Inglewood, California, is now home to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, thanks to the brand-new and beautifully built SOFI Stadium. And as the City revitalizes with the influx of the NFL, hip new restaurants are popping up all over L.A. Someone can easily get caught up in chasing the new hotness in town without a proper guide. But that’s not what Breaking Bread is about. Instead, it’s about connecting with people over good food with soul and culture.
Sometimes that means going to a major shopping hub to find the diamond in the masses or searching out that hidden gem in a tiny strip mall. Either way, these locales are not highly advertised, and you’re finding them by word of mouth or a lucky scroll on Google. This issue’s venue is precisely like that, the unexpected, out of the way, got lost driving there, but it was so worth it type of place— Country Style Jamaican Restaurant in Inglewood. Walk-in only, so let’s start with Issue #3 with Marcas Grant. If this is your first time dining with us, click here for the concept. And if you’re returning, thank you again for joining us; let’s eat!
Setting the Scene
Typically a commute from Long Beach to Inglewood takes a minimum of 30 minutes in traffic. But on this sunny and hot late September day, traffic flowed as I was ready to break bread with Marcas Grant, co-host of NFL Fantasy Live on the NFL Network and host of the Fantasy Life podcast for Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life. Arriving early to prep, I waited in the parking lot for my co-host on this issue, Wailele Sallas. Video producer for The Undroppables and creator of The Fantasy 50.
Neither Wai nor I knew what to expect as Marcas chose today’s restaurant, which is close to the new NFL Los Angeles headquarters. This tiny strip mall on the corner of Hyde Park Blvd. and La Brea Ave. is conveniently located across the DMV. And boasts an array of ethnic cuisine, from two Thai-style restaurants, Ethiopian food, a hookah lounge, and today’s treat, Jamaican food.
Taking some test photos of the outside of the restaurant, we see Marcas drive up. He barely closes his door before another car pulls up slowly while rolling his window down. In Inglewood, there’s a slight tension in the air as he stops to say something to Marcas. The man sticks his head out the window and says, “Hey! Fantasy football! What’s up with Kyle Pitts??!”. We laugh as Marcas can’t go to lunch without getting hit up for fantasy advice. This lunch is starting on the right foot.
Country Style Jamaican Restaurant is precisely what its name suggests. Country-style food cooked with love in a humble but quintessentially Jamaican setting. Complete with pictures of Bob Marley and a cricket match playing on the T.V. The reviews online praise the food, while the only complaint is the service. The (not so) secret in L.A. is that if the rating is low only because the “service is bad,” you know this is EXACTLY the restaurant you want to visit. Because I always find that when you show respect and admiration for their culture, you’re met as a welcome visitor to the family. And this restaurant welcomed us right in, especially when we ordered half the menu!
Fantasy pon di side: Marcas’ pick for League Winner
David Montgomery. Monty is now “the undisputed lead back in a run-heavy offense that just lost its best receiver [in Darnell Mooney]. He’s also got a cherry schedule the rest of the way”.
During the Covid lockdown, restaurants in L.A. had to adapt to new regulations and restrictions on indoor seating. The best situations had space and capital to construct outdoor parklets. But Country Style Jamaican is one of those restaurants that had to shift entirely to take-out, even post-lockdown, as they removed all the tables in the dining room. This prevented us from eating on location and allowed us to move our venue to a local park. We grabbed our to-go plates and set up on the bleachers behind a baseball diamond. A very fitting setting for Marcas, as I would come to learn.
“I have this theory about the Dodgers: Black people are usually Dodgers fans because of Jackie Robinson.”
While most of us know Marcas because of fantasy football, he is an avid baseball guy. He knows the history behind the Giants, even though he wasn’t a fan. He knows random facts about all the Bay Area teams, complete with anecdotes about how actor Tom Hanks used to sell peanuts at the Oakland Coliseum. Wai and Marcas bond over their admiration and memories of A’s outfielder Ricky Henderson and the talent in the Bay. And while Marcas grew up a fan of UC Berkeley, the University of Southern California brought him to L.A. seeking a degree in journalism that the U.C. college system didn’t offer. This circumstance leads Marcas to find the “sports mafia.”
