1061 Mason Avenue

Daytona Beach, Florida 32117

(386)255-2256

Store Front

In my many visits to the Daytona Beach area it is easy to overlook certain shopping centers and various restaurants if they are not on one of the main drags. You see Daytona has a few sections that people go to, such as International Speedway Blvd, or A1A or maybe even US 1. But Mason Avenue is down the street and around the corner from any of the main sites that might bring you to the center of racing (or) the world’s most famous beach. Off of Mason Ave is a restaurant known as Tropical Gourmet and they are tucked away in the corner of the MasoNova Park plaza. This area is depressed and filled with bingo halls and rent you appliance stores. But with having almost 20 years of food service in Daytona Beach, Daniel and the other owners/managers deserve some recognition as having an authentic Caribbean restaurant that will delight your taste buds.

When I stepped into the restaurant/Caribbean market I was overwhelmed but the fact the a/c was not on. Then in consideration I thought to myself, they are Jamaican, and the warmth is not unbearable, so deal with it. Soon after I came in a gentleman named Daniel came out from the kitchen area to greet me. He stood at a counter that was adorned with pictures of Bob Marley, Obama, and various scenes from Jamaica. On the counter was a display case with beef patties in it. Having fallen in love with beef patties years ago, I decided to get one as a starter for me. Daniel notified me of the lunch specials that were still available for the day. Including curried goat, ox tail, and jerk chicken all served with either a salad or steamed cabbage with rice and beans. Not familiar with curried goat I need to stick with what I know, I got the jerk chicken.

While I was sitting there customers were coming in and going straight to the counter to get beef patties to go, the whole time I was there I was the only customer that sat in the dining area. Daniel soon brought me my bowl of steamed cabbage filled with carrots and green beans to my table. So there I sit with my cabbage steaming, a roll that looks like a biscuit, my beef patty, and a Jamaican drink simply known as cola champagne. Daniel tells me that the drink is very refreshing and that he thinks I will like it, well he was right. The cabbage was great; it was so hot that it continued to steam the whole time that I was eating it. He told me that the beef patty was authentic and not frozen; this is one of the signature items that the Tropical Gourmet is known for. Having discovered the Jamaican beef patty over twenty years ago I am a fan of them, but this one was rich with flavor with a not too flaky crust.

While still eating my beef patty and steamed cabbage, Daniel brings me a very large plate of jerk chicken with a side of rice and beans. If you are not familiar with jerk flavoring, you should know that it is typically hot in spice. Some people will just make an item spicy and call it jerk, however if you are looking for a real jerk flavor find a real authentic Jamaican restaurant or chef to serve it. Not only is jerk a spicy hot item it is a fantastic blend of spices that the islands are known for. The Tropical Gourmet not only knows the art of making a good jerk chicken item they also sell various spices on the wall along with certain sweet breads and authentic sodas to take home with you.

In conversation with Daniel I was inquiring about the history of Tropical Gourmet. He let me know that they have been opened in Daytona for almost 20 years and in the current location for almost 10 of those. I asked about the desserts available and on this particular day they had none available. He let me know (only after my asking questions about it) that the economy has hurt them in many ways. For now they are open and operating as a full functioning restaurant, but as he let me know, things have to get better to keep them open. I for one will say that if Tropical Gourmet becomes a casualty of the current recession then Daytona will lose out on one of the best Jamaican restaurants available. If you are in Daytona I highly encourage you to swing into Tropical Gourmet for at least a beef patty to go. The food is very good, very fresh and worth every penny you will spend.

My meal was huge and I got a soda and a beef patty to start with. I only paid 11 bucks. You can easily get in and out of there for under ten dollars, or if you go with the various Jamaican soups with a beef or chicken patty as a side you will spend less than $6 for the soup and about a buck fifty for the patty. As I could see there were customers who stopped in and would by 2 or 3 patties and take them to go for less than $5. They are opened from 10 am till 10 pm Monday through Saturday taking Sunday off. You should give them a try, tell them Moonpie sent you.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com