If you go
› Where: Mrs. B’s Reggae Cafe, 3103 Broad St.› Hours: Lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner 4:30-10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday› Entree price range: $8.99-$30› Alcohol: Bottled beer› Phone: 423-702-5808› Website: mrsbsreggaecafe.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of reviews featuring our staff’s favorite places to dine. They are either go-to spots we frequent for good service and conversation, the favorite dishes we order over and over or the one-of-a-kind Chattanooga restaurants that make us love our Scenic City that much more.
I’ve been a devotee of Jamaican food from the first time I tried jerk chicken years ago. Along with Thai and Indian, I find Jamaican to be one of the more complex cuisines to truly savor. Jerk’s intermingling of allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers with cloves, cinnamon, garlic, brown sugar, nutmeg and other ingredients can make feasting on chicken, pork or beef ribs a transcendent experience when properly prepared. Jerk’s sweet heat finds perfect complements in milder Caribbean sides like plantains, callaloo and black beans. Add an ice cold Jamaican Red Stripe lager to soothe the burn and you’re in business.
Mrs. B’s Reggae Cafe is one of just a few restaurants in Chattanooga to offer authentic Jamaican food, and they do it so well. The eatery, which celebrated its third anniversary this year, is one of a small handful of places in town that I never get tired of visiting. On my most recent trip, I found myself exchanging a series of texts beforehand with my friend Travis, psyched at the thought of a mid-afternoon lunch at Mrs. B’s, almost as if we were going to a major concert or other event. It’s really that good.
Chef Neville Forsythe, the mastermind behind Mrs. B’s culinary creations, has been known to local foodies for decades. One of his previous restaurants, Chef’s Underground Cafe, was literally below Walnut Street in the basement of the Flatiron building. At the time, Forsythe routinely served up some of the most delicious and culturally adventurous dining experiences to be had in the city. Joined by his wife, Marilyn, Forsythe continues at Mrs. B’s to help make Chattanooga’s food scene every bit as vibrant as any of the city’s regional neighbors.