Photo Credit: Caribbean Jerk Palace

Caribbean food, much like the city of Houston itself, is culturally diverse, surprising, and spicy. The island foodways was born of melding indigenous foods with those of European colonizers and Black enslaved peoples over thousands of years. Native root plants like sweet potatoes and yams were and are still wildly popular. Fifteenth century Europeans brought beef stock and sugar while slaves later brought African spices and Eastern transplants brought exotic flavors from the far East. All of this together gave us the distinct and delicious flavors of the islands. You might be amazed at just how many Caribbean restaurants there are in Houston, with several in the Third Ward alone where one of the most popular is also one of the newest: Caribbean Jerk Palace.

Opened just last year on Emancipation Ave., just down the street from the Gite Gallery, this place is as well known for its food as for its friendly service and inviting patio. They often have a DJ and there’s plenty of parking, all plusses.

A lot of online reviews call the food authentic, but even if you’ve never set foot on a Caribbean beach you can appreciate the flavors of allspice, Scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, and garlic that make up the marinade for the popular jerk chicken. In a Texas nod, try the jerk chicken tacos… at three for $12 they make a perfect starter or a light lunch paired with some sides of candied yams and rice and peas. Other meats include tender oxtails, a 12-ounce ribeye, and a lovely, curried goat but the seafood dishes really shine here as well.

Grilled oysters, fried calamari, grilled jerk catfish, a lobster tail made spicy and either grilled or fried (yum), a whole red snapper, and of course, coconut curry shrimp are all great choices that you won’t regret.

The popularity of pizza in the Caribbean may have come from tourists but the island cooks have made it their own. Here at Caribbean Jerk Palace, there is an array of appetizing choices from, you guessed it, jerk chicken pizza, to one topped with salmon and rice with onions, carrots, and peas. Besides those candied yams and rice and peas, sides include a very good mac ‘n’ cheese, including a version with lobster, as well as good ol’ collard greens, and some steamed cabbage.

What with the laid-back vibe here and the tropical cocktails, dining at Caribbean Jerk Palace is like vacationing in the islands.

Caribbean Jerk Palace
caribbeanjerkpalacetx.com
3803 Emancipation Ave.
346.571.7985

by Marene Gustin