Atlanta's Negril Village

While visiting family and celebrating love this past weekend in Atlanta, I stopped by Negril Village - the southern offshoot of the popular Jamaican-fusion restaurant based in New York City. While their menu is mostly an ode to Jamaica, I found subtle nods to other Caribbean countries, such as the roti commonly found in Trinidad and Guyana and the tostones commonly found in Cuba and Haiti. I was pretty much sold when I found Prestige, a staple Haitian beer, on the menu.

The curry used in the curry goat is one of the best I had in a while. This is the second curry meal I had in Atlanta over the weekend and the city seems to know their curry well. The options were definitely better than what can be found in DC! Perfectly flavored with the perfect amount of spice, it reminded me of what I grew up eating in South Florida. Salute to whoever's Trini aunt is throwing down in the back! I will say, I was saddened my roti did not come wrapped but I guess non-Caribbeans could be bothered by the bones so I acquiesce. Either way, the restaurant should make note of that nuance on their menu or have servers remind patrons.

The tostones were thinner than how Haitians and Cubans commonly make them but they were crisp and delicious nonetheless. I.. don't know what that green sauce was but it tasted like mayonnaise. I'm not familiar with mayo on fried plantain so I just dusted my tostones with salt and had my way.

  

My cousins tasted many of the oxtail options available on the menu - Oxtail Empanadas (pictured above), Oxtail Pasta, and Negril's Oxtails (which came with rice & peas, cabbage, and sweet plantain). My tiredness from the day didn't allow me to sample their drink menu but I have heard rave reviews. I'll definitely will have to visit again next time I'm in the city!

xo,

jana-lynn

Amel Larrieux at the Howard Theatre

xo,

jana-lynn

Brunch at Cava Mezze

I've been hearing people rave about the Cava Mezze and the one-cent mimosas for months years and finally got around to going in November 2016. The restaurant hosts a $35 All You Can Eat Brunch filled with a delicious assortment of small plates! Also, for the record, I just checked the website and the mimosas have now went up to 25¢. Given how popular the restaurant is and how good the food is, I'm not surprised (brunch was also $30 when I went). Regardless of the price increase, 25¢ is still a steal and may be in the running for the best $1-$2 spent!

Challah French Toast

Gyro Hash + Fried Egg, Banana Fritters, Chicken Sage Sausage

Granola, Berries, and Greek Yogurt

Spicy Lamb Benedict

All the menu items are on small plates and you basically get to order whatever you like. I was feeling a bit gluttonous that day and ended up with five items (Gyro Hash, Spicy Lamb Benedict, Banana Fritters, Chicken Sage Sausage, and a delicious Granola, Yogurt, and Fresh Berries that is no longer on the menu) in addition to the mimosas. Everything was well-cooked, flavorful, and brought to our table in a short amount of time. It was definitely one of my favorite and most memorable brunch experiences. 

There are five Cava Mezze restaurants located across the Maryland, DC, and Virginia metropolitan areas so definitely visit sooner, than later, if you can.

Also, does anyone know who these three guys are? I feel like I should know them.  LOL.

xo,

jana-lynn

Collette Miller's Wings

Colette Miller created the Global Angel Wings Project in 2012 as a means of reminding humanity that we are the angels of this earth. There are about 52 of these murals painted all over the world and, its just so happens, that one popped up a few blocks away from my office in downtown DC.

Obviously, I had to take a picture in the classic fashion blogger pose - especially since my outfit matched.

To my DC folks, the mural is installed in the alley next to Bonfire, off of 19th St and M St.

xo,

jana-lynn

When Happy Hour Turns Into Jazz Night

One of my favorite things about living in a major metropolitan area is the ease of access to so many culturally enhancing experiences. The ease of which my life switched from mango sticky rice and wine while catching up with a friend to not one but TWO live jazz shows still absolutely stuns me.

While the District seems to get on my nerves more often than not, for the one small window on a random warm summer Wednesday night, the city really did happen to get it right.

