We’re getting a good dose of negative Guyana news of late and justifiably so – whatever the process requires we have to work through these things; I will spare you the list. However on the basis that many other writers will be working that beat, I would prefer to use my space today to tell you about what I call “special finds” in the country; in other words, an upbeat piece in the midst of the downbeat.
When I first returned to live in Guyana with my part-time handyman vocation, a saviour for me was an old building off Water Street, where the Sanmoogan family ran a business called Wheelers and Crawlers. The obscure hardware items missing in other places would often be found through them; they would either have it or get it for you. But then the building was sold and torn down, and my source was gone. One week ago, looking for a hard-to-find piece of hardware, I was advised to check a place called Hose and Bolts in Alberttown that I had never heard of, and there to my complete surprise was one of the Sanmoogan sons, Ian, doing what he used to do at Wheelers. The store is crammed with the most amazing collection of hardware – there were bolts in there I never knew existed – and in five minutes Ian provided not only the exact part I wanted but a machine to clamp it on professionally. Another Sanmoogan brother, Ronnie, is also operating a general hardware store at the corner of Quamina and Carmichael, with another bewildering variety of odd hardware items – I have him listed in my phone under “clamps”. The Sanmoogan’s are a find. Ian’s phone is 231-8225 and Ronnie’s is 227-0777.
If you read this column, you know I love paintings which leads me to Merlene Ellis who is a boss painter (I’ve helped sell a bunch of her paintings abroad) and she’s a find if you have a portrait or a scene you want turned into a painting. Merlene will take your photograph or drawing and hand you back a piece of art to treasure. But she’s a find because she can also frame the thing for you to your liking, professionally and quickly, and at a reasonable price. Merlene will go from the 5-foot wide canvas to the small postcard reproduction and anything in between. Her studio is in Ruimveldt, full of paintings and framing material, and she will answer if you ring 626-2754.
Long term residents should skip this next one; it’s specifically for recent returnees, and it’s where to find good home-made soup. There are several in the field, but three stand out for me. One is a restaurant called German’s, in the heart of Georgetown, and, in the way we are in the Caribbean, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Germany. It offers local food and a memorable home-made soup, in a choice of flavours. As the regulars know, this is no flimsy strained chicken broth for hospital purposes; the soup at German’s is a meal full of ground provisions, vegetables, dumplings, and other fare we refer to as “obstacles” – stick to your ribs stuff. Another great soup is the cow-heel variety offered at JR Burgers Restaurant in Kitty. I should point out that the burgers are daily, but the soup is only on Saturday (why I’m not sure) but it is a winner. The other champion soup is at Maggie’s Restaurant, just off Camp Street, where they offer it daily, but if you go much past the lunch hour you may well end up, to coin a word, soupless. The other thing about Maggie’s is that when you’re walking out with your appetite sated, you can pick up one of their heavenly whole-wheat home-made breads. In a time when we hear every week how bread made with white flour is bad for us, this whole-wheat treat, always looking the same and tasting the same, is one of the best bread buys in GT. If you don’t thank me for my other special finds, I know you’ll agree about the Maggie’s bread.
Just this week, the ubiquitous Frankie Camacho, who now operates a cosy eating place at his new apartments in Ogle, introduced me to an impressive line of condiments under the Umami label. Umami is apparently a fairly recent development here, and I’m not sure what else they offer, but their pepper sauces (my wife eats this stuff by the spoonful) are great and the packaging of the products are of the high standard one does not normally associate with Guyana. I couldn’t find a phone number for them, but, as for most things these days, they are Googleable – another one of my word creations.
Staying with the palate for a second, I have to alert you to a little known culinary delight that unfortunately can’t be obtained daily or even weekly but is definitely a find. It’s a Saturday lunch, every couple of months or so, put on by the Squash Club, behind the Georgetown Club premises, to raise funds for this sport in which Guyana excels regionally. There are varied formats, but the highlight is a barbecue that is delicious beyond belief based on a delectable sauce reportedly created by David Fernandes who is one of the Squash Club stalwarts. The problem with this ‘find’ is that it is not a regular business so the only way to land some of the Squash group’s winning barbecue is to look out for the next fund-raiser the club puts on and show up with your appetite. The price is a reasonable $2,000 a serving and in a time when you hear the “finger licking” label applied to so many dishes, David’s Squash Club barbecue truly deserves it. In the words of the old calypso, I guarantee that “you eat it once, and you want it twice.”
PS Preparing to send this column, my Spell Check tells me that there are no such words as “soupless” and “Googleable”. What do they know? Language evolves; so it go.
