September 20, 2001
TINA'S CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT
Tina's tastes like home, no matter where you're from


By MERIDITH FORD
Journal Restaurant Reviewer

PROVIDENCE -- We are the only people, save one, in Tina's Caribbean Restaurant. The other customer -- an obvious regular -- is sitting in the booth next to us, telling ``Mommy Tina'' what to make for us.

He is as comfortable in the booth as I imagine he must be at his own dinner table. The ceiling fan is blowing the napkins from the table to the floor, and he is explaining the ins-and-outs of Jamaican cooking to us -- or at least what Tina cooks.

What Tina cooks is good food.

An array of Jamaican and Caribbean specialties are what make up most of her menu, and she serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast, there's a Bob Marley special that includes the classic Jamaican combination of ackee (a soft-fleshed Caribbean fruit) and saltfish with eggs, home fries, toast and coffee.

But it's Saturday night, and we're really hungry. Our newfound friend arranges for us to have the works.

The specialties

This starts with Jamaican beef patties, savory pockets of pastry and spicy ground meat; the pastry is flaky and colored with a paprika-tinted hue. There are advertisements for them posted all over the walls (in between inviting posters of Jamaica). They are a meal in themselves; with them we're brought Jamaican champagne soda, which is sort of a yummy, bubbly cross between ginger ale and cream soda.

In a few minutes, after we've scoffed up the pastries, two large plates of Jamaican specialties arrive from the kitchen -- curried goat, jerk chicken and stewed oxtail. Miss Tina is quick to point out what each is.

Each comes with a deep bowl of white beans and rice, and each is -- like the beef patties -- a meal.

The curried goat, which I'd never tasted, is reminiscent of the gaminess of lamb, but with a more mature flavor. It is tender and moist, spiced heavily with a yellow curry that covers it like a flavorful blanket.

The oxtail (most oxtail nowadays is actually beef) tastes as if it has been stewing all day -- maybe longer. It has the rich, pungent flavor of a stew and is so tender that it almost falls from the bone when I pick it up. The meat is striated, with bits of fat, which gives it a full, hearty flavor.

The jerk chicken is so tender that it does fall from the bone. Jerk seasonings are common in the islands, especially Jamaica. They can be dry rubs of spicy seasonings rubbed on chicken or pork before it is cooked, or mixed with a liquid to make a marinade. Jerk seasonings vary as much as cooks do, and can include anything from chiles, to thyme, to a mixture of allspice, cinnamon, cloves, garlic or onions.

Miss Tina's seasonings are mild compared to many of the jerk seasonings I've tried, but what she lacks in heat she makes up for in flavor. The chicken is peppered with a mild heat, but it's the herbs and spices -- traces of cinnamon and savory herbs -- that give the meat most of its succulent flavor.

These meats, mingled with the coconut-milk-laced beans and rice, remind me oddly of my childhood, even though I've never spent a moment in Jamaica. The heavy, all-day stewing of meats and vegetables is as common in the South as it is in the islands -- and I noticed Miss Tina serves collard greens, too.

The presence of sugar cane in the islands created an abundance of sweets in Jamaica, and Miss Tina specializes in cakes and pies ``in season.'' Tonight, her specialty is a rum-soaked fruitcake, so moist with prunes and raisins that I could pick it up with the tines of my fork. It has a dark, sensuous flavor, with a soft, sticky crust.

Everything on the menu is less than $10, with many items under $5.

Spread the word

All night, we've been talking to her, the waitress and our new friend. A few people have come in to get orders of the jerk chicken and beef patties to go.

The place is not much to look at, excluding the enticing vistas of Jamaica. I notice towards the back of the wall a poster of Bob Marley. To my right is a bookshelf, empty save for a few books and Oprah magazines on the top shelf.

On my way to the bathroom I catch a glimpse of the small kitchen. Huge pots and skillets are steaming with tomorrow's meals; a large wood-topped table is covered with pots, pans and ingredients. I stop for a moment to take in the rich smells. When I close my eyes, it almost feels as if I'm in my grandmother's kitchen.

Back at the table, Miss Tina asks me where I work, and I tell her that I work downtown. She asks me politely if I could tell a few of my co-workers about her good food. Maybe I could let a few people know that she serves lunch. Okay, Miss Tina. I will.

Tina's Caribbean Restaurant, 206 Broad St., Providence, 621-7779. Very casual. Reservations accepted. No smoking. Not wheelchair accessible. Open Mon-Sat from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sun from 3 to 6 p.m. No credit cards. On-street parking. No highchairs or booster seats. $.