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Caribbean Citations

Click It or Ticket; But If One Must Ticket, Take it Here

By Marquis D. GibsonPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Picture this:

You are meeting your friends for a Saturday brunch on 14th Street in Washington, DC. Good times are rolling, birds are flying high. Then you walk your tipsy, wobbly legs to your car only for there to be a ticket on your window-shield.

Step 1: Cuss

Step 2: Gather your coin to pay for it

Step 3: Save the citation and drive your car or catch the Green Line to Anacostia. Situation in viewing distance of the historic Anacostia Big Chair on Maple View Place SE is your destination.

Step 4:

Take in the ambiance. A green backdrop boasts yellow stripes and a humble facade. Once you enter the space, you are invited to a slice of Jamaican people and culture. Much like any other Jamaican or Caribbean restaurant I’ve been to, this establishment is decorated with community signage and posters, a few trees to enhance the atmosphere and a couple TV sure to be playing anything from the news to a soccer game.

Before you can fully take in the place, wafts from the kitchen that is less than 20 feet from the entrance greets you. Consumes you. Spices from the jerk chicken get caught in the blades of the fans attached to the ceiling. It’s purposeful and it works on me every single time.

The first time I discovered this jewel in Anacostia, the neighborhood I called home for 4 years, I was just walking. It was probably 2015 or 2016 after the restaurant moved from the Shaw neighborhood to my neck of the woods. To this day, I can’t remember if I was walking back from the train or if I was following a friend’s recommended or simply if I just stumbled upon it but am I glad that I did.

I ordered the jerk chicken and rice with cabbage and plantains. YOUR EYES WILL ROLL TO THE NAPE OF YOUR NECK IN UNABRIDGED PLEASURE.

The chicken came with a separate container of jerk sauce. There was tang and spice and a hint of sweet. I poured it over the chicken, boneless if I remember correctly. I really couldn’t stop eating. The chicken is juicy and covers half of the to-go container. The cabbage was fresh and PERFECTLY seasoned. Rice and beans soaked up every bit of the juice flowing from the chicken. And if you know plantains, that sweet little gift from heaven, then you will not be disappointed with Caribbean Citations. You’ll be thrilled.

Jerk Chicken with rice and sauces. (Yelp)

THE APPEAL:

The restaurant allows you to bring in your parking tickets and receive a discount on the meals, sometimes $2 or $3 off. ON EVERY ITEM. Not only that but these wonderfully nice people also enter people with parking tickets into an ongoing raffle. If you win the raffle, THEY PAY FOR YOUR PARKING TICKETS.

You have to understand why the appeal is so important. Washington, DC is notorious for doling out parking tickets as if the bulk of the city’s income was reliant upon how often those meter maids can fill up their citation books. It’s an enterprise so while you still may have to pay for that ticket (save your money), there is a spot in southeast DC, a neighborhood that was once looked down upon but now is quickly gentrifying, that will offer the driving community a gentle reprieve from the capitalism of the nation’s capital. Not only do they give discount meals and a chance at a paid off ticket, but the food is more than worth it every time.

I’ve gorged out on the beef patties, coco bread (the best bread on earth and one of the gifts the Caribbean people gave us, a gift we truly still don’t deserve) and one of the best features for my palette is the stir fry. It’s full of veggies, your meat of choice (try the curry chicken) and heavenly herbs and spices.

Step 5:

For the people who are just visiting or who don’t drive or who don’t have parking tickets, GO ANYWAY. I do. I have never driven once in DC and even after leaving that neighborhood, I will stand by the small storefront with the dynamite menu harkening to the islands where food is so important for survival, economically and interpersonally.

Get a salad, a slice of rum cake with actual rum (do it), or my favorite jerk chicken, wings or dinner special. Every time I patronized the good people on Maple View, my stomach is happy, my heart is happier. One of the number 1 places I would spend my college student money at while attending Howard University was the Georgia Avenue staple, Negril. A broke budget reduced my options to a beef patty and coco bread for around $5. After I graduated and moved in with my aunt on the other side of Sousa bridge, a neighborhood rich with history and people who make the place great, my budget expanded slightly. After 2 years, I found Caribbean Citations led by Mike Sterling with a winning smile and personality.

Truly, the place found me.

For the love of all that is jerk-spiced, let it find you too. Especially if parking enforcement is trying to reach their quota.

restaurants
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About the Creator

Marquis D. Gibson

i am an artist.

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