Course 1 – Jerk Chicken and Curry Goat
One of the most popular dishes of Jamaican cuisine, and the first thing we had to try was the jerk chicken. This dish is tied to the Arawaks, the indigenous peoples from South America who first settled on the island approximately 2,500 years ago. The Arawaks learned to smoke and dry meat, similar to making jerky. Then, in the 1600s, enslaved people were brought to Jamaica – where a group of them (called Maroons) escaped and fled into the mountains. Building upon the smoked meat method, the Maroons developed their mix of spices and herbs to marinate and cook wild boar. This eventually led to the Jamaican Jerk method.
Equally as popular in Jamaica and with similar ties to slavery is the curry goat. Curry was introduced to Jamaica post-slavery in the mid-1800s. Indentured Indian laborers were brought to the island by the British, who had sent over a million laborers across the British empire. Like Jamaican Jerk, the method of cooking curry was combined with local flavors and meat to create what we know today as curry goat. This dish includes tender, slow-cooked goat meat with aromatic flavors due to its combination of coconut milk, garlic, onion, allspice, thyme, Scotch bonnet peppers, tomatoes, and turmeric.
At Country Style Jamaican Restaurant, they serve their plates with rice and beans, steamed vegetables, fried plantains, and festival bread. And for this first plate, we opted for the two-item combo to start with these two classic dishes. This plate set off the meal with traditional flavors to get us in the groove, as both types of meat were impeccably cooked. Tender and packed with flavor.
Fantasy pon di side: December Stud – Lamar Jackson.
“The Ravens will only go as far as Jackson can carry them. He’s been forced to play hero ball for long stretches, but with Baltimore getting guys healthy, help is on the way.”
Marcas’ introduction to the sports journalism world, and the ‘sports mafia’ that comes out of USC with an internship pipeline to Fox Sports, happened by chance, as all the best things do. Growing up, Marcas wanted to read the news as a network anchor, just like Dan Rather. However, on move-in day for his first day of college, Marcas was hanging with his new roommates, that wanted to meet the guy who ran the sports department for the campus radio station. So they asked Marcas if he tried to roll with them, and the next thing he knew, he was applying to work in his first stint in radio.
Marcas loved sports and talking about sports with his friends but had never considered a career in sports journalism. Now he is getting the chance to cover women’s soccer games for USC’s student radio station KXSC. All because he had a chance opportunity that he was prepared to take, despite it being something completely new. That first gig eventually led to covering basketball and football games. After realizing that talking about sports on the radio was like talking about sports with his buddies, Marcas’ path changed forever. As Marcas says, “news is important, but sports are more fun.”
After graduating, Marcas put together a reel of his broadcasts to send to sports media outlets. And when I say “send out,” I don’t mean emailing a link to a digital compilation or HUDL page. Instead, Marcas copied video cassette tapes, placed them in envelopes, and mailed them out to minor league teams. In 2022, terms like ‘mail,’ ‘envelope,’ and ‘tapes’ are foreign to Gen Z. Marcas knew he had to shoot his shot while freelancing and working in radio.
Paying his Dues
That hustle led Marcas to the Major League Baseball winter meetings in Dallas, Texas, in 2001. The minor league teams have a coinciding job fair, and Marcas was able to land a job with the Visalia Oaks, then an affiliate of the Oakland A’s. He did two years in the Central Valley calling play-by-play, then moved back home and worked as a stringer covering high school sports. Next, he worked at the GAP to fill in the gaps and earn extra money. He folded khakis by day and covered sports by night. He then took an opportunity in Fresno to produce, host, and call play-by-play on the radio for five years.
Once the stint in Fresno had run its course, Marcas paid his last month of rent and packed up to move to L.A. to continue his sports journalism career. He reconnected with a friend who worked for Sporting News, earning him an interview because someone’s appendix burst. Marcas got the job as an update anchor on Sporting News Radio, hosting the NFL wrap-up show from 3 AM to 5 AM for a couple of years until Sporting News was sold and Marcas was offered to move to Houston. He was once again at a crossroads in his career.
