Black Fleet Market 2019

March 11, 2019March 11, 2019 By duanemarc Comment Closed

Greetings Roadies! Black Fleet Market 2019 was a hit! The second staging was a joy & the Crav'nish team passed through to capture the moments. Yhuli J will give her take shortly on the blog so look out for that, but until then check out the recap video as well as photo gallery + BONUS IMAGES from the 2018 staging! ...

Blue Mountain Culinary Trail

March 11, 2019March 11, 2019 By duanemarc Comment Closed

Greetings roadies! It has been literal months since I wrote a proper blog post & what can I say? Not much... LOL. downdiroad.com has & always will remain the personal blog of me; Duane Marc Phillips, but with time comes growth & with growth comes change. For some time now the blog has seen a significant shift to music & event coverage, which was a calculated decision needed for growth of the #downdiroadLIVE sub-series. I do want to assure you roadies out there to fret not because at the center of it all will always remain #DownDiRoad the original travel series. All of the sub-series that have been created as a culmination of my efforts are extensions of #DownDiRoad, and I will never stray far from the root of it all - travel! With that said, let me take you back to this video I did in January. I never wrote about it so here's a quick rundown. The Blue Mountain Culinary Trail is an effort...

WINE TINGS with a WineMaker.

January 2, 2019January 5, 2019 By Yhuli J. Comment Closed

"Making good wine is a skill, fine wine is an art." - Robert Mondavi Now most people who know me personally, know that when you say wine, you’re literally speaking my love language. Among my friends, I’m the Yneaux [wino]; primarily because I am known for my erudition and indulgence of all things wine. Simply, wine is everything. And that’s not to boast, that’s just how intrigued and passionate I am about the whole experience from grape to glass. A self-taught connoisseur of wine and all it entails, wine has been a passion and an intimate part of my life for the better part of six years and I foresee many more years to come. But my sojourn with wine, hasn’t just led to nights of imbibing, it’s undoubtedly expanded and improved my palate to be able to identify and discern flavours in foods. Which has impacted my cooking too. It’s a whole food thing and I love it! What’s been super cool...

Patty Business

November 6, 2018November 7, 2018 By Yhuli J. Comment Closed

Patty Business a nuh joke ting! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When a Jamaican talks patty, listen. There’s a whole science behind it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Don’t believe me? Check this out... If you’ve never had a hot Jamaican patty, then you need to add it to your foodie bucket list ASAP! The hot meaty goodness, well spiced and nestled neatly within a flaky crust... oh man! For many Jamaicans, Patty is just part of the food culture. Having a patty or two on a weekly basis, dare I say daily basis, is as natural as rice and peas for Sunday dinner. Our patty culture is so rich and so deeply ingrained in Jamaica, that it breaks through societal barriers and brings us together. You may even think we came up with the ingenious idea of filling a flaky crust with beef, chicken, fish, lobster and the like. We didn’t, but I’m sure we perfected.The Business of Patty is a historical one, and without going into too much of a history...

Smurf’s Cafe

October 26, 2018October 29, 2018 By Yhuli J. Comment Closed

It was an early morning, just like this, that day... Can you tell I’m here for the dramatics? Well, only when it comes to GREAT FOOD & equally amazing service. Normally, I’m not one for a heavy first meal. I’m a grab and go kinda gal. But this morning in particular I was really crav'n more of an indulgence than normal. So I was really excited to check out Smurf’s Cafe.Now when it comes to food, admittedly I can be a little picky. I don’t eat for eating sake [never have] and would rather go hungry than eat something that will mess with my palate. But somehow, on arriving at this charming corner bar restaurant, I wanted to eat all the things! Smurf’s Cafe is a neatly nestled, corner bar restaurant, along the Treasure Beach stretch in St. Elizabeth. Located at the corner, where the road bends towards Billy’s Bay. It’s unassuming and looks like any other corner bar you’d find on any...

Welcome to Crav’nish!

October 19, 2018October 29, 2018 By Yhuli J. Comment Closed

This odyssey to food, started 30 years ago, when a woman from Downtown Kingston, Jamaica, had a child... Okay, no seriously, but I really do believe I was made for such a time as this. I’ve always had a kind of love:hate relationship with food. I love the colours, aromas, textures, tastes and the juxtaposition that takes place when you mix them all together. I am intrigued by the inherent mouth watering effect of food that smells good, and in love with spices that carry big flavours. But I hated eating. [Weird, I know.] That is until I discovered myself. In 2011, I met one of my *“soulmates” and he taught me how to truly define myself and in defining me, the things I loved and that brought me joy. He taught me it was okay to be different, to take risks, deviate from the norm and the importance of living loudly, with 100% honesty. Evenings spent, over bottles of wine ... that’s...