Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judges for the parish of Trelawny Marina Delfos and Janet Crick showcase the celebrated Trelawny yam and unveil the best gizzadas…

Real Jamaican foodies know that while fine dining has its merits, when you want the real McCoy, nothing beats street food for its authenticity, naturalness and well – just darn good taste!

With that in mind, we couldn’t resist a stop at the roadside yam stop in Carey Park, just outside of Duncans on the North Coast Highway. Run by the very suave-looking Miguel – aka Yammie, this roadside stop has no formal name, but doesn’t really need one since you can’t miss the distinct Roast Yam sign in bold red paint, and the furls of smoke rising from his well-positioned steel drums on the side of the highway.

One of the true testaments of good food is when the chef enjoys his own meal, and on more than one occasion, we’ve approached the stall to find Yammie sipping a cup of his own chicken foot soup. With a recommendation like that, we had to try some. Well-spiced and tasty, it was a good precursor to our main course – the yam, of course!

It’s no secret that Trelawny is known as Yam country, a fact made even more popular by the fastest man in the world who hails from the parish, and jokingly attributes his speed to the properties of this food. Trelawny prides itself on growing the island’s best-tasting yam, and indeed, the best yam it is that makes its way on to Yammie’s grill, brought down from the hills of his hometown, Albert Town.

A veteran in the yam business, Yammie was one of the original participants in the renowned Annual Yam Festival, which used to be held in Albert Town on Easter Monday. He fires up his grill using charcoal and coconut husks arranged on the drums more commonly associated with pan chicken. A second drum houses jerk chicken, while the bubbling pot of soup occupies a space in between.

The Roas’ Yam (or sweet potato if you prefer), is served with a heaping share of red herring, well seasoned with onion and scotch bonnet pepper. The herring has been soaked long enough to remove just the right amount of saltiness, and falls away easily from the bone. The Yam lends credence to all the accolades about this Trelawny staple, and the sweet potato is a close runner-up. For those not keen on red herring, the succulent jerk chicken, also served with yam or sweet potato, is a tasty alternative. We washed our meals down with refreshing ice-cold coconut water – it just doesn’t get any more Jamaican than that!

It is the perfect roadside stop for travellers who need a bit of fuel to continue a long journey or for those needing a quick bite on the go, and the several cars and buses that pulled up while we were there attested to that. Yammie’s casual but efficient customer service allows for “window-side” orders, so customers are not obliged to alight from their vehicles. The stop also caters for those from around the area, or customers who have more time and want to come in and eat.

Now the stop is as rustic as rustic gets, but not without lots of charm, thanks to Yammie’s cheerful décor of gaily painted green walls offset with “abstract art” in contrasting colours. The artistic bamboo props which serve as hangers for the coconuts and assorted snacks, and the attractive display of vegetables and seasonings complete the décor. A melodic selection of Beres Hammond provides a relaxing mellow mood for enjoying your meal.

Yammie

The Yam stall is located on the highway between Duncans and Falmouth and is usually open most days from 8:00 am till 8:00 or 9:00 pm.

Spicy Nice for the best gizzadas in Falmouth!

The next stop on our culinary trail is back at the parish capital of Falmouth for some sweet treats. And no one does it better than the familyowned bakery, Spicy Nice.

The name aptly summarises the type of fare that you will find here — simply put, spicy and nice stuff! Our mission today is not about the spice, but rather about the nice as we indulge our sweet tooth with some of the delights decorating the bakery’s glass showcase.

First pick of the day is a favourite of ours which causes us to frequent the bakery far more often than is good for us — the gizzada. Hands down, the Spicy Nice gizzadas are the best we’ve ever tasted!

They consistently hit the right note with the texture of the pie shell, which is neither too doughy nor too crumbly, but has just the right amount of “crunch”.

The coconut filling is moist and rich with the well-blended flavours of nutmeg, vanilla and brown sugar melting in your mouth with every bite.

The gizzadas are good any time of day, but most irresistible if you catch them fresh out of the oven round about 9:00 am. Needless to say, we’re not the only ones who have discovered this little bit of heaven in a pie shell, and the gizzadas disappear fast from the showcase, so get there early if you hope to indulge! Next on our list was the cheese danish, not a common find in many bakeries, but another warm, inviting treat.

The melted cheese is sandwiched by a moist, sweet and slightly flaky pastry, a Jamaicanised version if you will, of a cheese croissant.

The cheese danish makes a good snack for breakfast, or a nice dessert after one of the bakery’s delicious patties. There is no shortage of sweet treats in the Spicy Nice showcase: the toto, rockbuns and grater cake or pink-on-top being among the other coconut-based desserts they offer.

Bread pudding, sugar buns, sweet potato pudding and banana bread are just a few of the other items also waiting in the showcase to tantalise you.

The Spicy Nice Bakery is located in the middle of the historic district in the town’s famous Water Square, sharing space with the 1815 Court House on one end, the 1896 Albert George Market Building on the other, plus several early 19th-century buildings.

The bakery is owned and run by the Nam family, and has been in the family for over 35 years, but it is believed that a bakery has existed on this very spot from the beginning of the 1900s.

Spicy Nice is open Monday through Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Spicy Nice

Water Square

Falmouth

954-3197