Queenies at The Forresters.

What I’ve learned in the last few weeks. That eating a day old Zinger burger can be more pleasurable than eating a fresh one. That bacon in cocktails isn’t nearly as exciting as it sounds. That Lance Armstrong makes for great table conversation, and that as one door closes another is almost always bound to open.

For the past year or so I’ve been spending a lot of time dedicating said time to one of the most important things in my life, that being myself. There’s an episode of Seinfeld where George dodges a bullet when his fiancé passes away from licking stamps. Feeling the relief from not having to commit himself to anything other than himself, he then embarks on a journey of self discovery called the ‘Summer of George’. There was a sense of that when I began the new year hoping to conquer things that were only ever out of reach in my past. Of course much like George, a summer of self discovery for me invariably leads to a summer of laziness. After awhile I forgot what my goals were and found myself more often than not lying down on the couch gorging on pizza pockets and sitting through OC marathons.

My love life wasn’t faring much better either.  With each passing week I was out there looking for new targets, honing my charms and being the romantic that I am, falling in love with someone new every Friday night. Eventually I tried focusing my energies on one lovely lady however, a few slaps and unanswered calls later I found the door getting shut with my face pressed firmly against it, but hey even I knew how that one was going to end (can we be friends?).

For Lance Armstrong things may be a little trickier at present but as I mentioned earlier as one door closes, another will surely open and it always helps when there’s someone on the other side whose willing to put up with and sometimes even laugh at your lame jokes, that may or may not include repeated references to Jamaican cuisine with cries of ‘jamaican me crazy man!’, ‘we be jammin’ and ‘rectecp!’.

This dear readers is not how I found myself at Queenies (Jamaican jerk Shack) on its opening night. I received an invitation from Jamie Thomas (executive chef of the Drink and Dine group) to have a sit down dinner with a few other food loving bloggers and being a fan of his  food by way of The Carrington, I made my way over there as fast as I could. Like all Drink and Dine establishments there’s a kitschy cool to the fitout and without having been to Jamaica myself I’d have to say it was feeling very Jamaican inside from the thatched ceiling, the Rastafari colours and the constant reggae bouncing out of the speakers.

We’re sent out an obscene amount of food and by meals end I can only think of unbuttoning the top buttons of my jeans and heading straight into an extended belching session. Now I’m going to do abit of a cop out here and just post the photos without proper descriptions but you’ll find far better extended reviews here and here. I will make mention of my highlights which were the bammies (which are similar to Mexican tostadas), the curried oxtail patties and the goat curry.

Pulled Pork and Prawn Bammies

Soft Shell Crab with Hotstepper (turn around, I’m the lyrical gangster) Sauce

Curried Oxtail Patties

Calypso Coffee Ribs

Jerk Corn

Goat Curry (with Dirty Rice hidden underneath)

Jerk Pork Neck with Sweet Potato Fries, Slaw, Salsa and Bread Rolls

Pina Colada Dessert

I have to give a special mention to Jamie as he was extremely generous and even though he is an Arsenal fan he’s a pretty cool/ nice guy to boot. I guess if I never embarked on my own ‘Summer of George’ then I wouldn’t be presented with such opportunities as this and for that I’d have to say this year has been pretty awesome. Pizza pockets included.

I DINED AS A GUEST OF JAMIE THOMAS. How’s that for a disclaimer?

Queenies at The Forresters

Corner Foveaux and Riley Street, Surry Hills
(02) 9212 3035