Course 2 – Brown Stew Chicken
Brown stew chicken is another classic Jamaican dish found in all Caribbean cultures. Browning chicken and then braising it for a long time with vegetables and a sauce/gravy to make a stew is certainly not unique to the Caribbean. But what makes Jamaica’s version special is the chicken is seared in oil and then braised in a Browning Sauce-based gravy with sweet and spicy peppers like Scotch bonnets.
Browning Sauce is made from caramelized sugar cooked down until it turns dark and has a smoky, almost bitter taste. This sauce is a staple in Jamaican kitchens that can be made or purchased. And the depth of flavor that is created by this dish is unreal. After braising for hours, this chicken is fall-apart tender with a slightly sweet taste and kick of heat. This is one of the better chicken dishes I’ve ever had, and I can’t wait to return for more.
At this point in his career, Marcas had been paying his dues in the radio sports journalism world. And as someone aspiring to be Dan Rather and is currently on television, chasing that career in front of the camera would seem to be his passion. But in reality, Marcas has always felt his real love, in terms of creating content, was through writing. When he was 12 years old, he and his best friend were going to write the next “Boyz n the Hood.” They even had plans for Janet Jackson to produce the soundtrack. Marcas has such a love for writing that he’s even dabbled in tv writing, script writing, and writing comic books, which he loves.
Fantasy pon di side: Never draft again – Michael Thomas.
“I never say never. But it might never be again with Michael Thomas. The lingering injury issues are frustrating enough. But compounding it with his age and the Saints’ offensive issues, I want no part of him in 2023.”
After Sporting News was sold, Marcas parlayed that love of writing into writing product descriptions for websites. So if you bought porcelain figurines or hand-beaded necklaces online in the late 2000s, there’s a chance Marcas writing in the description got you hooked. But he loved writing about sports, any sports, but to say he grinded his way to his job with NFL Media would be an understatement. Besides working at the GAP and writing product descriptions, Marcas also had a paper route while working in Fresno. He jokes that he was a paper man, not a paperboy, as he delivered the paper as a 30-year-old man. And when he did get to cover baseball, it was in Stockton, where everything else sucked besides the baseball.
Called up to the Big Leagues
Marcas worked the product description gig until 2011, when another friend told him the NFL was looking to add new talent to their media team. Never one not to shoot his shot, he applied to 5 different jobs advertised online. None of which he was qualified for. And to make matters worse, 2011 was the year of the NFL lockout. Marcas booked an interview a few months later, but no one would hire him if the NFL season was canceled.
But the day the lockout ended, Marcas received a call within hours of the announcement and was offered the job to write about fantasy football for NFL Media. A position he has now kept for the past 11 years, writing, podcasting, and talking fantasy football on T.V. By the time he joined the NFL, he was just a casual fantasy player, but his love of sports and writing made him a good fit. As a result, he came to the job not (yet) a fantasy degenerate, which has given him a level-headed approach to his analysis.
Marcas became a name in the industry almost by chance. He didn’t find the job; the job found him. As a great writer with a better work ethic, he put himself in a position to take advantage of every opportunity. But the connections Marcas made while paying his dues led to those opportunities. He put in the work, worked in areas he didn’t love, wrote about products he didn’t love, folded khakis, and was a paper man, doing whatever he needed to do to live his dream. Now, as a parent, he can sympathize with how his parents felt watching him grind his way through the sports journalism industry from the bottom. But finally, it was his time.
Course 3 – Oxtail
The most anticipated dish of the day was the oxtail. When researching Country Style Jamaican Restaurants for this issue, the oxtail was the most talked about meat on Yelp. Oxtail in Jamaican cuisine also originated with the enslaved people and maroons brought to the island from Africa. And just like jerk chicken and curry goat, Jamaicans made this dish into one of their own with signature spices and flavors.
