Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Carena's Jamaican Delicious
My friend (Marguer-eats) and I ventured deep into the south side Saturday night for some eats at Carena's and were well treated for it.. The ambience of Carena's is not fantastic but for fuck sake it was a Friendly's in a past life so we forgave them for that. We were promptly attended to by a seemingly 9 year old Russian girl who proved to be a very good and pleasant server. We started off with the conch fritters which were very nicely prepared if not totally exciting but still worth it. My friend had the salmon which as we found was the much lighter of the two entree selections. The fish was light, tasty and very nicely turned out. I had the tilapia which was much richer in every way: saucier, more savory, more sloppy yet altogether yummy. I was doing a bunch of ecstasy-style moaning and groaning while eating. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Altogether, the meal was great, well worth it and will certainly visit again. Phil.
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5 comments:
Sounds tasty - we've been meaning to try it, but just never quite find ourselves at the corner of Midlo and Chippenham! Will have to go out of our way sometime to give it a whirl.
It is so close to us south-siders. Its a must.
First, from the Westover Hills hood, it literally takes five minutes to reach Carena's, so you can't ask for a quicker fix.
Aesthetically, the place was lacking, but they more than made up for their (Friendly's hangover) design flaws in the food prep. I'd have to give the conch fritters a higher rating than Phil. They were the perfect amount of chewiness to tide me over to my meal. Come to think of it, I've never had conch, and I was ravenous, so they could have been any level of chewiness and I'd call it perfect.
My salmon with mango salsa was well-prepared, with the slightest crispness around the edges that hint at being fried but still seemed virtuously tropical. One bite of Phil's orgasm-inducing tilapia was enough for me. (I'm waiting for marriage.) Very flavorful, but practically dripping in oil.
Although I'm sure no one else cares for cabbage quite like I do, it might have been my favorite part of the meal. (Aside from our 9-year-old Russe waitress.) Loved the rice and peas more for the fact that they TRICKED me. I had forgotten that in Jamaica, peas = red beans. Ah, those crazy Jamaicans.
Oh, and speaking of Jamaicans, prepare yourself for a constant onslaught of reggae. I dug it, but I can imagine that some might implode with the same reggae beat looping throughout dinner.
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