Austin's Jamaican beef, chicken and vegetable patties feature a blend of slow-cooked stewed beef, chicken or vegetables pureed with Jamaican spices and wrapped in a light and flaky crust.

AUSTIN'S CARIBBEAN CUISINE Location: 345 South Kings Drive Phone: 704-331-8778 Details: Take-out only; featured items rotate daily; seafood market priced. Prices: $4.75-$9 Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.-7p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday 12:30 p.m.-7 p.m.

Hey Mon! Looking for a quick and easy lunch or dinner on the go? Try some of the best Jamaican food this side of the Atlantic's white sandy beaches at Austin's Caribbean Cuisine. Open for just over six years, this little storefront in a strip mall near the intersection of Kings Drive and Independence Boulevard has found its fame primarily by word of mouth, and the word is good. It's a hop, skip and a jump from Uptown, as well as the Dilworth, Eastover, Elizabeth and Myers Park neighborhoods.

If there's one downside, it's the lack of seating - there is none. Austin's is strictly takeout. The upside is that the takeout you take away is all quite good.

Austin's is owned and operated by Yvonne and Austin Martin, who moved to Charlotte from Jamaica via New York. Every day except Sunday, the Martins serve up authentic made-from-scratch Caribbean cuisine. Austin and Yvonne do it all themselves - they're owners, waitstaff, occasionally delivery personnel and chief cooks and bottle washers, as well.

The most popular seller on the menu is the jerk chicken. Slightly spicy, yet wonderfully seasoned, this jerk is served in either white or dark portions, chopped and on the bone. As each order is served, Yvonne or Austin deftly chops the portions into bite-sized pieces with a large cleaver - bones and all - and serve the chicken over a mix of rice and peas or beans. The meat literally falls off the bone and melts in your mouth.

If you've got a taste for a hot and zesty curry rather than the spicy jerk, try Austin's curried chicken, shrimp or goat... yes, goat. Featured entrees at Austin's change from day to day, but if goat is on the menu when you go, you'd be missing out not to try some. The meat is slightly stringy but exceptionally tender, much like that of a slow braised beef brisket, and the flavor of the curry is grand. Like the jerk, the curries and all of Austin's other entrees are served in small or large portions (think lunch or dinner) over rice and peas or beans.

In addition to the curries and the jerk, the menu features stewed chicken and beef, as well as a delicious braised ox tail and occasionally fish. One caution before you dig in. The preparation of all of these entrees is on the bone. Slow cooking meat, chicken, fish (and goat and ox tail) on the bone adds a good deal of extra flavor, but watch for bones as you eat.

RATING SCALE Excellent, a must try. Above average, worth consideration. Average, but nothing spectacular. Just okay. Poor, not recommended.

Besides the designated entrees, Austin's also offers Jamaican beef, chicken and vegetable patties. These are billed as an appetizer on the menu, but an order of two could make a lunch or late afternoon or evening snack. These patties can best be described as a turnover featuring a blend of either slow cooked stewed beef, chicken or vegetables pureed with Jamaican spices and tenderly wrapped in a light and flaky pastry. The patties are then cooked to a golden brown and served warm. If you are buying them early in the day to eat later, you'll be glad to know that they can be reheated by wrapping them loosely in foil and placing them in a warm oven.

Each of Austin's entrees is accompanied by two side dishes, which, like the entree selections, change daily. Selections might include steamed cabbage and carrots, yams, greens, corn on the cob, cornbread, dinner rolls, greens beans, macaroni and cheese, fried plantains, dumplings and a tropical, chilled salad of shredded cabbage, carrots and bell pepper, all marinated in a sweet and sour vinaigrette. For dessert, there are always a couple of homemade cakes and sometimes even a sweet potato pudding.

While the Martins do not serve any alcohol at Austin's, they do offer a variety of interesting beverages. Look for a variety of Jamaican sodas; Irish moss, a thick, sweet, Jamaican eggnog of sorts; a deliciously spicy-sweet almost berry-flavored sorrel juice; and tropical lemonade.

Yvonne and Austin Martin prepare an order of curried chicken to go.

Well-known Charlotte restaurant critic, food writer, cooking instructor and connoisseur of food and wine, Heidi Edidin writes "South Charlotte Weekly: Culinary Corner," a restaurant review or food feature that appears weekly. Contact Heidi with questions and restaurant, food or story ideas by email at heidi@southcharlotteweekly.com.

SCW photos by Sean Busher.

This article first appeared in "South Charlotte Weekly" on January 31, 2003. "South Charlotte Weekly" is a free, locally owned, independent newspaper that's "About the Community, For the Community," available every Thursday in South Charlotte and Uptown.

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