Chester Francis-Jackson, Staff Writer
People's National Party presidential hopeful, Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies, gestures while holding his grandson, Dillon, during his meeting with delegates and supporters of the party's Region 6 at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort in Montego Bay, St. James. - PHOTO BY PAUL REID
AND SO Edward Seaga, his son Christopher Seaga, Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies and broadcaster Fae Ellington, all celebrate their birthday tomorrow; with a certain Gleaner scribe celebrating hers on Sunday.
Champagne toasts all around and then some!
Johnny Hamilton celebrated his 40th on Tuesday night and to mark the occasion, his lovely wife Amanda Saulter-Hamilton, threw a smart and oh so intimate dinner party for over 30 there at their fabulous Caymanas Estate home, that was so chic, guests are still singing the praises of the lamb.
The fabulous Norma Foreman also celebrated on Tuesday, but the champagne corks went popping on Thursday as she joined the erstwhile GM of Hedo III Kevin Levee and his lovely daughter Spencer Levee, who celebrated their special day yesterday with a special dinner over there at the always chic Toscanini Restaurant, over there at Harmony Hall, as wife and mom, the oh-so-gorgeous Cecile Levee, (still basking in the glow from her European sojourn) and her daughter Kennedy Levee opted not to cook but to treat hubby and sibling to a special Italian fare.
Also celebrating yesterday was the fabulous Joan Morgan, formerly of Essence Magazine, currently on holiday over there on the north coast.
Dears, many happy returns, y'all around and then some!
CITY OF KINGSTON
And speaking of things culinary: Dears, if I've told you once, I've told y'all at least a thousand times, and that is that this here city of Kingston is like one fabulous seductress, an enchantress even, never revealing all her secrets at any one time and developing more as she moves along.
She is, however, quite adept at maintaining her secrets, and even more so at nurturing them.
Now, there has always been a critical handful of those in-the-know, who have always been at the very heart and soul of the city and her secrets. They have not only managed the trends and directional mode of the city for upwards of the last two decades or so, they have been the trend-setting icons who have changed the face of Kingston and its environs through their cultural, entertainment, culinary and social exploits and in so doing managed the city's secrets.
Now, for all its warts, and there are many, Kingston is presently in the throes of its own renaissance as it redefines itself to accommodate new social and culinary trends. In recent times however, the city dwellers have been lamenting the absence of any meaningful entertainment and/or dining options for all but the teenybopper and/or the 'ghettocrat'.
NEW VENTURES
In responding to this imbalance, the city has given birth to a number of new ventures in recent years to accommodate all her children, starting with the commissioning of the Quad and its multi-storied, multi-capacity entertainment offerings; the emergence of the Rum Roasts and Royals in the Devon House complex; also in the complex the What's On Jamaica Cyber Café; Johanna Thwaites Up-On-The-Roof, (upstairs Epiphany on Knutsford Boulevard); the darling of a fabulous Restaurant named Velisa's, over on Devon Road; Kabana, in the heart of Half- Way Tree, right next to the HEART training facility on Hope Road; BackYard, up on Constant Spring Road, at the Old Centre Pole grounds; Restaurant Japan, at the Hilton Kingston; Thai Gardens, at the Akbar Complex on Holborn Road have all added new and exciting flavour, to the city of Kingston, desperately trying to shed its image of uncultured savagery, for its new Cosmopolitan élan and place in must-do world destinations.
Mind you, add to this milieu, a vibrant mix of nightclubs, strip joints, cabaret venues with nightly girlie shows, the occasional beefcake extravaganza and the ever present theatre and "roots theatre" offerings, and the dull and ignorant still complain that there's nothing to do in Kingston!
Well, my dears, pity the fragile soul who finds nothing to do, as indeed, there is plenty. And Kingston, never a city to rest on its laurels, is always providing new and exciting options for those with the penchant for civilised living and taste, and/or those without.
Sweet-things, there's a new restaurant in town, and my dears, it's as fabulous as fabulous gets, the fare on offer, marvellous beyond a fault, the décor and wait staff immaculate in appearance and service and above all else, there is a VIP entrance, which protects from the onslaught of the street urchins, crack addicts and other socially dislocated street people, usually suffered by patrons out for an evening or a night, in New Kingston.
WONDERFUL AND PRECIOUS
Darling-dears, the place is a most wonderful and precious gem, and then some!
Located smack in the middle of the New Kingston entertainment circle, and right next to the Quad entertainment complex on Trinidad Terrace, and known as Mac's Chops House, the place is indeed a place for culinary and esoteric beauty, in its fare, décor and service!
Dears, we are talking haute-fabulissimo here and then some. And with haute clientele to boot!
Owned and operated by the celebrated Mario Machado, Mac's Chops House is indeed a breath of culinary fresh air, and then some!
Pumpkins, and honestly, the place is all that, the fare even better and flawlessly so, as we are talking food for fabulous, the moneyed, the chic and the well-to-do and nothing but!
Now, for those in the know, will know that indeed Mario Machado, is the much celebrated master chef, behind many of Jamaica's more famous and more successful restaurants and eateries, his creations and manipulations mouth-watering sensations that simply put the taste buds of those privileged enough to have had one or more, close encounter with food of the fabulous kind, into overdrive!
Dears, well Mario Machado is at it again doing what he does best, and that is creating (not just preparing) fares that makes you go mmmm, as you savour every layer of taste to be found intricately woven into his every creation. And Luvs, this time he has joined forces with his able son David Machado, who serves as GM for Mac's Chops House, and together they have created a simply fabulous restaurant.
Doves, we are talking tres-elegance here, and nothing and a do swear, that the mere memory of the sizzling rib-eye steak encountered last Tuesday, sets the taste buds alive in anticipation of their next encounter. Robert MacMillan swears by the veal and his dinner companion, the lovely Rachel Gore, is still savouring the memory from her lamb; but for my word, what fabulous chops!
Dears, the place is simply and refreshingly divine. No lunches here, only dinner, and please, by reservations. And please use the VIP parking and entrance, it will save y'all the stress of close encounters with the street people who frequent New Kingston.
