The Flaming Grill

I went to the Flaming Grill for a little staff function a few weeks ago (September 2014), and they catered a nice simple lunch that was tasty. Grill chicken with chips and Caesar salad.

All in all, the food was not bad. Of course, I noticed the menu had a burger. So I'm back to try it out.

The Flaming' Grill is relatively new at the time of the posting, I think. Certainly to my memory, I can't recall seeing it open within the last year or so. It is located in Black Rock, directly opposite the Esso 24-hour Tiger Market and Service Station. Everyone knows where Esso Black Rock is, so it's easy to find Flamin' Grill. Bajan directions would call this "bottom of‎ University Hill".

I ordered a 4oz patty- you can get a 6 ouncer if you wish. It cames with a pile of fries and the usual LTP toppings.

The toppings were fresh- firm tomato, crispy lettuce and the pickle wasn't too sharp. Barring the chips, that's were the good stopped.

The burger was well cooked and not greasy, but rather thin. It seems to be a frozen patty. A seasoned patty probably, because it tasted ok. But it wasn't spectacular. 

The sauce- you p‎ut on that yourself. The BBQ sauce was ok but not very balanced, tending towards the acidic- a rather thin sauce. 

Oh but the chips were great, beautifully deep fried, not over salted‎. They appear hand-cut but remind me so much of the Curbside Cafe chips, that I am forced to wonder if the two joints have the  same supplier of frozen fries. If that is the case, then kudos to the supplier- it's a good product.

I skipped the soft drink and tried to get a cup of coffee. But they have this temperamental Nescafe dispenser and I didn't get my coffee till the third attempt. Nescafe is not the creme de la creme of coffee, and it's dispensers are mostly sweet water lightly flavored with coffee and some indeterminate substance for creaming. However it's worse when the machine is set to dispense weak, watery beverages- presumably to save the owners money. Not worth BDS $6.50- just don't bother.

The menu is limited- grill chicken, grilled burgers, flying fish sandwiches. Sides are fries and three types of salad. Not a lot of variety but at least there are some options for the vegetarians.

Now I can only assume that its placement, within walking distance of the University, should ‎guarantee doing good business with students. However for the variety and quality of food versus the price, I'm not so sure it's going to be popular with UWI students.

I paid BDS $13.45 for burger and fries. Not a bad price for a lunch that's filling in Bim (means Barbados in the local parlance). But students on fixed income may prefer to pass Flamin' Grill to hit the gas station Tiger Market. Cheaper food, equally filling, greater variety, better taste, Nescafe machine works!

The really low points of this visit to the Flamin' Grill were the coffee- and a truly dreadful piece of cheesecake. Biscuit crust was dry, as was the filling. It left a queer aftertaste. I was reluctant to eat since it seemed to have been around for a while.‎ Tossed away both coffee and cake- if you know me, you know that I do not readily relinquish coffee and cake. In my head these two substances are actually meant to be seperate food groups...

Flamin' Grill may score better on the grilled chicken.

Score:

Taste: 4.2 ( average of Burger = 5; sauce = 5; chips = 9; cheesecake = 2; coffee = 0)

Presentation = 8

Cost = 7

Value for Money = 4

Average = 5.8

Curbside Cafe- Food Truck

‎The Food Van is a culinary staple in Barbados and almost always a great place to get reasonably priced food in the kind of quantities Bajans like. There are scores of food vans, at least one in virtually every open car park. Usually a large 10 seater van with some food warmers set up in place of the passenger seats.  I have my eye on a few of these for this blog‎.

However my first post about mobile food options won't be about the regular food van. Rather about a much rarer type- the american-style Food Truck. 

Curbside Cafe is located in the Simpson Motors car park‎. It's probably a very good location. Heart of the Warrens commercial district surrounded by businesses and government offices. Including a heavily trafficked branch of Scotia Bank.

I had seen a for a while but never tried it. So I ordered a burger. Duh! (this blog should probably be about burgers...). With grilled pineapple and cheese as toppers, a side of fries and a chunk of bread pudding‎. Aioli on the burger and BBQ sauce on the fries.

The owners seems to be "tryin' a ting" as we say- experimenting. This experiment is with offering a menu devoid of the usual Bajan and Caribbean lunch fare. The menu‎ proclaims taco bowls, burritos, Mac n' Cheese Hot Dogs. Food network stuff. Which is just fine- if it tastes good.

To the meal. First the positives. The fries were tasty, beautifully fried and appeared to be hand cut. Whether but hands here in Barbados or hand overseas, I couldn't say. But they were delicious and served genrously. They also didn't skimp on the standard burger toppings- lettuce, pickles tomato etc.

The bread pudding was just delicious. But the texture‎ was all wrong. I think an improvement in the technique could make this one of the best in the country.

Next the middling. The burger was just OK. A little under-seasoned but not so terrible that I would not buy it again. 

