Forget Sit-Down Restaurants and Start Liming: How to Eat in Kingston, Jamaica, Like a Local
When it comes to the food of Jamaica, too many of the two million or so Americans who visit the Caribbean island every year think no further than the buffets and hotel restaurants they frequent between sunbathing sessions on the beach at their gated, all-inclusive resorts.
But they’re missing out on a whole country’s worth of delectable cuisine, the ever-evolving product of a vibrant food culture that’s a mélange of the island’s African, British, Spanish, and Taino inhabitants, spiced up with contributions from Portuguese Jews, French Huguenots, Syrians, Lebanese, Germans, Scots, and Irish immigrants—all built upon Jamaica’s agricultural bounty and access to both reef- and deep-sea fishing.
It’s also a deeply family- and home-based food culture, and visitors from the U.S.—where dining out is the norm—can be taken aback by the lack of sit-down restaurants outside the resorts, even though incredible food is everywhere.
“The one thing that visitors to Jamaica need to understand is Jamaica does not have a restaurant culture focused on places with seating and menus and websites,” says Michelle Rousseau, a Jamaican cookbook author. Instead, she says, the authentic Jamaican food scene, especially outside resort areas catering to tourists, is one that’s spread out in family kitchens and dining rooms, in street-food stalls, and in the everyday interactions of Jamaicans going about their day-to-day lives.