The mango sticky rice was delicious and light. I'm sure this is the way deserts are meant to be but I really wanted to be gluttonous for a spell as the dish is one of my favorite deserts! Also, I discovered that the reason I love their house rosé is because it's Malbec & Syrah - my two favorite wines - blend. Way to win me over, Mango Tree!! 

Alice's Jazz and Cultural Center is this amazing space of blackness and black history and black music and black love and black culture that is so empowering and moving. You kind of just have to go there and experience all the beautiful goodness.

11 août 2016

This past week was an eventful one. Heavy work days followed by flight to Orlando followed by road trip to Nashville for friendship reunion (aka wedding) followed by a road trip back to Orlando and an an early morning flight back to DC and straight to work.

Who do I think I am?

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Keke's is a must for an and every Orlando-based adventure you go on. I'm a big fan of their stuffed french toast because it's more like a delicious french toast sandwich where one slice of bread has cream cheese and the other has fresh fruit preserves. Doesn't that sound magically?

This time around, I ordered the raspberry stuffed french toast with a side of turkey bacon.

It was the love that revived and restored my soul.

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1 août 2016

One week into challenging myself to post weekly, I forget to post.

Like, I just...

I'm going to get it together soon enough.

But, now let's get back to our regularly scheduled program.

Ris DC is now offering a delightful new spin on brunch called the 'Popsicle Mimosa'. Its glasses of champagne with 100%  fruit juice popsicles inside. As the popsicles melt, you get a mimosa experience. Or just keep drinking the champagne and be the Lush you always knew you were. I attended their first offering (you can check out their Facebook page for future dates) on July 24th and had the Ginger Orange Pineapple popsicle for my mimosas. It was so delicious!

The biscuits were sooo amazing - they practically melted in my mouth. I couldn't get enough! I will, honestly, say that I did struggle with the menu because I don't eat pork or shellfish and they didn't really offer any traditional breakfast dishes. Because there was pork or shellfish in nearly everything, the only things on the menu I could eat were either heuvos rancheros (they can take off the bacon bits), smoked salmon bagel, cheeseburger, or steak & fries. Hopefully, they update their menu and more traditional breakfast foods (i.e. french toast), pork alternatives (i.e. chicken sausage, turkey bacon, Morningstar Farms sausage patties, etc), and more vegetarian friendly dishes (i.e. ALT sandwich). I'm definitely going to check them out again in a few weeks!

22 juillet 2016

 // Highlights of my Week

Quick day trip to Philly to spend time with some incredible humans and celebrate 30 years of life. We stopped by Jones Restaurant for brunch and I was mightily, mightily, mightily impressed. On top of the delicious food, their bottomless brunch consists of bottles of champagne complimented with mason jars of peach nectar, strawberry nectar, and orange juice. It was a DIY dream! Also, their ALT sandwich - avocado, lettuce, tomato and mozzarella on multi-grain toast with lemon aioli - is my new obsession. I want it every day. Why don't I live in Philly?

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I rediscovered my favorite tea earlier this week. I know chamomile is supposed to be a bedtime tea but something about it is very comforting and soothing to me. Chamomile tea just makes the worries of the world melt away; I can drink it any time of the day! Celestial's honey vanilla chamomile blend is my favorite variant of the tea by far. And I have a sneaky suspicion that it would make a fairly awesome iced tea or ice tea/lemonade drink. Too bad I'm lazy in the kitchen :/

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Also, I've been on a rosé kick for these past couple of weeks. It all started when I discovered Ruby Red Rosé Wine a month ago (and also bought all bottles from my local grocer and they have yet to restock so life is pretty stressful right now). Rosé had all the flavor and fullness of the red wines I love so much but with a lighter tone. To me, they're the perfect compliment to hot summer days. Hence, I was pretty ecstatic to find that Mango Tree had rosé included on their happy hour menu. And then even more ecstatic to find out that their summer happy hour times are 4p to close. Because who doesn't love unlimited access to rosé and pineapple fried rice all night loooooooong?!

xo,

jana-lynn

Philly, Philly, Philly... Can't You See...

