Taste of the Caribbean [Review]

Today, I had an idea.  I figured that I would just toss out there on Twitter that I was interested in getting something to eat from a food truck.  Social media, and the "now-ness" of our generation is still amazing, even to the 27-year old me.  Either way, here's the tweet I sent out earlier (pictured at right).

So with that, I knew that at least one of our followers would tweet back, as we do still have pretty good rapport with a few of the trucks.  The most successful part of this was that the truck that reached out to me, was exactly the truck I was hoping to hear from: Taste of the Caribbean.

Now let's set the record straight by saying that this...THIS is really Caribbean cooking.  All of the other restaurants that you've been to in the city that serve jerk chicken, or even claim to be Caribbean cooking, forget about them.  Forget everything you know about the food truck cooking/prep process as a whole, as the two man operation (Larry and his wife, from Jamaica) is probably still the only food truck that takes the grill out and hits the pavement to cook the food while parked at their location.  Their preparation is fresh and on-site, and that's a respectable trait to find right now in the food truck game, especially hitting the location at 8 a.m. most days to prep.  Not to mention that their prep time on-site does pay off...because their food is phenomenal.

Caribbean is the new kid on the block, yes (literally; their truck has been on the streets since mid-December), but their demeanor and love for the food & the true Jamaican cuisine that they prepare, makes me think they're gonna be in this for a long, long time.  Sure, like most of the trucks on the streets of Indy, brick and mortar might be the ultimate goal.  Taste of the Caribbean is likely to upgrade their facilities out of the trailer, and perhaps into a full-fledged truck, maybe as early as this year; and that seems to be good enough for them, for now.

I was excited to meet them and finally grab a bite of their legendary jerk chicken, of which they claim is the best in the state.  I'd have to agree, because I can't remember the last plate of jerk chicken I had; this was instantly memorable because of the flavor and the generous amount of heat it brought to my tongue.  The presentation of the chicken rolled-up nicely into the wrap was great, and was easy to eat while sitting in my car (it was 22 Degrees outside).  I saved the second part of my meal till home, a chicken and pumpkin soup.  I was a bit hesitant, because I've never had a pumpkin soup, and prefer a savory over sweet type of soup.  I was glad I tried it.  It was a bit of both, and hearty, the perfect counter-balance to the jerk chicken that was still burning the front of my mouth.

Really, if you get a chance, TRY THIS.  Their menu has some heavy hitting items, including shrimp curry, several goat dishes, red beans and rice, etc., and they are constantly looking at adding new options to the menu.  Follow on Twitter @Caribbean_Taste, and tweet them for scheduling and locations.

As always my fellow foodies, Eat On.

-Justin