Jamaica

Soweto Gospel Choir

The Skatalites

Let NYC Restaurants Get Your Goat. In a Good Way.

Paul WagtouiczFatty 'Cue's Buttermilk Pappardelle​ The days when a pink goat hung over Cabrito on Carmine Street may be over, but goat may finally be claiming its place on menus across the city.

Red Stripe Beer to Move to the U.S.; P. Diddy Apologizes for Calling Grey Goose 'Pee Pee'

​Diageo has announced that it's relocating the production of Red Stripe beer from Jamaica to the U.S., but only for U.S. consumption. Red Stripe distributed in Jamaica, Brazil, Canada, and Europe will continue to be made on the Caribbean island. [Mutineer] Familia Camarena Tequila has gotten ... More >>

Battle of the Brit Ginger Beers

​The contestants: Old Jamaica Ginger Beer and Idris Fiery Ginger Beer There are lots of reasons to drink ginger beverages. For one thing, they're one of the few drinks that use an actual natural flavor rather than artificial flavor. That's because no one has synthesized a convincing ginger f ... More >>

2011 Caribbean-American Labor Day Parade in Brooklyn, the Food and the Spectacle

​Scantily clad dude toasts the crowd from atop one of the semis that pulls the floats in the parade. Though its antecedents can be traced to Carnival parties in Harlem in the 1920s, the Caribbean-American Labor Day Parade (there is no official name) began in the mid-'60s. It resembles in alm ... More >>

Escaped Bull Flees Slaughterhouse In Queens

This bull charging down Liberty Avenue in Jamaica Queens was escaping a local slaughterhouse, where it was slated to meet its end. It drew support and admiration for its daring escape from onlookers.

You Don't Know Jack About Jackfruit (Or Maybe You Do)

​The jackfruit currently for sale in Chinatown is of the soft and sweet variety, and hence probably better eaten raw, possibly with a little brown sugar. The improvised vegetable and fruit stands on the streets of Chinatown are always revamping their selection according to what is currently a ... More >>

Violent Mugger Beats Up Woman, Steals Her Cellphone

Bad photo of a bad guy--that's all we got.​It's no surprise that the empty hours, say 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., are prime time for muggers and robbers. So why do people walk the lonely streets at that hour? Last Sunday, March 20, an 18-year-old girl was walking from the subway to her home at 166-40 89th A ... More >>

Q&A: Diplo On The Joys Of Dancehall, Kanye West, Social Work, Owning A Label, And Twitter

"For me, Twitter is like my diary. I hope someone saves it so I don't have to write it all again when I'm 75." ​Where do we even start with someone like Diplo? Wes Pentz is a DJ at his core, but he's also a producer (having worked with Lil Jon, Kanye West, and most notoriously M.I.A.), the fo ... More >>

No. 13: Brandade at Gottino

​The perfect wine bar meal -- salt-cod brandade and some char-striped toasts. Brandade is one of my favorite dishes. Its full name is brandade de morue, and it originated in Provence, though similar dishes can be found in many southern Mediterranean cuisines.

Rush Right Over To Rush

​Last Friday night brought me back to Rush--no, not the pompous right-winger who had Elton John sing at his fourth traditional wedding. I'm talking about the multi-level club on Sixth Avenue and 16-17th Streets which I've always loved for its youthful energy, pronounced multi-culturalism, and ... More >>

Where Am I Eating? -- Saltfish & Ackee at Obama Flavour

​ This week's Where Am I Eating? was a toughie, and the three-part question posed with the original post proved nearly impossible. Accordingly, we offered a further clue this morning, and simplified the contest by whittling it down to a single question, asking contestants to identify the dish ... More >>

INDECENT EXPOSURE

Does running in your underwear make you go faster?

Sam Deas, 31, Shot Dead in Jamaica, Second Man Wounded: Incident No. 2

View Larger Map Date: Monday, Feb. 22, 2010, 10:45 p.m. Location: Corner of 203rd St. and Hollis Ave., Jamaica Queens. Gunfire erupted last night at the above intersection, leaving one man dead and a second shot in one leg. The dead man was identified as Sam Deas, 31, of 113th Avenue in Queens. ... More >>

Have You Seen... Multi-Tasking Dunkin' Donuts Robber in Queens

Check out this guy who robbed a Dunkin' Donuts on Merrick Avenue in Jamaica on Sunday night: he flashes a gun at his hip and intimidates the server into handing over cash from the register -- while apparently talking on his cell phone. Everyone's busy these days, but couldn't it wait till he was ... More >>

The Blogroll Gazette: Virgin's Breast Pastries, Cod Semen & Sexy Chefs

This week in food blogs... Eat Me Daily rounded up the best cookbooks not of the year but of the entire decade. Let's hope the teens will be as great as the aughties. Slashfood listed the five worst dishes to bring to a party, including breath-ruining hummus, smile-marring spinach, and Cabernet Sa ... More >>

Quick hits

The Obama administration is suggesting a voluntary ban on lobbyists serving on 915 Federal Advisory Committees which consult with federal agencies on government policy. The lobbyists, one of whom helped write the legislation which created the Committees when he was a Republican Senate staffer, are n ... More >>

Video: Food of Zanzibar

Al Jazeera English, which can be found on Youtube, has pretty incredible international food coverage, including a series called Street Food--in-depth, 10 minute stories on cultural foodways from Fez to Sicily to Jamaica. Check out the story about Zanzibar, which revolves around the history of the s ... More >>

Former Five Rose's Proprietor Now Making Pizza in Jamaica

04deveni/flickr​Jeremiah's Vanishing New York reports that Krystyna, the Polish lady who worked at Five Rose's Pizza on First Avenue for 27 years before it closed last November, is now making pizzas down in Jamaica. Krystyna, who owned the East Village mainstay for its last eight years, was in ... More >>

Central Park Underwear Run Breaks World Record

The video from nyctriathlon2009 reveals that last night's 1.7-mile Underwear Run in Central Park had prizes: for instance, Jet Blue tickets to Jamaica with a 4-day, 3-night stay in Montego Bay, and free entry into Jamaica's Rose Hall Triathlon. These were given for the most imaginative Jamaica-the ... More >>

Tonight! Get Ready to Throw Some Underwear!