I've been to Philly several times in the past but it's been to mostly visit family so I don't think I've ever taken advantage of the tourist attractions. While driving through Philly on the way back to DC from New Jersey, my siblings and I decided to make a quick pit stop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to view the 'Creative Africa' exhibit. Boy, was it totally worth it. If I posted all the pictures, this blog post would be never ending so I'll just highlight a few of my favorite experiences. If you are in the Philadelphia area, you should definitely check out this exhibition. It will be in the Pearlman Building of PMOA until September 25, 2016.

Robert Indiana’s monumental sculpture AMOR (1998) is on the Museum’s East Terrace. The colorful, six-foot-high sculpture overlooks the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It stands at one end of the Parkway, facing Indiana’s LOVE sculpture at JFK Plaza at the other end.

Passport Destination: CAPE TOWN

A few weeks ago, I attended this awesome exhibition showcase by MK of Mk Americana. The exhibit was a mixture of photography, videography, and explorative app which afforded the visitor to ability to experience the rich life, fashion, and architecture of Cape Town, South Africa. 

a week in review: 3.20.16

An old friend came to DC to visit for a week and I spent a lot more time exploring and running around the city than I usually do on school nights. Went to check out cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin and enjoyed tons of delicious brunch (at Busboys & Poets and Tap&Parlour), happy hours (Masa14, Satellite Room, Madhatter, and Ben's Next Door), and even a Kizomba dance lesson(Cafe Citron). Although my mornings we excruciating, it was well worth the fun of exploring DC for a short period of time. I'm definitely too old to maintain this type of behavior on the regular. lol. Check out some of my snaps from the week!

the murals are popping up everywhere in this city..

while mostly known for their chili, don't sleep on the other offerings at Ben's.

xo,

jana-lynn

Cory Henry at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

I was first introduced to Cory Henry while watching the memorial services for Melvin Crispell.  Musicians from all around came to honor Crispell, a legendary and world-renowned gospel & jazz composer and musician. While I didn't know Melvin by name, I was more than familiar with his work - Hezekiah Walker’s “Jesus Is My Help” and “Wonderful Is Your Name”; and James Hall Worship & Praise tracks “Caught Up” and “He Took My Place.” During the service, a musician named Cory Henry got on the organ to play tribute and blew me away the soulful & heartfelt melody of Crispell tunes.

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to see him perform live at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club in promotion of his newest album entitled "The Revival". Since my first introduction, I had mostly heard him play as part of the jazz collective known as Snarky Puppy - so I was pretty stoked to check out a solo performance. Of course, a grabbed a couple of videos from the show to share with y'all. Check them out below!

Also, if you haven't already done so, take a full listen of "The Revival" below!

xo,

jana-lynn

A Day at the Renwick Gallery

 The Renwick Gallery is newly renovated museum for contemporary craft and decorative art. It has been a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum since 1972.

After being closed for renovations for two years, the gallery reopened on November 13, 2015. The gallery currently features its inaugural exhibition titled WONDER, featuring nine major contemporary artists - Gabriel Dawe, Patrick Dougherty, Maya Lin, Tara Donovan, Jennifer Angus, Chakaia Booker, Leo Villareal, Janet Echelman, and John Grade  

woven sculptures made from tree saplings created by Patrick Dougherty

i love a good paint class

...so much so that I took two classes in one week. lol. 

The ArtJamz class I took was an interesting experience. Instead of the usual instructor-led experience, they allowed us to chose our own pictures from an onsite catalog - or just make something up - and the "instructor" just walked around and helped us design and create our vision. It was a little frightening at first but I ended up really loving it! The picture I chose to recreate was Keith Haring's 'Pop Shop III See No Evil' (1989).

My friend Orpa hosted a paint night and I just HAD to attend (if you're privileged enough to be her IG friend on Instagram then you have seen how amazing her work is - I mean, she even painted me one time). Clearly, still life portraits aren't my forte but... now I know what I have to work on! Give me a couple more months and paint sessions and I will wow you really good. I had an awesome, awesome experience and I can't wait to do it again!

Next up? Contemplating this Mardi Gras mask class next week. Might make this a once a month thing :)

xo,

jana-lynn