First, the oxtails are cleaned, seasoned, and browned on all sides in a pot with a Browning Sauce-based sauce and seasoning. Next, the oxtails are removed from the pot, and a mirepoix of vegetables and garlic are added, as well as beef broth and herbs. Once the broth is simmering, the oxtails are left to braise for a few hours until the marrow starts to seep into the broth, and the meat falls off the bone. This dish will have me returning to Country Style Jamaican for years, and best represents the highlight of Jamaican cuisine.
Marcas’ tenure at the NFL has been fun every step of the way. Besides the work, he has met some lifelong friends like the two previous subjects of Breaking Bread, Matt Harmon, and James Koh. Although those two guys have moved on to new and exciting ventures, as we previously spotlighted, some of the best times Marcas has had at the NFL were with that old crew. One memory that sticks out was James Koh hosting the “K-town throw-down” before the start of every season. Marcas reminisces about the late nights of Korean BBQ, flowing soju, and boisterous karaoke as they kicked off the season.
Changing the Game
To be where he is now, Marcas feels blessed and grateful. He reminds himself how lucky and far he has come, especially as a minority in the industry. One of Marcas’ goals is to expand the diversity in the industry. Something we also spoke about with James Koh. Marcas is happy with how much diversity has increased in the industry. But when he finally leaves fantasy football as a career, he wants to see things in a better place than when he arrived. A more diverse space that normalizes women and minorities.
That diversity is on full display with the NFL Fantasy Live show five days a week on the NFL Network. Marcas and his co-hosts Kimmi Chex, Adam Rank, Cynthia Frelund, Patrick Claybon, and Mike Florio deliver fantasy takes with a ton of energy and creativity. The level of diversity on the show is unique in the industry and on this type of platform. But for the cast, it’s an unspoken thing for them. The diversity is intentional but also organic. No one on the show is there because they check a box. They are the best people to fill that position, regardless of gender or ethnicity. The show represents the general audience watching football and playing fantasy football today.
Because at the end of the day, “fantasy football is just Dungeons and Dragons for sports nerds.”
Fantasy pon di side: NFL and Fantasy MVPs – Josh Allen and Travis Kelce.
“Josh Allen takes it home after another phenomenal season.” Complete with a Super Bowl win prediction for the Bills over the Eagles, “folding tables beware.” And for Kelce, “he’s been the biggest advantage to any roster this season. When you thought someone else was coming for his crown, he reminds you who he is.”
And since Marcas is a self-proclaimed nerd with various interests, he wants to branch out beyond fantasy. Partly by creating more lifestyle content. He once filmed a travel-style pilot episode for the NFL. He flew to Seattle, took in sites like the famous Pike Place Market, and checked out the original Starbucks. Marcas told security they were shooting a student film since they didn’t have a permit. Guerilla filmmaking at its best. He even got to interview Steve Raibel, the play-by-play radio commentator for the Seattle Seahawks. The NFL didn’t air the pilot episode and it’s probably living somewhere deep in the interwebs. But the concept and execution shows his interests beyond fantasy football.
Marcas continues to find that creative outlet through side projects like his YouTube channel and content creation team, 30TwoBit. This platform allows him to branch out into comedy, nostalgia, pop culture, sports, fashion, trending topics, news, and more. But since football is his full-time gig, 30TwoBit ramps up during the offseason with various podcasts and live streams. As a result, Marcas can create the content he’s interested in with other young, like-minded creators instead of just serving as an ATM for fantasy advice. Like today’s lunch, people are hitting up Marcas in the most random places while looking at pigs at the L.A. County fair. Whether with 30TwoBit or some other creative outlet, Marcas hopes to grow his other interests into something big because he only has so many takes about the same players.
Course 4 – Rum Cake
We ended the meal with another quintessential Caribbean dessert, Jamaican Rum Cake. Like the other dishes on today’s menu, rum cake introduction to the island by British colonists in the 1700s. It has its roots in English fruit puddings (e.g., “figgy pudding”), but as the Jamaicans do, they incorporated their traditional island flavors to make this dessert one of their own. Instead of brandy typically used in British desserts, Jamaicans used rum, readily available throughout the Caribbean.
The cake reflects over 100 years of Jamaican history and culture, down to the sugar and molasses that kept colonizers on the islands for so long as these products were traditional exports. And even the ingredients are reminiscent of pre-electricity preservation practices using sugar and alcohol as preservatives. To make this cake, besides rum, the ever-present ingredient Browing Sauce is once again a staple of this dish. The rest of the ingredients are standard for a fruit cake with alcohol: butter, flour, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, spices, molasses, and of course, rum. Mix with blended fruit, bake and serve. The rum cake sells in small loaves at country-style Jamaican restaurants that are perfect to share with others. A perfect treat at the end of a meal with friends or shared with family over the holidays.
Dad Life
As we have learned over this lunch, Marcas has many talents and passions. So I hit him with the million-dollar question, “With a man with many varying interests, what is your #1 passion right now?” Marcas, “I would have to say it’s my kid.” As fathers with two kids of our own, Wai and I loved that answer. Because we know the love and joy that comes from watching a little person grow, watching what comes online as they get older is fun. And sharing our interests and vibing on the same thing across generations is one of the things Marcas loves the most about parenthood. One of the worst things is trying to maintain that work-life balance.
That balance became so much harder for those in the media/content industry during the Covid lockdown in 2020. Marcas set up his new at-home studio in his kid’s bedroom. He was trying to steal time to broadcast between nap times. And as a man that has been almost entirely in front of a microphone or camera for his career, he’s now having to wear multiple hats to continue doing his job. Having to add lighting, directing, sound engineering, and makeup to his new set of skills. Marcas laughs about asking his wife to help him not look like he’s wearing clown makeup to get that right shade of foundation. Not only was it a learning curve, but it was an equalizer. Everyone essentially became an at-home streamer.
Fantasy pon di side: Looking Ahead – Travis Etienne and Bijan Robinson.
“It’s obvious [Travis] is the future of an emerging offense in Jacksonville. He has three-down back potential. The issue will be how early will I have to reach to get him?” As a rookie to watch in the 2023 NFL Draft, Marcas has his eye on Texas R.B. Bijan Robinson, “we are going to be talking about him as possibly the first overall dynasty rookie draft pick next year.”
Now that his work life has mostly returned to normal, Marcas continues to find ways to maintain the balance. He prioritizes blocking off hours between after work and bedtime as “dad time.” As someone still close to his father, being a good dad is a top priority for Marcas. He enjoys taking his family to the beach or the tide pools at White Point in San Pedro. Living in Southern California with Disneyland nearby, his son is into Disney and Mickey Mouse. But what he digs into the most is dinosaurs. Luckily, the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach has the Wonder of Dinosaurs. It’s a two-story dinosaur attraction with an interactive museum, dinosaur train, dino-themed bounce houses, and even a mini-golf course.
Outside of dad life, Marcas loves to cook. He makes curry from scratch with homegrown herbs from his garden. Going through the steps to prepare the ‘mise en place’ for a dish is therapeutic. When not cooking, you can find Marcas at Dodgers stadium, where you can hit him up for fantasy advice. No, please don’t do that. But if you’re going to grab a Dodger dog, try it Marcas’ way with ketchup, mustard, and onions.
Fantasy pon di side: League Loser – Christian McCaffrey.
“Not exactly a league loser [in that he’s not going to score you points]. But he’s also not the guy you thought you were drafting. He’s getting fewer snaps and touches now that he’s in an offense loaded with weapons. As a result, he’s gone from being an elite fantasy back to an above-average one.”
