SAN ANTONIO – She owns The Jerk Shack, a spot that was recently picked as one of the best new restaurants in the country by GQ Magazine. Now chef Nicole Blaque is opening a new Caribbean restaurant at the Pearl Food Hall.
Mi Roti opened for business last Thursday. So what is roti? It’s a buttery flatbread found in Jamaica. Blaque was born in Jamaica and she’s excited to share Jamaican flavors with the world.
“I moved here when I was 5 years old and it’s a part of me,” Blaque said. “You know, every place that I went when I was in the military, I always tried to cook and show people foods of Jamaica.”
Blaque said she’s been rolling the idea of Mi Roti around in her head for a while.
“For me, it was just a little more work coming up with the menu and trying to figure out how it’s going to be eaten. This is something you would normally make in your home,” Blaque explained.
The original way she thought the restaurant was going to run is not the way it’s running now. She originally imagined it similar to a buffet, but during a pandemic, that idea would not fly.
“We’re just working through the whole process until we can smooth it out and then we can offer more options,” Blaque said. “I’m excited to see the combinations, hear the feedback and really just expose my culture to another level.”
Watch Mike and Fiona try roti bowls from Mi Roti in the video below.