Oooooooooooooh, Maroons

Last night, Jannette and Joe took me to a Jamaican/southern restaurant I'd heard about, Maroons (no apostrophe), for my birthday dinner. I first heard about Maroons from Curtis, who had been there a few times and raved. This is what Zagat has to say:

Hyperbolic habitues of this "lively" Chelsea Jamaican-Southern declare its "flavorful", "rib-sticking", low-budget fare the best this side of the "mighty Mississippi" and "north of the Mason-Dixon line"; no wonder they take the "Caribbean-speed" service and "cramped" setup in stride.

http://maroonsnyc.com

Hey, I was there to have some real food, dammit, and I did. :o) We started things off with some Fried Green Tomatoes. The slightly spicy dipping sauce made them very yummy. I had the Louisiana's Grilled Garlic Shrimp with rice and peas and collard greens (excellent), while Jannette had Grandma's Crispy Fried Chicken with mac and cheese and collard greens, and Joe had Herb Marinade Grilled Salmon with rice and peas and mashed potatoes (it comes with spinach, but Joe swapped it out for the rice). He also had the soup of the day, crab corn chowder, and Jannette and I split a side of grits, which were amazing... cheesy. Whew! Jannette and I also had the cocktail of the day, some sort of spiced rum pina colada. It was excellent... so tropical and fresh, we felt like we were at the beach. ;o)

The cornbread they give ya is to DIE FOR. I've never had cornbread like that. It literally melts in your mouth.

I ended things with a Chocolate Cup Cake, which was literally molten, melty chocolate cake served in a cup. It was orgasmic, and they served it with a lit candle and sang to me. :o)

Fat n' happy at Maroons: