Jamaican Night!

Jamaican food was on the menu tonight! But before I get to dinner, let's back up a bit to cover the afternoon.

Matt and I have a little tradition at tax season. Once taxes are done and we (hopefully) get a refund back, we each take a little chunk to go buy ourselves something fun. I was in the mood to take a ride after getting a bunch of stuff done inside today, so when Matt got home from work we all piled in the car and headed out to do a little shopping. I had one thought only for my "winnings"...the Coach outlet.

Matt walked Riker around the parking lot so I could take my time shopping without distractions. What a guy.  I left the very proud owner of a new bag.

Love! I like that it's dark enough to use in the winter, but also has some light colors for the summer season.

Dinner

On our way home from the outlets, we started to get very hungry - and very indecisive about what to have for dinner. Nothing at home sounded particularly exciting, and neither of us felt like cooking. Then I remembered I had a Restaurant.com coupon for a little Jamaican place around the corner called Ja Rock. We've been itching to use it for a while now, and figured tonight would be a great night for it.

Source

We started out with something called "coco bread," which tasted like Hawaiian bread to me; it was light and slightly sweet. Matt also got a Jamaican jerk chicken patty, which was actually a flaky pocket filled with meat and seasonings, and he said it was pretty good.

Next we had small house salads; we each opted for their house dressing, which was made with Jamaican wine and mangoes. So interesting!

For my entree, I chose Jamaican jerk shrimp. It had quite the kick to it, but it was really good. I was able to choose two sides with my entree, so I selected plaintains (love them!) and sauteed veggies. I figured the veggies might be bland, but they were actually seasoned really well with some kind of curry powder.

Matt was adventurous and went for the curried goat. A little much for me, but he said it was delicious. And as you can see, the portions were large - plenty left for lunch tomorrow!

The place was nice and the food was pretty good, but Matt and I both said we wished they would've played some reggae music or something to amp up the atmosphere rather than having TVs on the wall. I love me a little Bob Marley, so that would've sealed the deal for me! Ah well, still a fun little Tuesday night.

Time to hang with my family. Enjoy your evening!