Spencer Williams, Contributor

Tucked within the quaint Orchid Village plaza in Liguanea, this deli-style café has been quite a hit in Kingston since it opened some years back. What I find surprising is the gall one has in charging so much for sandwiches and pastries! Why? Because they can ... clearly people are buying.

Okay, so there has been a huge increase in the price of flour which will inevitably affect bread costs, and the like. However, Susie's has always been expensive. Yet this has not stopped, and will not stop, those who have lots of money. No consideration has been taken for the value of what they're buying. The rich will enter the premises, order what they like, pay an astronomical amount, eat and leave.

The main ingredient within this establishment is mentioned in the name - Daily Bread. News flash: patties, which are made with the same flour, are much cheaper. These are Jamaica's original fast food, which have fed, for a long time, people from all walks of life from uptown to downtown, and all the way out to the country.

It's a sandwich

Yet, the principal products one uses to create them are not dissimilar to those which come out of these over-priced cafés. Yes, we must consider the fact that production and labour are higher per unit cost when there are only two 'shops' as opposed to over 40 locations of one patty company, and over 20 of another, but it's a sandwich!!! And, there are other cafés around that don't charge this amount!

I am not saying that the food doesn't taste good. The chicken salad, ham, and beef pastrami fillings are generous, fresh and very edible. The former has a zing in its feathers, and I was relieved to find that the latter two do not taste like those 'plastic' slivers of luncheon meat you often come across - quite the opposite, actually. The tuna salad is so-so.

Something different

It's really about time someone stirs the dish up a bit ... by mixing something other than mayonnaise into canned fish! Adding Thai flavours of lime zest, cilantro and nam pla (Thai fish sauce), or a spicy Mexican bean concoction, are not beyond possibility. Or how about 'Coronation' (curry spices) chicken as an alternative to the norm?

The pita wraps are pretty filling, especially the smoked salmon. In fact, considering cost of product, this one has a justifiable price! If I was nit-picking I'd suggest that more salad was added as this fish can really claw at your taste buds. Don't bother with the bagels which are tough, barely hold a worthy filling, and will set you back the same $650! A word of friendly advice from a man who likes to eat: order the pita ensembles. And, washed down with one of their delicious fresh juices, it succeeds in completing a great 'picnic' lunch.

However, I'm not sure what the fuss is about when it comes to the pastries. They are all so sweet you can barely detect the likes of plantain or apple. Fruits have their own natural sugars, so overpowering a dessert by adding more simply ruins it. And then to go and sprinkle a further amount of the refined version on top of a tart ... well that's a bit much now, isn't it?

Although there's enough bread to feed any customer who ventures to this location, or the larger one off Constant Spring Road, make sure you bring plenty of 'dough' to purchase it!

Susie's Daily Bread, Orchid Plaza, 20 Barbican Road, Shop #5, Kingston 6

Telephone: 970-4571

Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-10p.m., Sunday 11 a. m.-6 p.m.

Look to Spend: $650 on a 'sub', bagel or pita wrap sandwich, $350 on soup, $135-$350 for a pastry, $135 on a small fresh juice