Seattle, WACaribbean

A Ballard walk up counter built around one sandwich, pork shoulder piled onto an aioli swiped Macrina roll with caramelized onions and pickled jalapenos. Grilled chicken and fire roasted corn round out an order that usually gets eaten at a picnic table outside.

A full service Afro Latin kitchen in Belltown with cocktails, where braised beef empanadas, grilled chicken thighs glazed in guava barbecue sauce, and crackly lechon give the room a livelier, sit down version of Caribbean cooking than a quick counter can.

Soccer plays on the TVs and the windows stay open at this Columbia City fixture, where creamy mac and cheese, sticky chicken wings, gumbo, and coconut corn muffins come with a rum punch built for lingering over a long, easy afternoon.

Jerk fried chicken and mac and cheese are the anchor plates at this Central District kitchen, with a rotating lineup of hot sauces set out on the counter and sandwiches built around juicy, well seasoned pork that carries the same jerk seasoning through.

A Central District weekday kitchen that turns into a nightclub on weekends, serving jerk wings, curries, and beef patties to a crowd that treats the counter line as part of the routine before the music starts up for the night.