Tropical Delights

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OPEN NOW - Closes at 9:00pm

n the Beaver Hill Shopping Center, a little row of stores on the corner of Fitch and Blake Streetsthis is probably the least known of New Havens distinguished lineup of Jamaican take-out places, even though it is fairly close to the Southern campus and downtown Westville. Tropical Delights is nothing more than a little storefront, and virtually everyone orders take-out, although you can eat at a little counter if you cant wait to get homewhich might well be the case if you order one of the beef patties.The staff is efficient but accommodating, in a neighborly sort of way. The menu is extremely simple, which is a good thingthe matronly chef in back cooks up an enormous pot of each dish in the little kitchen in back each day, spooning out delicious, inexpensive portions until they run out. The oxtail is tender and meaty, with an unusually high meat-to-bones ratio. The sauce, which is helped along by a bit of additional sauce, is dark and well reduced, with a nice sheen. Jerk chicken, one of the most popular choices, is great but tends to run out unless you get there early. Curry goat, another one of our Jamaican favorites, is fully flavored but a bit dry, with less sauce than we wouldve liked; the only other disappointment has been the leathery plantains (unless you happen to catch them straight out of the fryer).Rice and peas (thats Jamaican for red kidney beans) are top-notch, as is the sweet cabbage. The beef patties, meanwhile, may be the best in town; their rich, wonderfully seasoned, gently spicy filling is soft, almost like a paste, and it pairs absolutely deliciously with the flaky yellow crust. Its the ultimate Caribbean comfort food.