Another locale around Los Angeles that you must make time for when visiting SOFI is The Last Bookstore in Downtown. It’s the largest new and used bookstore in California, with rare books and vintage vinyl. Marcas also recommends The Original Pantry Cafe or Chips Restaurant for classic breakfast and good ole fashioned diner food. If you’re looking for a good burger, check out Simzy’s. Or if you want to try something different, Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine on the west side boasts the best yak chili in L.A. If you try yak chili, it might as well be the best. However, if you want to sample a little bit of everything, head to Grand Central Market Downtown, with almost 40 food vendors. Try the Thai street food or plan to wait for Eggslut; trust me, it’s worth it.
The Alter Ego
Marcas tells a story about how Paul Newman would talk to you about movies and would be polite in the conversation. But if you want to pique his interest, speak to him about race cars, and he’ll talk to you all day. And what piques Marcas’ interest is comic books. And his not-so-secret favorite comic book character is Spider-Man. The mythos resonates with Marcas because Spider-Man is one of us. The other superheroes are somewhat unreliable, but Peter Parker has real people problems. He’s nervous when talking to a girl he likes, and has experienced being yelled at by his boss.
And Marcas’ favorite multi-verse version of Spider-Man is Miles Morales from “Into the Spiderverse.” Besides providing a fresh take on the character, the movie also introduced a new generation of kids to hip-hop. They are giving parents another way to relate to their kids across generations. Because Into the Spiderverse is also a movie about sons, fathers, and father figures. Another way Spider-Man relates to the average person. These messages resonated so much in Marcas’ life that he hopes to write a comic with his characters one day.
But that love for comics didn’t start at a young age as it did for so many of us. Instead, comics came to him later in life, sort of like fantasy football. Growing up, he watched superhero cartoons, but it wasn’t until he worked at the NFL that he fell in love with the written version. That first graphic novel was Watchmen. After seeing the movie, he borrowed a copy from a colleague before purchasing one. Then, he would walk to the local comic book store by the old NFL office in Culver City and search out new Image Comics with writers he liked. So instead of soaking up the classics like Superman first, Marcas again took an alternative path to experience the genre.
Fantasy pon di side: Free Nuggets
“Make the experience enjoyable by drafting players you like and want to watch. Even if it’s as simple as you don’t like Rams players, it takes skill to build a roster and set a lineup, but once the game starts, it’s out of your hands. So enjoy it as much as possible. Learn not to check scores and obsess over them constantly. Why stress yourself out about it?”
That theme echoes throughout Marcas’ life. He is always on the traditional path from a good school to a corporate hierarchy. He progressed from one job to another and has gone through multiple routes such as sports radio, calling a baseball game, NFL work, fantasy football, and even fantasy football. They say luck happens when preparation meets opportunity; by that definition, Marcas has been very lucky. He takes chances at every opportunity that appears to him. He has confidence in his skills and the quality of his work. And he’s not afraid to put himself out there and take a chance because he wants to try out something he loves.
So much so that in 2017 he stumbled upon a 1970’s T.V. show called “Kolchak: The Night Stalker,” which was an inspiration for the “X Files.” Marcas loved the show so much that he watched every episode and wrote a weekly review that he published on his blog. He wrote it because it was his creative outlet, not because he expected anyone to read it. Which is even more rewarding when people found it and said how much they loved it. While researching this article, I read through the series and the other blog posts on Marcas’ site. Well-written glimpses into Marcas’ life. His interests, his fears, his humor. Marcas puts himself in his writing and lets you into his life.
Appreciations
I thank Marcas for letting us into his life today to break bread with Wai and me at this random baseball diamond in Inglewood, eat excellent Jamaican food, and get to know one of our favorite fantasy football analysts better. It will be exciting to see where Marcas’ career takes him because whatever he puts his heart into, he’s successful. But for now, tune in to NFL Network and The Fantasy Life podcast, where you can find all his fantasy football advice. So you can stop hassling him on the streets for a start/sit question. And subscribe to 30TwoBit on YouTube to catch all the creative projects his team comes up with.
A huge thanks to Wai Sallas for being a great co-host, Fantasy Dukes for the excellent graphics, and our editor Derek Fuchs for helping me look good. And as always, thank you, the reader, for choosing to spend time with us. We hope you join us again soon to Break Bread with The Undroppables.
