Last summer the travel buzzword was “staycation.” These are times when many families are having a difficult time securing employment and are not thinking about the annual summer vacation.
“Staycation” has come to mean a vacation at home. People can have a cultural experience in their hometowns. As airlines occupancy dwindles, the ticket prices have yet to decrease where a family of four can afford a proper vacation. New York City is a Mecca of cultures where visiting a country is a few train stops on the MTA.
This staycation issue will focus on the Jamaican experience in New York. New York is home to 250,000 Jamaicans and they endeavor to keep in touch with their culture through food, music and dance.
Eat like a Jamaican
New York is flooded with numerous Jamaican restaurants. The majority of them offer a buffet style set-up where patrons point to the things they want on your plate and it is scooped up in to a styrofoam plate. For a more elevated dining experience, visit Brawta Café (347 Atlantic Ave between Bond and Hoyt Sts, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn; 718-855-5515). The décor is very art deco with original paintings and huge bouquets on the counter tops. Each table is also an individual work of art embedded with carvings or photographs. The food is typical Jamaican cuisine at a higher level. For instance, cod fish cakes are served with a tangy tamarind dipping sauce and pulled oxtail with Rasta (tri-colored) pasta. The mainstays of jerk chicken, ackee and codfish are spot on.
Party like a Jamaican
Revival Reggae Sundays (at LOX Lounge, 15 Putnam Ave., Brooklyn, corner Grand & Fulton) - Tel: 718.930.1316) offers a cool bar scene where reggae music flows easily from the speaker as the rum and coke at the bar. The exterior’s rust covered zinc makes it easy to distinguish. Ladies have free admission on the first Sunday of every month. As it is in the island, people expect to have food when they go out to party and The Lox does have a light menu of jerk chicken wings, crab cakes and a proper fish dinner.
Shop like a Jamaican
Head to Lionheart Cultural Variety Store, (676 Nostrand Ave between Bergen St and St. Marks Ave; Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 718-778-3195), for hand carved wood sculptures, Rasta art and woven flag themed earrings. Pedestrians follow their noses to the sweet smell of burning incense along Nostrand Avenue into this store.
