Food Frenzy: Jamaican Mama Cuisine spices up Saraga market in Northland

Jamaican Mama Cuisine has added a little island flair to Saraga International Grocery in Northland.

Owned by chef Erica Rodriguez, the food kiosk is dishing up classic dishes from the island nation, such as curry goat, jerk chicken, oxtail and beef patties, and one dish rare in central Ohio: stewed cow’s feet.

Rodriguez said she has been cooking since she was a little girl and once owned her own restaurant, Fritz and Es, where people worldwide would sup on her famous chop-up and dumplings, a chicken stew.

When she moved the United States, she said she worked as a cook in nursing homes from Massachusetts to Columbus. Every three weeks, she’d get to have Caribbean Day, where she cooked dishes from her homeland and nearby countries.

She brought two of her five children – Nicholas and Shakila – to the U.S. and they help her in the restaurant, 1265 Morse Road.

“It’s satisfying, but it’s a lot of work,” Nicholas said.

Rodriguez said she decided after 22 years of cooking in nursing homes, it was time to open her own store.

Saraga became a household name when the Food Network featured former tenant Momo Ghar, which introduced most of Columbus to Nepalese cuisine.

Rodriguez, at first, said she wasn’t sure about the space in Saraga: The kitchen is small and the front area only allows for dining for six.

“I wanted a bigger space but this is what God has planned for me,” she said. “I took it, cleaned it up and made it my own.”

Jamaican Mama Cuisine serves prepared foods, where customers choose from entrees and sides, such as rice and beans, steamed vegetables and fried plantains.

Rodriguez said she makes all of her spice mixes to her taste, including the jerk sauce, where she starts with a prepared sauce and adds her own seasonings.

She said her food can be spicy, but nothing too hot.

She said that most Americans are vaguely familiar with jerk chicken and other Jamaican dishes but are intrigued by the depth of flavor.

“They love it,” Rodriguez said. “When they hear about Jamaican food, they’re excited.”

Open since May 11, Jamaican Mama Cuisine offers specials that go beyond the realm of Rodriguez’s specialties, such as Asian, Mexican and West African.

“We’re in an international store, so we want to do international stuff,” she said.

Customers can look for rasta pasta with jerk chicken on Fridays in the near future, according to Rodriguez.

Most entrees are between $12 and $22, the latter for escovitch fish, a whole fish served in a pepper sauce.

And the authenticity can’t be questioned, according to Rodriguez.

“In Jamaica, we say the real deal,” she said. “This is the real deal.”

Future sit-down locations remain a possibility, but she said she plans on staying in Saraga.

“Even if I do something else, this will be my first,” she said.

Rodriguez doesn’t lack in enthusiasm.

“I know it can work and God gave me seasoning hands, so everything I touch comes true,” she said.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; and closed Sundays.

@ThisWeekGary

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Northland: Jamaican Mama Cuisine spices up Saraga market