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Jamaican, Cuban, Caribbean — Atlanta has plenty of modest mom-and-pop places that serve up simple, honest dishes with spicy, hot and sweet flavors. Whether it's a pressed sandwich and a bowl of black bean soup or jerk chicken with a side of peas and rice, here are five spots to savor a taste of island cuisine.

— Bob Townsend

Becky Stein/Special (ENLARGE)
One Love Diner's lunch specials embrace classic Jamaican dishes such as jerk chicken, rice and peas, cabbage and plantains.
Elissa Eubanks/Staff (ENLARGE)
The spicy curry goat with rice is worth a trip to Tropical Flavor Restaurant. For those who need to tone down the heat, the restaurant's moist jerk chicken is lightly seasoned.
Elissa Eubanks/Staff (ENLARGE)
A variety of side dishes — including yellow rice, green beans, rice and peas, lima beans and corn — are available to complement the dark, rich flavor of jerk chicken doused with a spicy barbecue-style sauce or the curry goat or chicken at Negril Caribbean Cafe.
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SWEET AUBURN

Negril Caribbean Cuisine

The scent of aallspice fills the air at this Sweet Auburn Jamaican spot, as pots of oxtail, curry goat and chicken and rice simmer on the stove in the kitchen. There are no steam tables here, and many dishes are cooked to order. Standouts include "Sam's Special" snapper fillets, which are breaded and lightly fried, and topped with a tasty mix of peppers, onions, carrots and sprigs of fresh thyme. Most lunch and dinner entrees come with a choice of rice and plain vegetables, such as cabbage, corn, carrots, lima beans or green beans. The jerk chicken is dark and rich, doused with a spicy barbecue-style sauce that sets it apart.

• THE 411: Map and details

BUFORD HIGHWAY

Havana Sandwich Shop

The Cuban sandwich at this Buford Highway hole-in-the- wall has made it a crowded lunch destination for some 30 years. But there are plenty of other delights beyond that classic fusion of ham, roasted pork and Swiss cheese pressed in crusty bread. The meaty Milanesa sandwich is breaded fried steak, with onions, potato sticks, lettuce and tomato. There's also picadillo, stew, tamales, empanadas, and lots of tasty sides, from tostones and maduros to yucca con mojo. Plates come with yellow rice and a bowl of black bean soup. And be sure to check out the market shelves stocked with sauces and other Caribbean foods to take home.

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MIDTOWN

Las Palmeras

Located on a Midtown residential street, in a hard-to-spot storefront that also houses a quirky bodega, this friendly, budget Cuban spot offers a lot of bang for the buck. The home-style Cuban menu features tasty and authentic renderings of all the classics, including: empanadas, Cuban sandwiches, black beans and fried plantains. But some of the lesser-known Cuban delicacies, especially the roasted meats, are even better. Masitas de puerco are perfectly fork-tender chunks of pork in a bright lemon sauce. Boliche, roasted eye of round stuffed with sausage, is equally tender and garlicky good. For dessert, look for mango pie.

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EAST ATLANTA

Tropical Flavor Restaurant

Located in a small strip- center storefront in East Atlanta, at first glance it looks like a take-away place, with only a few tables inside. But there's a sprawling, fenced-in deck with picnic tables out the side door. The jerk chicken here is moist but lightly seasoneding, with little heat, and almost no taste of allspice or thyme, but the peppery house-madehousemade hot sauce kicks it up. The jerk pork has more flavor and comes in well-rendered, crispy—skinned hunks. Best of all is the goat curry, with tender stewed meat in a rich, curry gGravy, with a nice rush of residual heat. Wash it all down with a glass of their own ginger beer, made from scratch on siteonsite.

• THE 411: Map and details

DECATUR

One Love Diner

This unassuming mom-and-pop place serves simple, bargain-priced food with the spicy-sweet beat of Jamaica. Lunch plates are a sort of a Jamaican version of the meat-and-three, with rice, cabbage, sweet fried plantains and a canned soda. Choices include brown stew chicken, curry chicken and pot roast, all cooked to fork-tender, with the various flavors of hot chili peppers, aallspice and thyme. The jerk chicken is deeply marinated, and the sauced pieces of brown-skinned dark meat have , with a spiced flavor that lingers to the bones. By comparison, tialapia escabècheoveitch is a delicate creation —— lightly breaded and fried fillets covered in a pickley sauce made with onions, peppers and spices.

• THE 411: Map and details

THEY SAID

Island Cafe on Memorial Drive is the best. The jerk chicken, the oxtails, rice and peas, etc., are the bomb! And, they give you a lot of food. For lunch, if you are in the downtown area ... Calypso Cafe on Walton Street is pretty.

— JoJo

If you're into Haitian food, check out Bon Acceuil on Highway 85 in Riverdale. Their legumes and lalo are slammin'! It's a cool place to hang out on the weekends since there's a DJ and a dance floor.

— CJ

Banana Tree on Redan Road. No contest. But best Caribbean dessert — Thomas Bakery on Covington Highway. Love the tarts, love the fresh baked bread, love the bun and cheese.

— Virgin Island Mami

Royal Caribbean on Memorial Drive at Rockbridge has the best rice and peas, patties and jerk chicken. It gets crowded Saturday evenings and you have to get there early for the sliced hard dough bread for Sunday breakfast. Everything there is da bomb and my kids love their jerk seasoned veggies. Big up!

— Lu

Jamaica Jamaica on Old National Highway in College Park. Their callaloo patties are mmm-mmm-good!!

— TP

Chef Rob's Caribbean Cafe on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. The oxtails are to die for! And the mango martinis aren't bad either. Great menu.

— Ling

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