After driving past number 2 Trafalgar Road twice, and driving into the location once, a couple days before a lunch meeting with friends, I still thought I had been given the wrong address, or at least bogus directions, for Toss & Roll Salad Bar. Who puts a restaurant within a rundown scene that houses trailers with zinc rooves?

However, last week Wednesday, determined to eat at Toss & Roll, I drove back into number 2. Shimmying my vehicle between the rundown buildings, I took a deep breath and noticed the leaves of a large mango tree blowing in the wind, and patrons sitting at an outdoor bar on my left Perhaps this was it? I phoned a friend, who had actually had her lunch there the day before, and asked her to tell me exactly where this place was. “Straight ahead, slightly to the right,” she instructed me, once I’d told her my position. I parked the car, and still did not see it. Clearly it had to be one of those situations where it’s easy, once you know how!

You’ll be relieved to hear that I did find Toss & Roll, which was in fact crammed into one of the trailers, but with a quaint little ‘deck’ upon which a wooden bench-table, long enough to accommodate five wrought-iron bar chairs, was bolted. I entered the small premises, ordered a Green Tea Cooler (for a stiff $250), and proceeded to sit at said table outside to chat to the owner, Jermaine Bailey. “My father, who has a metal business, made these chairs,” he boasted, “and he did the table, too.”

I took a sceptical sip of the ice-cold tea as I picked up my pen. “Oh my goodness,” I blurted out, “this is wonderful.”

“It’s sweetened with fresh strawberries,” Bailey responded, predicting my next question.

Tastes like a non-alcoholic Pimms, I thought to myself.

Now my interest was really piqued. “My wife Keisha, who works at JMMB, and her sister Shanna-Lee Bennett own it with me,” he began. “It was her (Shanna-Lee’s) idea actually,” Bailey continued, “and five years ago she used to make sandwiches at home and take them around to sell in offices. They called her the sandwich girl.” Bennett migrated to Florida two years ago, and while doing his MBA at the Mona School of Business over the last 15 months, Bailey decided that he should continue his sister-in-law’s legacy. “My wife and I are food lovers, and we will eat anything,” he gushed. “I saw the need for something like this, and the MBA, which I am about to complete, kind of motivated me.”

Since opening on May 10, Bailey reckons that he and his five staff members serve 30-something customers a day. “Some people stop off to pick up their lunch, others stay and eat here, and we do deliver to almost anywhere within Kingston,” he said. “We have plans to increase the seating, as a customer (which happened to be my friend, btw) had to sit on the ledge yesterday and we do have access to that area.” He pointed over to the right as I was looking out onto what seemed like distant traffic, while appreciating the strong breeze.

The friends I was meeting pulled in and soon we were ordering. In the five minutes it took to cook, toss and roll, I cheekily got a trio of ladies who lunch (and who are doing their MBA with Jermaine Bailey) to allow me to take photographs of their wraps. “The food is excellent,” Masie Atkinson revealed. “And never disappointing,” Katrina Young added.

The premise is for you to decide whether you want a salad (small or large: $400-$800), or wrap/sandwich (small or large: $400-$800), or the ‘Pick 2 Pack Value’ ($600-$950), which is any small salad with a small wrap or sandwich. Then you indicate to your server what ‘greens’, condiments and dressings you would like (all included in the basic price), and which protein (Orange Tamarind King Fish Sliders, Honey Jerked Shrimp, Oven-roasted Turkey, Open Sesame Chicken, to name a few) takes your fancy. Head Chef Nicole Adams has been with them since its opening. “She holds down the fort well when I am not here,” Bailey said with much appreciation.

My lunch dates, fellow Food Awards judge Matthew Hogarth and his wife Lisa, had the Calypso Shrimp Wrap and Hot Mango Spiced Chicken Wrap, respectively. “It’s good,” Matthew started. “Quite spicy, and I like spice. The lettuce is surprisingly fresh, and not limp, and I love the overall texture of the wrap. The iced tea is refreshing, and not too sweet.”

Halfway through her wrap, Lisa added her thoughts. “The chicken is grilled perfectly (I took a bite, she was right). I find it is well-wrapped, and the ingredients are not falling out all over the place.” The couple had also ordered a single King Fish Slider, which arrived on a small bed of salad packed inside a plastic container. While sampling and guessing what the slider was seasoned with, breeze blew it right onto Hogarth’s lap (luckily not Lisa’s!). Practical for office take-out, but not for al fresco dining out!

I’d picked the large salad with King Fish Sliders, which was grilled and basted with an orange tamarind sauce, cut into cubes (for aesthetic purposes and culinary integrity; they assured me that next time they would leave the two sliders in their whole glory!), and spread over the salad items I’d chosen. A sucker for unusual, but certainly homemade, vinaigrettes, I opted for the strawberry one. It was excellent.

The slight snob in me would have preferred a plate and cutlery, rather than a clear takeaway plastic container and a flimsy fork, but Bailey promised that he would consider that option. “I’m sure it’s more economical,” I advised him, “and it’s most definitely more environmental.” Indeed, he agreed.

Toss & Roll Salad Bar, 2 Trafalgar Road, New Kingston

Telephone: 876-879-3310

Opening Hours: Mondays-Saturdays, 11:00am-4:00pm