Jasmine’s Sugar & Spice:
90-04 161st St., Jamaica, 657-4539

Cuisine: Caribbean

Hours: Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. to
7 p.m.

Lunch at Jamaica Market is always an event.

It’s an event not only for the great array of cuisine from which to choose, but also for the bustling of the market itself. It is a great place for a quick, inexpensive meal.

On a recent visit the aromas from about 10 different eateries in the food court blended so potently I was reminded that I had not eaten in several hours.

The aroma of Caribbean food distinguished itself from the rest and I followed it to Jasmine’s toward the end of the first aisle.

Looking at the appetizing array of foods on display I selected the Blue Fish with Rice and Peas. I was given a generous helping of the main course with a salad and island favorite, Fried Plantain ($5). The fish was fried to a golden brown and served over the rice with gravy, as suggested by co-owner Andrea Scarborough.

Generously seasoned with tropical herbs and spices, it was the perfect meal for a long day.

It was the kind of meal that made me tune out the noise and activities around me.

Curiosity also got the better of me as I surveyed the tray of cakes and pies on display and I bought a slice of Rum Cake ($2.50). It was the perfect complement to the fish and before long it was all gone —good to the last crumb.

According to Scarborough, the restaurant is an outgrowth of a thriving catering business she started with two partners (her sister, Patricia Burris and Derek Romeo) back in 1989.

"We were catering an event in the Harvest Room," she said. "And Moustafa El Shiekh, the Jamaica Market facilities manager, told us about this space. We did a study, learned that the multiplex was coming and the rest, as they say, is history."

According to the former AT&T account executive, her background of dealing with customers through her corporate job was good preparation for her business.

"At AT&T I was servicing the needs of the customers," she said. "It helped me to move into a business such as this. You have to like customers. This is a business that is customer-driven."

Asked where the name Jasmine’s came from, Scarborough explained they named the eatery in honor of a relative who supported the original catering partnership.

The catering business is also very much a part of the overall business and Scarborough, who does the marketing, while Burris does some of the cooking, reports that the restaurant enhances the off site catering business.

With entrees such as Oxtail and Stewed Beef, Jerk Chicken, Stewed Chicken, Curried Shrimp and Curried Goat (all $5 to $6 to $6.50 depending on size or choice).

Diners are never at a loss for a meal at Jasmine’s Sugar & Spice.

– Marcia Moxam Comrie