A balance of flavours perfected at Anancy

Nancy Snipper

When Anancy's George Grant found Jamaican chef Dave Holness out of 150 applicants to cook up authentic Jamaican dishes for his 3-month-old dream restaurant, he was ecstatic. Holness trained at Jamaica’s HEART Institute, was the executive chef for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and garnered cuisine kudos in Grand Cayman. Now Montreal diners can enjoy his palette-pleasing creations at Anancy Restaurant. Holness has refined Jamaican dishes, creating a balance between herbal input and taste bud appeal for the public up here. My dining companion Dale Newton and I were surprised by the recurring ‘lightness’ in our choices — each devoid of grease and pungent spices.

We started with the chicken soup. Pumpkin seasoning with thyme added flavour accent to the fabulous string bean-shaped dumplings, potatoes, carrots and chocho (similar to small shallots). This soup was my thumbs-up favourite. Dale went crazy over Anancy’s conch fritters. She last sampled such treats in the Bahamas. Rumour ranks these fish cakes as aphrodisiacs, but we didn’t attribute our love of main meal selections to these awesome appetizers. Still, my amorous sentiments were heightened when I bit into the jerk chicken. Wow! It was so tender — utterly pleasing with its Holness balance of seven herbs. I tasted ginger, garlic and pepper, and spied pimento and bits of red and green pepper, but the rest remained a mouth-watering mystery. Dale chose ackee, a yellow veggie resembling a cooked egg yolk in taste and texture. It was exotic. Salty cured cod pieces added great flavour.

I snuck one of the dumplings that go with ackee’s tasty salad mixture. They were sensational — like a donut without the hole or the sweetness. In fact, I quickly became an Anancy dumpling addict, stuffing myself with ‘festivals’ as they are called — three are on the menu as extras. I allowed Dale the last one. She found festivals exciting. I replaced dessert with Blue Mountain coffee. Dale sipped chocolate chai tea — a perfect finale for our Jamaican feast. All we needed now was a beach to stretch out on. There was, however, a waterfall cascading down the glass at the entrance. Art-filled terra cotta walls enhance the warmth. Incredibly affordable, Anancy is a treat on all accounts!

Anancy is located at 6587 Somerled. Info: 514-486-2629