.

Everyone agreed that these last two dishes were the best. “It feels like a meal,” Toni Spence said of her plate, which had a crunchy brown rice salad and a bean sprout salad (“Very nice,” said Annaliesa Lindsay) next to the sweet and sour balls (picked peas mimicking meatballs). “They have a nutty taste and a good consistency,” she said. “And I taste the sweet pineapple. But there is no sour to this dish.” Her Nile salad was then delivered, with Potosi Farms greens, fresh fruit and nuts. Spence had lucked out with her choices!

Despite the disappointments, the five of us had spent a pleasant couple hours in a haven just off Hope Road.

But, to replay the words Chef of Kushtafari: “Marcus Garvey said, ‘If you can’t find it, create it.'” Sure, but do ensure that, if you are creating something for Kingston consumers, you take heed of our needs.

Emma Sharp Dalton-Brown

emmadaltonbrown@gmail.com

https://www.sharpactionfood.com

PO Box 5563

Kingston 6