Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide

Café Trope, web site, 2100 P Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-223-9335 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | MenuPages | Yelp | Gayot]

Caribbean food, cooked by a Gambian. It is right now one of the best places in Dupont Circle. The best way to go here is to order vegetarian, including of course the spinach and the collard greens. The plantains by the way are by far the best of any area restaurant. The salads are good, too. I sampled some of the meat and fish-based main courses. They weren’t bad but I don’t think on their own they give enough reason to come here.

Caribbean, see also Haitian, Jamaican, Cuban, and Trinidadian, among other individual headings

See also Caribbean Grill, listed under Cuban.

There are also some good Caribbean places on 18th Street in Adams-Morgan.

The Georgia Avenue row … right now you might try C+I Jackie’s One Stop, 3400 block, at Park, 202-882-7089, but the turnover is high. Usually there are a good half dozen or so Caribbean places along Georgia Avenue, starting around Howard University, stretching up to Maryland.

Island Cafe, Beltway Plaza Mall, 6054 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD, 301-345-0462 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Yelp]

Good roti, curries, other West Indian specialties. It is in a wonderful shopping mall, great for people watching, I bet most of my readers have never been there. One of the best mall restaurants in this Guide.

Zanzibar on the Waterfront, web site, 700 Water Street SW, Washington, DC, Waterfront, 202-554-9100 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | insider pages | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

I’ve only had snacks here, but I liked it. They sometimes have Haitian concerts, or African concerts, at night, or Zouk. And yes, I know, Zanzibar is not in the Caribbean.

Caribbean Sea Seafood Market & Restaurant, 6869 New Hampshire Avenue, Takoma Park, MD, 301-891-3497, often closes at 8 or so. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | City Paper | Yelp]

Mostly take-out and they sell seafood as well.

Starfish Cafe, web site, 539 8th Street SE, Washington, DC (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [The Hill | WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Yelp]

A pallid version of Caribbean food, or so it would appear. This place gets panned so often I can’t bring myself to go.

Ginger Cove/Ginger Reef, 822 E Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-248-6007, 202-248-7733, the two phone numbers are for the two separate places. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window)

Closed

Ginger Reef is only for Friday and Saturday nights, get the picture? These are party places for yuppies to buy alcohol. Flights to Haiti are quite cheap those days, so why are you visiting these restaurants? If you must go, try the appetizers. The sad thing is, these people once ran Fish Wings n’ Tings, in the good old days. They keep on reinventing the same restaurant, with successively higher prices and lower quality.

Pierre's, web site, 4926 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 301-652-7757 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper | openlist | Gayot]

Stewed oxtail, jerk pork loin with pumpkin gnocchi, etc. The City Paper published a somewhat snide review. I would not expect to find a genuine Caribbean place in this part of Bethesda, so I vote no.

Tropics Restaurant, 13016 Middlebrook Road, Germantown, MD, 301-772-9300 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian]

Closed

Washingtonian likes it, plus it sounds authentic, I have yet to go.

Mango Mike’s, web site, 4580 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 703-370-3800 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Yelp]

I went once and was very disappointed. Seemed more like a yuppie drinks place, for the sort of people who go on grisly Caribbean cruises.

Ortanique, 730 11th Street NW, Washington, DC, opposite the Grand Hyatt, closed Sunday, 202-393-0975 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | The Hill | Economist | food-plan | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

I have heard it is flawed, interesting, and overpriced. (And closed?)

Cafe Atlantico, web site, reopened near Chinatown, 405 Eighth Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-393-0812, previously the restaurant was in Adams-Morgan. No weekend lunch. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | The Hill | WaPo | WashTimes | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

The premier nouvelle Latin and Caribbean restaurant in this area. Eclectic and wide-ranging. Get the Cuitlacoche, a delicious Mexican corn fungus. The Jamaican jerk chicken is good as well, as does the quail and the Brazilian dish. Cafe Atlantico was once well-known for attracting the most beautiful women in Washington, but this is no longer true. It has cycled chefs a number of times, so I am never sure what to expect.

They also now have a “restaurant within a restaurant”, called Minibar, web site, 202-393-0812. The place takes many chances, and doesn’t always hit; it's OK but if you travel at all save up your money for NYC or Europe. [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | Augieland]