Sweet Pot Jamaican Cuisine

Sweet Pot is a Jamaican eatery tucked between the residential and industrial sections of Vassor Village. While the neighborhood looks more than a little rough around the edges, Sweet Pot provides a welcome (and meatless) respite from the surroundings.

Sweet Pot Jamaican Cuisine sits in a ramshackle hut at the corner of Frebis and Champion. There are a number of charcoal grills on the property, and the staff also cooks on a griddle and stove inside the store.

While the menu isn't completely vegetarian, it does offer a tofu platter and a mixed vegetable platter. Both are served with a heaping helping of red beans and rice. The dishes are prepared in small, medium and large sizes. Prices are reasonable with everything on the menu priced less than $10.

The vegetable platter was made with cabbage, corn, beans, onions, carrots and peppers. Each veggie serves a purpose, with cabbage providing a delightful crunch, carrots adding sweetness, peppers lending an herbal undertone, and corn and beans contrasting the texture of the rest of the dish. The beans and rice are mildly seasoned, and they finish with a subtle hint of coconut.

The staff at Sweet Pot is friendly and easily able to address vegetarian dining concerns. Despite the neighborhood, Sweet Pot is definitely worth exploring if you're in the area.

Sweet Pot

Royal Rasta Redemption

Royal Rasta Redemption is a little hole-in-the-wall spot that you could easily drive past in your hurry to get out of the seedy neighborhood on North Cleveland Avenue in which it is located. But by driving past, you'd miss this tremendously healthy (and vegetarian-friendly) gem.

3R (Royal Rasta Redemption) prepares all of its food ital. Ital is the rastafarian equivalent of kosher. Food is prepared without artificial colorings or flavors. About half of the menu is vegetarian.

There is limited seating in the restaurant for about 20 people. Most orders are take-out. The staff is very friendly and very Jamaican. Prices are also reasonable.

I tried two vegetarian soups. There was a mildly seasoned vegetable soup with potatoes, peas, carrots, mushrooms and tomatoes. It was bright, fresh and flavorful. The peanut stew was a heavenly concoction that was similar to oatmeal with a rich peanut undercurrent.

The vegetable tofu featured pan-seared bean curd in a spicy curry sauce atop a bed of cabbage, red peppers, green peppers and carrots. The tofu and veggies are delicious. I found the flavor to be somewhere between the Caribbean and Indian subcontinents. It was delightful. Unfortunately, the red beans and rice side dish was relatively bland and unexciting. However, the tofu more than made up for it.

3R is in a rough neighborhood. You can drive down the street and visit C.R.A.C.K.House Ministries if you don't believe me. But if you're in the area and you don't mind trying to blend in with the locals, Royal Rasta Redemption is well worth the price of admission.

Royal Rasta Redemption