As a 16-year-old coal miner's son, Tom Jones dropped out of school to support the Catholic schoolgirl he'd knocked up. But when exactly did Mrs. Linda Jones realize she'd hit the jackpot? The Welsh singer held his own against martyrs like Joe Meek, Janis Joplin, and Elvis Presley, and cut his teeth ... More >>

Three Workers Killed by Toxic Fumes in Queens Sewer

Three laborers who were working in a large sewer hole at a Jamaica garbage facility have died. The Daily News says they were killed by toxic fumes. The men reportedly got trapped as far down as 25 feet while doing some kind of clean-up work; emergency workers had to put on hazmat suits before attemp ... More >>

Interview: Major Lazer's Switch on Working With Diplo, Recording in Jamaica, and Sponge Laser Beams

"We actually wanted to bring Skerrit Bwoy [on the road], but he's kind of involved in this whole daggering movement that our sponsors didn't feel was very suitable for our tour." When Diplo and Switch, two of dance music's most recognizable names, joined forces as Major Lazer, they knew they coul ... More >>

Vegetarian (and Vegan!) Delights of NYC--Ackee Patty

Ackee (Melicoccus bijugatus) is an evergreen native to West Africa. The three-seeded fruit of this tree, also known as ackee, came on the slave ships to Jamaica in the late 18th century. The fruit must be boiled before eating to destroy a toxin present in the yellow flesh, which is particular ... More >>

Major Lazer Wins

Take it on good faith that we took a real shot a resisting this. Too easy, too readymade, too packaged, too 2004, too loud, too famed-up, too many horse neighs, not enough horse neighs, horse neighs are really unfuckwithable when you think about it...and there you go. The first song Major Lazer--the ... More >>

Gays to Boycott Jamaica Tonight

The sewer in front of the Stonewall Inn is set to flow with Red Stripe beer and Myers's Rum tonight when gay rights advocates hold a "rum dump" as part of their "Boycott Jamaica" campaign against the island nation that gave the world rastas, reggae, and dance hall lyrics that encourage the burning ... More >>

New York Skank Is Back

Remember how I used to moan that New York had gotten way too slick and glossy and had lost its challenging edge? Well, it's back! Everywhere you go, there are muggers, beggars, and drug dealers waiting to harass you as if you'd just docked in Jamaica. No longer can you safely walk through any part ... More >>

Josh Roseman's Extended Constellations

Remember how I used to moan that New York had gotten way too slick and glossy and had lost its challenging edge? Well, it's back! Everywhere you go, there are muggers, beggars, and drug dealers waiting to harass you as if you'd just docked in Jamaica. No longer can you safely walk through any part ... More >>

How Jamaica's Volatile Dancehall Scene Can Avoid a Biggie vs. Tupac Tragedy

Remember how I used to moan that New York had gotten way too slick and glossy and had lost its challenging edge? Well, it's back! Everywhere you go, there are muggers, beggars, and drug dealers waiting to harass you as if you'd just docked in Jamaica. No longer can you safely walk through any part ... More >>

Saturday

Remember how I used to moan that New York had gotten way too slick and glossy and had lost its challenging edge? Well, it's back! Everywhere you go, there are muggers, beggars, and drug dealers waiting to harass you as if you'd just docked in Jamaica. No longer can you safely walk through any part ... More >>

ISLAND LIFE

Jamaican company shows its roots

Wayne Wonder's Foreva and Da'Ville's On My Mind

Top-shelf reggae cheese, by overwhelmingly popular demand

M.I.A.'s New Album Kala: A Preview

Top-shelf reggae cheese, by overwhelmingly popular demand

World party fusion gets gorgeous and bangin'

Balkan Beat Box's Nu Med

Balancing Act

To bounce or to burn? A dancehall dilemma for Jamaica's dangerous days

The Wealth of Districts

To bounce or to burn? A dancehall dilemma for Jamaica's dangerous days

Hey Ladies

Choreographed Kingston foursome more than a boyband

Reggae's Return to Roots

Just in time for summer, the Jamaican crossover pendulum swings consciously back

More Dirty Bananas

A disillusioned Tristan returns to Jamaica in search of a good time

Dirty Bananas

Our columnist plays Porno Paula on the XXX version of American Idol

Jah Division

Free speech, cultural sovereignty, and human rights clash in reggae dancehall homophobia debate

Mighty-Mite Rude-Bwoy Gal Explodes Gender Boundaries

Free speech, cultural sovereignty, and human rights clash in reggae dancehall homophobia debate

Retooled by Reggae

So when are they gonna get Augustus Pablo and his melodica to cover an old Hooters hit?

Marooned

Culinary Hodgepodge at the Crossroads of the Caribbean

Journey Through Debtor’s Prison

Stephanie Black Chronicles Jamaica’s IMF Woes

Island Captive

Stephanie Black Chronicles Jamaica’s IMF Woes

Dancehall Daze

Toasters Catch Fire, Burn Down Wall

Two Scions Clash

Toasters Catch Fire, Burn Down Wall

Paradise Lost

Struggling to be gay in the land of 'one love'