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Caribbean Corner, Old Town Fairfax - Dive Caribbean on University Drive


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This is the kind of place I enjoy writing about and I really hope this place does well. Its located on University Blvd just north of Main Street. Its located in the basement of one of the shops facing main street and I for one am glad I stopped in on Saturday night. After a day's worth of yard work I had no desire to cook and didn't feel like picking anything up from Wegmans so I figured now was the time to check this place out.

There are a few tables inside but it is mostly a carry-out business.

We had two of the meat pies, which were flaky and just spicy enough to get your attention. Also tried was the ox-tail dish which was good, but a little salty. The highlight of the evening was the brown stew chicken which was very flavorful and moist. Both the ox-tail and chicken were served on rice and peas which looked a lot like red beans and rice. The dishes were also served with stewed plantains which my son loved.

I looked forward to bringing the leftover chicken to work for lunch today but was sadly informed that my wife and I beat me to the punch yesterday.

Parking is a bit of a chore here but the food is good and the prices are cheap. I am definitely adding this one to the regular rotation.

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We had two of the meat pies, which were flaky and just spicy enough to get your attention. Also tried was the ox-tail dish which was good, but a little salty. The highlight of the evening was the brown stew chicken which was very flavorful and moist. Both the ox-tail and chicken were served on rice and peas which looked a lot like red beans and rice. The dishes were also served with stewed plantains which my son loved.

I looked forward to bringing the leftover chicken to work for lunch today but was sadly informed that my wife and I beat me to the punch yesterday.

Parking is a bit of a chore here but the food is good and the prices are cheap. I am definitely adding this one to the regular rotation.

The meat pie is fine and a little spicier than expected. The brown chicken stew is excellent!! As said above, so moist and flavorful, with some kick. The "peas and rice" does seem to follow the Caribbean tradition of being red beans and rice. My coworkers really enjoyed the jerk chicken and the chicken curry. The portions are quite generous. The small (for $5.75) is a small styrofoam container packed completely full and included 2 chicken legs over the beans and rice and a scoop of stewed cabbage. Also a sad, wan slice of tomato (completely unnnecessary) and two slices of plantain, which were not cooked enough to my taste (I like them really soft). The large is a regular tripartite styrofoam container, also packed pretty full. As it is only $8.75, I think this is the way to go, because the container is too small for them to give you much sauce with the saucy dishes without overflowing. There is a parking lot across the street that has a lot more space than the 3-4 parking slots they have, and Old Town has lots of free parking opportunities within a few blocks. This is definitely going to be a workplace favorite!

There was only 1 guy there working the counter, but he was very nice and got our dishes out in fairly short order. It seemed like a lot of people call their orders in ahead.

Random - I think Tyler Cowan was in there today grabbing takeout after us.

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[i just raised Caribbean Corner several notches in the Fairfax Dining Guide based solely on other peoples' posts. Don't think for a moment that I don't read every single thing written here, and adjust my own ratings accordingly. Our members here make a huge difference in terms of restaurant rankings. Thank you all for posting like you do. I can't do it on my own - there are just too many restaurants now in the DC environs.]

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Went again today after 11 and they weren't open. Around noon I went back to their shop (after having lunch next door) and it was at last open. I asked for a small brown stewed chicken and a small oxtail. The order taker said he'll give me a large, mixed with chicken and oxtail and save me a couple of bucks. I also bought a meat patty. I ate the mystery meat patty right away, it didn't taste bad but the filling is some kind of mushy paste that does not resemble meat. The rest I took home for dinner. Well, the oxtail were two incredibly thin slices (about half an inch thick) but the chicken was more plentiful - half a breast and about half a thigh. The rest of the container was jammed pack with rice/beans, stewed cabbage, and plantains. I enjoyed the proteins but the flavor is quite different from the food that I've had in the Caribbean (I've never had browned stewed chicken before though). I might go back for the salt fish one of these days.

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I also bought a meat patty. I ate the mystery meat patty right away, it didn't taste bad but the filling is some kind of mushy paste that does not resemble meat.

Welcome to the mysterious world of Jamaican meat patties - unidentifiable mush that's clearly meat, yet has the sliminess of boiled okra (kind of makes me think they might have beans mashed into the mix). They all have that golden-brown, flaky pastry crust (which is quite good), and probably all come from the same 2-3 wholesale bakeries scattered about town - I know of one in Langley Park. If you ever go to Negril, get the one called "Meat Loaf" (which is different than the "Meat Patty") - it has a yeasty crust (coco bread), and the beef inside is like a Sloppy Joe. You'll love it, and it's cheap, cheap, cheap.

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