stay in the shallow end

Last week is still fresh in my mind, so I’m hoping the quality of these reviews will be much greater than the last couple of weeks. This week brings two more unique restaurant reviews and a complete reevaluation of one of the regulars.

Monday: Lunch at Eppie’s: A friend tipped me off to Eppie’s a few weeks ago, and since I had to head to City Hall I thought I’d have lunch there. Eppie’s reminds me of one of my favorite restaurants from Nashville, Calypso Cafe. They both offer slow roasted jerk chicken with a variety of sides. I ordered a Quarter White with Cole Slaw and a Sweet Potato, and it came with some cornbread. The sides were excellent. The cole slaw was light and flavorful, just like I like it. It wasn’t mayonnaisey at all. The Sweet Potato has been cut in half, covered in cinnamon sugar, brushed with butter, and roasted, and tasted exactly how you would expect such a sweet potato to taste. The cornbread was sweet and fresh, once again, just as I like it. The chicken was very good, but didn’t match up to the quality of the sides. It was just too dry. I went in at 11:15, so it’s not like it had been sitting around a long time either. I’ll be definitely headed back next time I’m downtown for lunch.

Wednesday: Lunch at Take It Away: Doing my best to try and change it up, I ordered there Jerk Chicken BBQ Special with extra mustard, and I am glad I did. The pulled chicken was juicy and tender, and the sauce was light and tangy. I savored every bite of this sandwich.

Thursday: Lunch at St. Maartens: I had a Voodoo Burger with Cajun Fries. It’s Maarten’s regular burger topped with a habanero sauce, pepper jack cheese, and jalapenos. I added some Tabasco and mustard to the mix, and enjoyed every bite. For my money, Maartens has the best fries in town, and they absolutely smother them with the Cajun seasoning. I could have this meal everyday for a week and not get bored.

Thursday: Dinner at South Street: I didn’t order any food for South Street Thursday this time around. I did manage to score a piece of flank steak and half of lpk’s salad. It was definitely one of the better days for their flank steak. The salad was the house salad add tuna. While their asian sesame dressing doesn’t compare to Escafe’s, it’s still very good, and combined with the extra strong greens and seared rare tuna, makes for a very satisfying meal.

Friday: Lunch at Jak’n Jil: Jak’n Jil is a greasy spoon on E. High street whose specialty is foot long chili dogs. I had a foot long chili dog and onion rings, and they were about as good as I could imagine a foot long chili dog and onion rings being. A friend of mine ordered a chocolate shake and said it’s one of the best shakes he’s had in town, so I’ll definitely be trying that next time around.

Friday: Dinner at Amigos on 5th: I decided to change it up and order something completely different. The Chili Verde looked interesting, so I ordered it. Out came a huge platter of rice and beans with a dish of large chunks of pork in a green sauce. It was absolutely incredible, and it made me reevaluate my entire opinion of Amigos. The sauce was very rich and spiced to perfection. The pork was so tender I could cut it with a fork, and it just melted in my mouth. I’m salivating just thinking about it. If you end up at Amigos, definitely order the Chili Verde.

All caught up! I’m really glad to see restaurants like Eppie’s hitting the downtown mall. It definitely needs restaurants between Christian’s and Zocalo, and Eppie’s is perfect. If we see a couple more restaurants like Eppie’s, I may find myself downtown much more.