To try and decide each week where and what to eat in and around the basin can be a challenge – there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.

If you’ve ever had a hand pie, then that’s essentially the track you need to be thinking on when it comes to this week’s feature. As a popular street food in Jamaica and other areas of the Caribbean, this dish is said to have been inspired by British colonists. Inspiration or not, it’s something that I need in my belly often.

I feel like with this dish we have to start with the pastry dough since it is the keeper of all the ingredients. Its texture is super light and airy while also supremely flaky and it never weighs down a bite. A hand pie is only as good as its dough and here it sets the poetry in motion.

Inside is where the fireworks happen. And when I say fireworks, I’m not talking about fire breathing heat (although there is some heat, don’t get me wrong), but more so about flavor explosions. If you know anything about Jamaican ingredients, they are big and bold and typically, a lot. So, without going into every spice under the sun that’s flavoring up the minced beef, just know it’s curry-forward enhanced with cheese and scotch bonnet peppers.

In Jamaica, babies suck on scotch bonnets instead of pacifiers so don’t get scared off by the heat stories you may have heard. Yes, they do pack some punch, but they also carry a nice sweetness that goes round and round with the spices for a flavor combination that will rattle your taste buds.

If you are new to Caribbean or Jamaican cuisine, this dish is a nice introduction. And if you’re fully fledged in it, then you just need to give it a try. It has all the feels and flavors, just enveloped up in a delicious edible wrapper.

Café Lupine is located at 11177 Brockway Rd. in Truckee. For menu and more information visit them online at cafelupine.com or reach them by phone at 530-214-5075.