Jamaican in South Florida

1178 N. State Road 7, Sunrise Plantation

954-321-0190

Whether you have been craving classic Jamaican jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat, fried fish, ackee, or some good, old-fashioned cowfoot (don't hate), old Auntie I has got you covered. She opened her first location back in 1987, and Auntie I's now has three in South Florida. Expect friendly service, along with delicious Jamaican food that's prepared using original family recipes yet maintains a modest price. This joint is perfect for lunch (there are always great daily specials), takeout, or a fun family outing. It's about time you break it off with your weekly habit of diluted wonton soup and stale, misleading fortune cookies.

2 articles

Carl's Seafood & Jamaican Kitchen

7551 W. Oakland Park Blvd. Lauderhill

954-748-9992

Caribbean, Chinese, Jamaican, Seafood, Soul Food, Best Of

1 article

Donna's Restaurant

5434 N. University Dr., Sunrise Plantation

954-578-6970

Caribbean, Jamaican, Best Of, Menu

It's one of the truly wonderful things about living in South Florida: the ready availability of genuine island-quality jerk chicken. God help us, we love it so. The restaurants can be found in strip malls all over town, but our favorite happens to be in the center of the county, on the northwest corner of State Road 7 and Broward Boulevard. Donna's comes with the classic Caribbean food counter, where you watch as they take a cleaver to succulently spiced meat, lay it down on a delicious bed of red beans and rice, and smother it in delicious gravy. Then comes the standard spare salad (finely chopped lettuce, carrots, and a tomato slice) and some of the best-tasting, sweetest plantains you've ever had. For eight and a half bucks, you get a meal that is generally too much for one big man and quite enough for two 110-pound women. If you don't want jerk, go curry. And if you don't want chicken, get the oxtail, goat, or fish. There are a few tables if you'd like to dine there, but we suggest you take it home -- and make sure to save some for breakfast.

1 article

The Dutch Pot Jamaican Restaurant

111 N. State Road 7 Plantation

954-583-4657

Jamaican, Caribbean, Best Of, Menu

Popular Jamaican haunt the Dutch Pot sets itself above the other Caribbean restaurants with stellar service, a loyal following, and food packed with as much flavor as your taste buds can handle. The staff prepares its own jerk seasoning, brown stew, and homemade curry daily. Lovers of seafood should show up for breakfast - the steamed fish head and ackee (the national fruit of Jamaica) and salt-fish dishes are as authentic as they get. The curry chicken is the best meal on the menu, with meat so tender that it falls off the bone. And they know the secret to an enjoyable Caribbean meal is in the fluffiness of the rice and peas.

2 articles

The Dutch Pot

6029 Kimberly Blvd. North Lauderdale

954-979-1915

Jamaican, Caribbean, Recommended, Best Of

You'd be hard-pressed to find a Jamaican joint more authentic than Dutch Pot, a homey lunch counter and dining room in the heart of North Lauderdale. Make no mistake, this is straight-up soul food: fall-off-the-bone jerk chicken is whacked into bone-in chunks and plated with thyme-scented rice and peas; curry chicken and goat lavish in rich, bone-sucking sauce that's not too spicy; ackee and saltfish marries Jamaica's ripe island fruit with delicate cod. On the side, choose from dumplings, fritters, stewed cabbage, and bammy. There are three portion sizes to every dish, ranging from light snack to relative trough, and the prices are dirt cheap.

3 articles

Ginger Bay Cafe

1908 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood

954-924-1844

Caribbean, Jamaican, Music Venues, Bars and Clubs

Ginger Bay Café is known for its smooth Caribbean vibe, featuring tunes as spicy as the jerk chicken. With live music five nights a week, you've got several options to choose from. Wednesdays at the Bay is "dance hall night." Thursdays feature soca and calypso music. Round out the weekend with reggae on Friday and Saturday nights, and wind down to jazz on Sundays. Ginger Bay Café is the only Caribbean restaurant in downtown Hollywood, so where else would you go to satisfy your craving for good times and island food? This late-night club-crawl stop-off point serves spicy jerk chicken, whole fried fish, and potent-as-hell rum drinks. Not the kind of place for quiet dinner conversations and soft lighting, this lively Caribbean hangout comes equipped with DJs blaring reggae, hip-hop, and R&B and live bands playing into the wee hours.

3 articles

Hot Pot Jamaican Restaurant

1166 N. Sr-7, Lauderdale Lakes Plantation

954-797-7414

Caribbean, Jamaican, Best Of, Menu

When you get a craving for grapefruit soda and jerk chicken, you want to go where the meat is spicy and tender. This Jamaican strip-mall staple knows how to stew its ox, curry its goat, and jerk its chicken better than anyone else around, and they built window boxes into each booth's wall so you can kick back and watch BET while you E-A-T. The lunch specials pile on enough caramelized plantains, shredded cabbage, and brown gravy to keep you going until noon tomorrow, so consider it $5 well-spent. Or swing by for breakfast and try out their morning fish dishes.

2 articles

Islands in the Pines

162 N. University Dr. Pembroke Pines

954-431-7600

Jamaican, Caribbean, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Relentlessly cheerful, this sunny little spot features great Jamaican cuisine. Go as authentic as possible by ordering oxtail that's been cooked so long it's caramelized or brown stew snapper that has an Asian sweet-and-sour cast. Conch fritters are the real, unadulterated thing, and side dishes like bammie (fried cassava cake) and boiled dumplings are excellent foils for the rich goat curry along with island classics like calaloo. Specials change daily.

2 articles

Kelsie's Place

1395 W. Sunrise Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes Fort Lauderdale

954-727-2891

Caribbean, Jamaican, Soul Food

Kelsie's Place offers Jamaican and Caribbean dishes on the extremely cheap, everything from braised oxtail in thick-as-molasses brown gravy to spicy curry chicken with loads of thyme. Daily $4.25 lunch specials pack a big styrofoam container with moist rice and peas, tangy stewed cabbage, and a heap of chicken either jerk, fried, curried, or in brown stew. The family-owned joint does daily soups too, whole steamed fish, and some sweet and spicy breaded chicken wings reminiscent of Hooters, only more wholesome. For prices this reasonable, Kelsie's sure isn't stingy: they'll load you up with so much food, you'll barely be able to finish it.

Jamaican in South Florida

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