I’ve spoken of Tastees before, a small one man Jamaican restaurant on Centerville Highway, next to Flames, and the last time I went I thought they were pretty good. But I never did get back to them to try their jerk chicken. I was too fascinated by one of the curries Tastees offered. So I came back, on a day many restaurants were closed, to see what Tastees serves as a jerk chicken.
It’s a wet jerk, and it’s been over the grill a while. Tastees appears to have a newer grill than it did the last time I came. It is still out front, and the sound system inside has also been improved. The picture is of a large jerk chicken plate, which at Tastees costs $9.00. The smaller plate is $7.50. I thought the jerk chicken was good, the veggies were good, the plantains good, the peas and rice were good.
Alongside the jerk chicken is a bottle of DG’s spicy Jamaican ginger beer. It’s in the same category as Stewart’s Ginger Beer or Blenheims, which we have spoken about before. DG’s has a clean spicy bite to it, noticeable but not overpowering.
In the same mall area as Red Robin and Urban Flats, there is a Honeybaked Ham. It’s a bit “around the corner” from Urban Flats, and roughly opposite the Doc Greens in the area. They serve both meats and sandwiches, though there really is no place to sit inside. I bought a half pound of ham, and thought the lady behind the counter was both helpful and sweet. This store was new to me, though my wife tells me it’s been here a while.
In the building where On the Border used to be, a stone’s throw from Honeybaked Ham, a new restaurant is being put together. It’s called Kampai, and the focus will be steaks and sushi and tapas. The last has me curious. While there are hibachi style restaurants in Snellville, there is no izakaya. An izakaya would come in handy in this neck of the woods.
Tastee’s Jamaican Cuisine
2671 Centerville Hwy
Snellville, GA 30078
(678) 344-7004
The Honeybaked Ham Company
1250 Scenic Highway
Lawrenceville GA 30045
(678) 344-4673
January 18, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I love how you’re covering Jamaican cuisines on your blog. Like you mentioned on mine, it’s underrepresented in our town and there’s some tasty food out there going unheard of!
January 18, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Somebody, someday, is going to chronicle the whole area of Memorial Drive and the streets south of Memorial, where it seems a Caribbean grocery or a Caribbean/Jamaican eatery is on every street corner. But it’s going to take a local to do it.
Most bloggers are ITP, in Midtown or Buckhead, and that does affect their eating habits, and their focus.
Being on the border of Stone Mountain, some of the Jamaican goodness is moving into my part of town, so I try to chronicle it.
FnS.