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Circuit Court SacramentoThe Jamaica House
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Sacramento really
is a modest town, despite the presence of many politicians and lobbyists.
And while
modesty is a virtue I esteem, sometimes I long
for the flash and style of New York, or the heart and soul of New Orleans,
or, sheesh, even the tempest in a teapot politics of the Bay Area. Yes,
we have a few claims to fame: 
The Jamaica
House is located in my favorite section of Broadway, which also boasts
two Thai places, a tortilla factory and a Brazilian cultural center.
As you can see from the picture, they offer a $5.99 buffet, which basically
means they have me in their tractor beam and I am powerless to escape,
destined to succumb sooner or later to the relentless pull of a big
huge cheap lunch. I asked Craig D and Non-profit Liz to succumb with
me, and
they agreed.
Craig D provided
valuable insights into the cuisine of Jamaica - turns out he did some
graduate research there,
which included
eating. First of all, it's not rice and beans, it's rice and peas,
black-eyed peas probably, or maybe a close cousin. He seemed excited
to see the "Jamaican
beef patti" on the menu, and attempted to describe it, since
it was not included in the buffet. Although I am still a little
unclear
on the construction and contents of this item, the principle of
the thing sounds appealing - a widely available (in Jamaica, that
is),
highly portable,
savory, cheap and satisfying little bundle of goodness, with possible
curative properties, if you know what I mean. Like if you've been
out late the night before. I'm sure I'll have an opportunity to
try them
in the future, and when I do, reader-eaters, I'll report back with
the results. On a completely unrelated note, Craig D also pointed
out that
the price of Red Stripe beer was rather steep. I would tell you
what the price was, but I mistakenly discarded the notes I took
during our
lunch while conducting a reckless "everything must go!" New
Year's day cleaning of my desk. It might have been 5$, and if it
was, he's right, that's too much. Three nights a week, the Jamaica
House
also hosts music and various open mic events, so perhaps they recoup
financial
losses from the buffet by unloading a lot of expensive beer during
the more punishing sets of improv comedy.
There
are quite a few intriguing items on the menu which don't appear in
the buffet.
I was drawn to the curry goat and the equsi soup with fufu, but
we wanted to get
our $5.99's worth and extra items might have interfered. Liz,
however, suggested that we would be truly negligent in our duties if
we
left without sampling the bean pie (a dessert). It was served
to us semi-frozen,
although
the woman who brought it said "I tried to warm it up a little." Well,
at least she tried. It was kind of like sweet potato pie, and
Liz and I liked it well enough. Craig was unenthusiastic. We
speculated
on
what type of bean could be made into a pie, and how this process
might occur.
Clearly, my assumptions about beans can no longer be trusted.
As we stood in line to pay, I got into a conversation with a
guy who
appeared
to
be a regular. He was eating the one remaining piece of carrot
pie (another dessert) directly out of the pie tin. This guy was
a huge
fan of carrot
pie, and he determined that I would be, too, once I tried it. "It'll
knock your socks off!" He cut a piece and handed to me,
and what can you do when someone hands you dessert? He was right,
it
was good,
similar to the bean but sweeter and with a smoother texture,
probably because it was completely thawed.