Jamaicans are fewer than 0.1% of the local population. But that’s enough to make Sacramento home for two Jamaican restaurants that bring home the flavors, culture and joy of the Caribbean island’s cuisine.
Rockyaad Jamaican Restaurant on Fair Oaks Boulevard doesn’t look like much from outside. But open the door and find an expansive, brightly lit dining room full of sound, color and the smells of Jamaican cooking.
The cuisine shares many ingredients with its Caribbean neighbors, such as plantains, rice and beans, brightly flavored fish and chicken, and long-stewed beef. But Jamaican cooking is a speciality all its own.
Jerk chicken is the most famous dish, followed by traditional Jamaican beef patties.
At Rockyaad, the empanada-like patty is bright yellow thanks to curry powder and turmeric mixed in the dough. The spicy, tangy curried ground beef creates an intense bite of strong spices and warm comfort.
Rockyaad’s menu hits all the classics, with curried fish, brown stew chicken, jerk chicken and stewed oxtail, my favorite.
Oxtail—exactly what the name says—requires long, slow stewing to break down the cartilage. The result is fall-apart tender, aggressively flavored.
Rockyaad’s version brings a decadent stew sauce, beefy and mellow. Served with a side of plantains and rice and peas (Jamaican for rice and beans) it’s a hearty meal. The preparation shows skill in layering spices, a days-long stewing process, and care in every piece.
On the corner of Watt and El Camino avenues, a more tenured Jamaican eatery called Dubplate Kitchen & Jamaican Cuisine delivers the heat.
It’s easily overlooked, sharing a building with a strip of businesses. Unlike Rockyaad, whose humble front door belies a large eating space, Dubplate’s presence is humble throughout.
Customers find a couple of small tables and a long counter. The AC might not keep pace with the summer heat. Dishes are served in take-away containers. But the cooking smells suggest amazing talent in the kitchen.
Within the joint’s tight confines, the scents intensify and tell the story of magic made with herbs and spices rarely found in this area.
My favorite dish is curried goat. Not an easy meal to find locally, but worth the trek. Savory goat meat, stewed for hours in a rich, curry sauce, served with coconut-tinted vegetables, plantains and rice and peas makes for one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile.
Don’t miss the jerk chicken, a work of art at Dubplate. Scotch bonnet chilies, which can be extremely spicy, are perfectly rendered to bring out the flavors. The chicken is tender, with allspice, ginger, pepper and bay leaf notes found in the best of jerks.
When ordering my plate, I was asked if I’d had jerk chicken before. When I said yes, the next question was, “But was it made by a Jamaican or a Ja-fakin’?” Mi have inner luv for Dubplate.
From the humble front door at Rockyaad to the humble digs at Dubplate, there’s nothing humble about this cooking. Every dish shows talent and presents some of the boldest flavors in town.
Rockyaad Jamaican Restaurant is at 7609 Fair Oaks Blvd.; (916) 913-1190. Dubplate Kitchen & Jamaican Cuisine is at 3419 El Camino Ave.; (916) 339-6978; dubplatekitchencuisine.com.
Greg Sabin can be reached at saceats@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
