Louisville, KYCaribbean

Robin Garr describes a fusion of Afro Caribbean cooking with a French touch, and the takeout box makes the case: oversize smoked wings, a rotating board of oxtails and curry goat, and Jamaican beef patties. The kitchen now runs out of Shepherdsville Road, and the board changes with whatever the cooks feel like braising.

Chef Ernst Pierre pulls from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad on one menu, so curried chicken wings and jerk chicken share the counter with oxtails and Haitian macaroni. Food & Dining covered the opening on Poplar Level Road, where the format keeps plates coming quickly and the portions do not shrink at lunch.

Owner Shyamala Mothersill cooks jerk chicken, oxtails, curry goat and escovitch fish in the old Fry Daddy's space on Brownsboro Road. Food & Dining covered the opening and Kevin Gibson wrote about the savory Jamaican flavors, which come through hardest in the jerk, cooked with real heat rather than a sweet shortcut.

Owner Janice Clarke runs a Jamaican dining room and lounge on South Third Street, with jerk chicken and curry goat on the everyday menu and seafood specials on the weekend. The drinks lean traditional too, including sorrel, and the room stays open late enough to feel like a night out rather than a meal.