Travel
Cheeky rhyming aside, what are some of your absolute favorite Caribbean restaurants in the DC/Maryland area? If you've never indulged in marvelously fiery Scotch bonnet pepper infused delicacies, I don't know how much help you can be. But if you're all about authentic, exemplary rundown, fried bread fruit, escoveitch fish, oxtails, jerk pork, stewed chicken, roti, doubles, or curry goat, then I need your help pretty please. 
So I was born in Jamaica and raised there for the early portion of my life. After which I moved to New York (Eastern Queens). Moving so far away from home can take a toll. I am grateful that I was able to find vibrant and rich Caribbean diaspora communities in NYC where there is no shortage of dining options as well as music, visual art, fashion, and literature that is created by and caters to folks living in the diaspora. However, since moving to New Orleans, I'm sure the owners of the one Jamaican restaurant that I know of have grown tired of seeing my face. In addition to Miami and Atlanta, I've heard Washington, D.C. and Baltimore are southern cities that are home to bustling Caribbean communities.
As my Spring Reverie tour is currently underway, especially as Mercury is in retrograde, I'm overcome with a sense of nostalgia and a desire for rooting during my travels. When I visit this weekend, I'd love to indulge in some scrumptious Caribbean food. I can be bougie when I want to be, but the taste/authenticity factor is most pertinent to me. I'd be grateful for suggestions of which restaurants to check out whether they are 5 star rated, or a dinky hole in the wall.
Thank in advance!
~Lena
I'm so grateful for ya'll taking the time to offer some suggestions. I'll be taking today to look into and decide which one(s) I'll check out. Or in a perfect world, I'd just try them all. And Adriana, thanks for the heads up that there will be a whole Jerk Festival this summer!