Mom's

Description:

• Crammed into a mishmash of oddly interconnected cement buildings in the most densely populated downtown sections of Ocho Rios, this ultra-simple restaurant has thrived here since 1983, when it was established by a local matriarch (Mrs. Boyd) that everybody refers to as "Mom." Don't expect glamour: the venue has cement walls, battered furniture, a color palette of cream and lime green that could use some touchups, and a staff, mostly supervised by Mrs. Boyd's daughters, who on bad days can appear very very glum. But with the assumption that you might arrive on a day when everybody's relatively cheerful, you might just have a merry old time getting lowdown with this place and actually sampling their food. No alcohol is ever served, but all-natural drinks include carrot, sorrel, soursop, passionfruit, and june plum juice. Food items are as straightforward and generic as the tenets of West Indian cuisine allows, but include basic preparations of fish, chicken, pork, oxtail, chicken-studded chop suey, and several kinds of stew. Frankly, the sheer fame of this place surprises us: It's at its best when Mom is actually on the premises.

• © Frommer's 2013