The bad. The grilled pineapple was not. They needed to leave it on the grill a couple of minutes longer. 

Score:

Taste = 7.4

(average of chips = 9; burger = 6; BBQ sauce = 8; aoili = 6; bread pud = 8)

Presentation = 9

Cost‎ = 7

V‎alue for money = 7

Overall Score ‎= 7.6

Regards

Gayle.
‎
Gayle Drakes (Ms.)

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

Just Grillin' - Reasonably Priced Grill on Barbados' South Coast

Just Grillin'

A grill eatery located at Quayside Mall on the south coast, directly opposite The Accra Hotel.

This is a very popular casual dining restaurant, especially for locals. It gets a lot of tourist traffic because of its location in the south coast tourist strip. It has a couple of other locations around the island, including a‎ large food truck in the growing Welches commercial area.

Of course, it's the burger that I like. Their chicken wrap and Caesar salad are good too.

The burger can be ordered as well done, or not, as you like. It doesn't seem like a large burger but it's probably least 6 oz. of ground beef patty. 

I suspect it is seasoned only with salt. This is my only issue with the patty- bajans like their meats liberally seasoned with a variety of herbs, salt and peppers. A "dash of salt and black pepper" in NOT seasoning. As a consequence, the burger is blander than I would like, but it is still tasty and juicy. I suspect the American or European palate would be satisfied.

The sauce is the best part. I could drink that by the gallon. Tangy and sweet, without over doing either flavour. Seasoned well I think, so it has a good flavour overall. They should, and do, bottle it.

The price is reasonable. Lower end of medium pricing, I would say. The burger in the pic is around BDS $16 standalone, around BDS $17 ‎to get it with cheese. It comes with a side of coleslaw, and you can order other sides.

Sides include Caesar salad, grilled potatoes or vegetables.

The spot has a lot of other dishes- grilled fish, shrimp, chicken, spare ribs and steaks‎, so there is something for most.

Rating

Taste 8 (average: 9 for sauce, 7 for burger)

Presentation: 6

Cost: 8

Value for money: 6

Average Score: 7/10

Sanguis Cafe- The Sanguis Burger

The Spot
 
This little cafe is located in the Manor Lodge Complex on Lodge Hill. Sanguis has been on the spot less than a year but has quickly made its mark, providing a variety of simple but delicious breakfast and lunch options. The Sanguis Burger, subject of this post, actually is the thing that inspired me to finally do this blog.

The Burger

Six (6) ounces of ground beef, well seasoned and grilled well-done. 

Indulge me while I segue here into a little lesson about Bajan culture. I am prepared to stick my neck out and say that on the whole, Bajans don't eat pink beef. I will probably say this often on this blog. This the tropics. Its hot around here- room temperature averages 27 C. Undercooked meat i.e. rare, medium rare, is just one way of asking for a case of botulism. This also applies to fish, chicken and most other animal matter.

Secondly we like our food seasoned, plenty of herbs, onion and garlic and pepper. This is how we cook in the Caribbean. We integrate the flavour into the meat, as opposed to cooking a bland piece of meat with salt and pepper and than slathering on some sort of sauce in the hope of saving the dish.

Back to the burger. They shape the patty into a a round about an inch think and just big enough to fit on a regular sized bun. An ordinary bun, like regular folks would buy in the supermarket. Then they top it with a good slice of proper New Zealand cheddar, and make sure its melts all over the patty. Exactly like I would do it at home. And its tastes that way- home-made. This comfort food. They will also add a couple slices of tomato or some carmelized onions, whatever they have on the day.

My criticisms are few. One is that sometimes they overcook it and it gets a bit tough but the huge flavour more than makes up for that. Another is that it looks a bit small as a stand alone; a serious appetite will want to get it with the chips (fries). They do some lovely chips which I suspect are hand cut and made fresh.

The price is great too- BDS $8.50 for the burger alone. On this blog you are going to get credit for being reasonably priced and offering good value for money. This blog is not going focus on gourmet food, though we do not condemn gourmet. A reasonable price is based on what the average Bajan might be able to afford or be willing to spend. Value for money does not always mean a lot of food at a cheap price, other factors will be considered.
  

Sanguis Burger...All Gone...

You may be wondering about the pic. Well...I was supposed to photograph the burger before I ate it but forgot. So I am sharing the pic of the burger...afterwards :)

Next time I get I one I will definitely post the pic.  




The Food Review

It is early days for this blog, so the grading system is simple. Award a maximum of 10 points to each of four criteria and take an average. We will work on this as time goes by and will also bring in other judges, so that there are a wider range of views. Mine is not the definitive palate in Bim.
 
Taste- 9
Presentation- 8
Cost- 10
Value for money- 8

Average Score =  9/10

Feel free to share your own thoughts and comments.