Two thumbs down on Bahama Breeze

If you're looking for an authentic taste of the islands, steer clear of Bahama Breeze, a chain restaurant that was awarded two stars today by The Record of Hackensack.

The dishes described in the review barely resemble the real thing and some of the signature dishes of The Bahamas, Jamaica and other islands don't seem to be served at all.

Where, for example, is the incredible conch salad served at open-air restaurants and everywhere else in Nassau, where the mollusk is chopped finely and served with lime juice and hot peppers that will leave your lips tingling? Where is the wonderful steamed fish with okra you find in Jamaica (and this okra is cooked beautifully, with no slime)? Where is the smoked and chopped jerk chicken and pork?

Bahama Breeze serves beef patties with a fruit salsa (yech). Ribs are bathed in a guava barbecue sauce, not rubbed with a mixture of lip-smacking spices. And there is dulce de leche cheesecake, just what all us weight-watchers need.

If you're looking for good Caribbean food, there are several ethnic places in North Jersey that are far more satisfying. Try Mac West Indian Restaurant on Central Avenue or Casual Habana Cafe on Main Street, both Hackensack; and Ashanti's International Cuisine on Englewood Avenue in Englewood. Ashanti, which is mainly take-out, prepares steamed fish with okra and jerk chicken and pork on some days.

Hit the road for good food in Jamaica

You'll find some of the best food on the island of Jamaica at the side of the road.

Just look for the phrase "jerk centre," an informal, open-air eating place where chicken and pork are rubbed with a spicy mix, then smoked over wood and charcoal before being chopped into bite-size pieces. Yam, sweet potato, bread fruit and other side dishes usually are available.

Last week, on the way back from a tour of reggae great Bob Marley's birthplace and tomb, our driver stopped at the Ultimate Jerk Centre in Discovery Bay, on the island's north coast. I bought a half-pound of jerk pork for $500 Jamaican dollars (about $5.85 U.S.). My wife bought two pounds of jerk pork for herself and her large family.

I asked the cashier about the pork we had ordered and she said it was raised locally. She even described the animal's diet.

I ate my food back in the room at the RIU Montego Bay Hotel and washed it down with two bottles of Red Stripe beer, the air conditioner going full tilt, the ceiling fan spinning and the door open wide to my beachfront balcony. The meat was moist, smokey and delicious, with just a little fat or bone to contend with.

Scotchie's is the jerk centre near Montego Bay where I first tried jerk chicken in 2001, declaring it "the best chicken in the world." I even stopped there on the way to the airport for a last meal of jerk chicken on the plane. Last week, my wife and me had jerk pork and steamed fish and noticed how Scotchie's had grown into a place with a full bar and lots of seating under thatched shelters.

The pork was great. The snapper fillet had been wrapped in aluminum foil with sliced okra, onion and tomato before steaming. The fish was juicy and perfectly cooked. We shared a sweet potato and drank Red Stripe.

RIU hotel downplays Jamaican food

Despite all the variety in the buffets at the RIU Montego Bay Hotel in Jamaica, you have to search for the few Jamaican dishes offered each day and hope the cooks haven't botched them.

I spent six nights there, but the national dish, ackee and saltfish, was serve only once and turned out to be way too salty. The genius of this breakfast is the contrast between the soft-but-not-sweet ackee fruit and the salted fish bits, accented with the hot Scotch bonnet pepper. It is usually served with bland boiled green bananas or dumplings (boiled dough).

The Jamaican food usually was placed by itself at the back of the hotel's large Rose Hall Restaurant dining room and some guests couldn't find it. Jamaican cooking shows strong African and Asian Indian influences.

Brown stew chicken appeared two or three days in a row, and I wondered if it was the same food served over and over. My wife had some curry goat, which she liked, though I never saw it again. But the extraordinary steamed fish with okra or fiery escovitch fish (whole fish pan or deep fried and served with hot peppers) never appeared. And where were the Jamaican patties -- the island's empanadas, filled with beef, chicken, vegetables or fish?

Jerk chicken and pork, two of the most beloved dishes on the island, weren't served in the restaurants at all, but were offered daily at a beach kiosk. But jerk, which is a rub of several spices and hot pepper, wasn't used. The roasted poultry and meat were served with a mild or a so-called spicy jerk sauce.