“It’s a great place to hang out and really get a taste of the diversity of Trinidadian cuisine,” says Prime, 47. little of this experience. Trinidadian food is influenced and shaped by a range of different ethnic groups who call Trinidad home, making it some really interesting and unique food.
With Prime pulling the strings as owner and chefs Alfredo Romero Contreras and Emma Hernandez overseeing the kitchen, St. James opened earlier this year. Among the offerings at the airy 14th Street venue: callaloo, a vegetable dish of West African origin; aloo pie, a fried dumpling with Indian roots; and pork pows, a Trinidadian version of Chinese steamed buns.
It’s no surprise, then, that Prime spends its perfect day embarking on a diverse food tour, starting with savory pastries and ending with Thai specialties – while enjoying a cocktail or two in between.
My dream day would be very food-focused, which isn’t surprising. It’s nice when I’m not working in the restaurant to be on the other side of the fence and be able to enjoy being a diner. I often like, on my days off, to hang out with some of my best girlfriends, sample some of the great food that DC food has to offer. And I love supporting other women-led or minority-owned and led or minority-owned businesses.
I would start Souk, which is a bakery owned by a childhood friend, Winnette McIntosh Ambrose – we went to the same middle and high schools together in Trinidad. I love going to Souk because it has these really delicious savory turnovers – I think my favorite is the mushroom and goat cheese version. She also has a golden milk latte with turmeric and even a little cayenne. It would be a great way to start the day.
I love all the waterways in DC, because it’s such a quaint city, so I’d go to the Georgetown waterfront for a walk, then take a water taxi to the Platform. I really like oysters and like to have a light lunch so I would probably go to Hank’s Oyster Bar for Jamie Leeds signature Salty Wolfe oysters and a burrata salad.
Then I would head to Union market, which grows, changes and adds many interesting restaurants and shops. I’d have a rose daiquiri at a lovely cocktail bar called Serenata. I also really like the sidecars Saint Anselm – they have a really delicious grilled potato salad with smoked trout, so I kinda go there just to have that and some cocktails.
For dinner, the flavor of Thai food reminds me of the Caribbean – the use of coconut and peanuts and all the chillies – and I’m a big fan of a cute new restaurant called Surah. Everything I tried there I really enjoyed – the cocktails, the quail egg wontons, the spicy chilli noodles.
I live in Brookland, where one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants is. Primrose, and I often take drinks there, because they also make an incredible sidecar, and a French 75. So I could stop there on my way home. And it’s a dream day for me: a day of eating, and just not having a schedule, not having to be anywhere and just going about the day at my own pace.
