If you’re in the mood for a foodie adventure, I’ve got just the thing. A trip to the Caribbean! Head on over to Tempe and enter A Taste of the Caribbean restaurant. The bright yellow and green walls, red floor and outdoor furniture will make you feel like you’ve arrived. It’s kind of scruffy and laid back - this is not the place to come for a quick bite. First of all, you have to make the tough decision about what to order. Oxtails or goat? Jerk chicken, of course, or do you want the milder brown stew chicken? Fish? There’s snapper, tilapia, and shrimp. The menu is divided up into Caribbean Favorites, Friday and Saturday Menu, Lunch Specials, Rice Bowl Specials and Plate Specials. If all this has your head spinning, you’re not alone. Our server, part of the family who own and run the place, seemed equally confused. But she was charming. Just accept it, and the slow service as part of the experience - don’t worry, be happy.
We ordered oxtails ($11.95) and Eggplant Curry Shrimp ($9.95). The oxtails, in a brown sauce, were fall-off-the-bone tender, fatty, as oxtails are, and totally delicious. The accompanying plantains were caramelized and a little crunchy. Perfection. A huge mound of rice and peas filled the center of the plate - moist and beautifully seasoned. And finally, a side of cabbage. There must have been a little sugar in the cooking pan, because it was sinfully delicious. Served on the side was a basket of roti, a homemade flatbread, similar to a flour tortilla but much softer. It was so hot we burned our fingers trying to pull off a piece. We had finished off the oxtails when the eggplant dish arrived (they were supposed to have come out together - it’s a good thing we like to share). Be forewarned, this curry is not for the faint-of-mouth. I wasn’t expecting the degree of heat - my nose started running and my eyes watered. But it was pure bliss, with flavor layered on flavor. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, although I wouldn’t have minded a few more, and the eggplant was so tender it was almost melting into the gravy. There were also some pieces of potato, which had not been mentioned on the menu, hiding in there. The heap of rice and peas helped mitigate some of the heat. As you might have gathered, between the roti, the plantains, the rice and peas,and the potatoes, this is a carb-lovers paradise.
Two odd things: a wide variety of Caribbean sodas are sold here, but no ice tea. And the rest rooms are in a different building than the restaurant.
The only disappointment was dessert. I got a pineapple tart to take home (I couldn’t have eaten another carb if my life depended on it). Our server had said it was the best of the two desserts available. Uh-oh. The tart was really bad - a smidgen of decent pineapple filling wedged between layers of leaden dough, tough and greasy. I was glad I hadn’t eaten it at the restaurant, because it would have put a bad ending onto an otherwise extraordinary meal.
A Taste of the Caribbean
219 E. Baseline Tempe 480-275-5334
atasteofthecaribbeancuisine.com
Mon. - Thurs. 11 - 9:30 Fri. & Sat. 11 - 11
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