Gosh, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a foodie adventure. Since I’ve been waiting to visit a Jamaican/Caribbean place for some time, I had my sights set on Jamaica Cabana. It opened mid-summer in Richardson and is slightly hidden in a shopping center off Campbell and Plano; it’s not easily visible from the road.
Before catching a movie, I wanted to grab dinner at Jamaica Cabana since it’s relatively close to the Studio Movie Grill off Spring Valley. The four of us have very little to no experiences with Caribbean/Jamaican food and the only familiar entree would be jerk chicken. None of us were sure what to expect or if we would like it. Beforehand, I studied the menu and was intrigued by quite a few items and couldn’t wait to try them.
The restaurant is small and didn’t have the cheesy Caribbean decor I expected. Walking in, we were greeted by the owner who shook all of our hands as he seated us. It seems like a family-run business and I’m a huge supporter for small businesses so I couldn’t wait for some really great Jamaican cooking.
Appetizers: To start, I ordered the beef patties. They originally come in a trio, but with the four of us there, the owner was nice enough to throw in a fourth beef patty. I’m really glad he did because you would not want to share it. It is absolutely delicious. These little beef patties remind me of empanadas or meat pies. While slightly on the smaller side, it was jam packed with flavor. The waitress described the filling as a kind of meatloaf. It is seasoned ground beef with onions and spices. Definitely off to a good start.
Beef patties!
Inside peek into the beef patties
Next we ordered, the jerk chicken nachos. When it coms to nachos, I am more of a beef or chili/beef person. This wasn’t amazing. It seemed pre-heated since the cheese was a little lukewarm. The jerk chicken cubes folded amongst the layers of cheese and chips were a bit on the salty side and the chicken has a slightly spicy kick to it. Bell pepper bits were sprinkled in too. Just skip the nachos and just order another plate of the beef patties.
Will probably skip the Jerk Chicken Nachos next time.
Entrees: For dinner, we shared the braised oxtail, curried goat, and jerk chicken. All were served with either white rice or traditional rice and peas (made with coconut milk), fried plantains, and steamed cabbage and carrots.
I LOVE oxtail. I don’t mind the gelatinous, fatty pieces and have no problem with stripping the meat off the odd-shaped tail bones. Some people stay away from oxtail because it tends to be a lot of trouble eating around the bone and can get messy. Not me!! Oxtail all day! The initial presentation isn’t very pretty. It definitely tastes better than it looks. The meat is very tender and rich in flavor and buttered beans are tossed into the mix. It borderlines salty, so you have to eat it with the rice and cabbage to even out the salt. The traditional rice is cooked with coconut and the very subtle sweetness worked well with the savory oxtail flavors. My only complaint about the rice would is that it seemed a bit on the dry side. I’d probably opt with the regular white rice next time. I also wish my plantains were more ripe before it was fried. One was perfectly soft, the other was a little hard.
Braised Oxtail
My friend got the Jerk Chicken which is marinated chicken in jerk spices served with a sweet bbq sauce, white rice, plantains, and the steamed cabbage. Now, I believe everyone has one of those weird friends that either doesn’t like seafood or is weird about eating meat off the bone. So when I get a chance to check out a new place or cuisine, I enjoy pushing my friends to try something new. She loved how easy it was to peel the meat off the bone. It just fell right off. There was definitely a good kick in the spices and there is a slight heat that sits on your tongue. It’s not very overwhelming and won’t have you dying for water. It tastes wonderful even without the bbq sauce. In the photo, it indeed looks dry, but after digging in, it’s very tender.
Jerk Chicken
Next on the list is the curried goat. Few restaurants offer game meat on their menu, so I get excited when I see something other than beef, chicken, or lamb on the menu. The heat of the curry isn’t bad and the meat was also very tender. My friend enjoyed it for the most part, but said he’d probably get something else next time. It was good, just not a life-changer.
Unfortunately, the next day, he complained of foul stomach issues. While the rest of us had no stomach issues, thought I’d let you guys know that if your stomach can’t handle the curry, you might want to stay away from this one.
Curried Goat
We didn’t get a chance to try any of the desserts. I had my heart set on the Jamaican rum cake, but we had to run and make it in time for the movie. I think the star of the night would be those delectable beef patties. If I could order a box to-go, I would because it would be a party in my mouth and I would not share. I also recommend getting the Jamaican lemonade. It should be called limeade, because it’s made with lime juice instead of lemons and is reminiscent of the Mexican lime drink, limonada. I thought it might be too tart, but it was quite refreshing. Perfect balance of sweet and tartness. The overall consensus from everyone is that they liked their food, although they wish the meat portions were just a little bigger. More meat, less sides. Pictures of most of the dishes and pricing can be found on their website. Dinner plates cost between $12-$15 a plate.
Service was friendly, despite being a little on the slow side. I wish our waitress was a little more knowledgeable about the menu items, but overall she made good recommendations. Jamaica Cabana is also BYOB and they don’t serve alcoholic beverages on site. There are definitely a few things they did great and some not-so-great. Since a lot of the menu items are pre-made and the meats have to be cooked for hours to get that tender, I wish it didn’t feel like that way (as seen with the chicken nachos). My experience overall was good and I am still dreaming about those beef patties.
