A little trip to the islands

The Jamaican/Caribbean restaurant is now open! I happened to drive past it today on my way back from the pediatrician and saw the OPEN sign; karma decreed it would be jerk chicken for dinner!

The place is actually called Curry World, and has a few tables to eat in, but seems to mostly cater to the take-out croud. We tried to get a take-out menu, but they've only been open three days and the menus aren't printed yet. Much of the menu seems to be on the outside sign, along with the phone number. Curry goat, curry chicken, jamaican jerk chicken, beef patties and more.

Once they're established with a menu and all, I don't know if they will keep the same setup. For now, though, they have the dishes pre-made and waiting on a warming table; think food court chinese food. The menu was written on a chalkboard, but I was disappointed that they didn't actually have everything that was on it. They were out of the curry goat, for example. I've never had goat, and I'm not sure what I think about it, but it seemed like the thing to try. Apparently they are hoping to get a shipment of goat in tomorrow.

Choosing from what was available, we tried jerk chicken, oxtail, and meat patties. The jerk chicken was in pieces, skinless, and our portion was mostly the drumstick portion of wings. The seasoning was wonderful and quite spicy! The oxtail was obviously slow braised in a mild curry type sauce, with potatoes and butter beans. These items came with rice with red beans (quite a bit more rice than beans) that the nice lady told me was made with coconut milk. I wouldn't have guessed this, though, as the flavor was very mild. They also came with a choice of veggies: eggplant or squash. We chose eggplant.

Meat patties were not what I expected, but more what might, in another culture, be called a meat pasty. It's a finely ground beef and spice mixture (ground very, very finely, like a puree, which made it taste creamy) encased in a surprisingly flaky but yet dense dough. They offer both mild and spicy, though they were out of the mild. The spicy were pleasantly flavorful but not overwhelming and, to me, not very spicy.

I am excited they are open, and look forward to trying them again once they get their feet under them. They seemed to be doing a good business this evening, and I certainly wish them well. They're open Thursday through Sunday, and the woman I talked to there said they've had a very positive response. Good luck, Curry World!