Friday, February 11, 2011

Island Cuisine: "Where they fucked up the sign - but not the food."

Sorry, I can understand not having time to update an online menu. I can understand temporarily running out of takeout menus. I can even excuse a restaurant for not having some kind of web presence. But a sign where the name of the actual restaurant is misspelled? Not a good first impression.

The Sign

I'm an underdog guy, so I'm not going to harp on it too much due to the ethnic element. In their defense they certainly aren't the first ethnicity to misspell the word "cuisine". Wanting to make sure there wasn't some sort of alternate spelling I didn't know about, a quick search on Google revealed that pretty much every different ethnicity has made the same spelling mistake. I'm sure the people at Island Cuisine are breathing easier now. But seriously, fix the sign (it is spelled correctly inside in the restaurant).

Ironically enough, the correctly spelled "#1 Shrimp Curry in Ohio" portion of the sign is what lured me in. I'm not sure who handed down this verdict, but if IC thought enough to emblazon it on a sign, it had to be good - right?

The Interior
This is effectively a carryout joint. The inside is neon green and canary yellow. One table with chairs sits in the picture window of the store. A few other chairs are scattered throughout the space for the sole purpose of taking a load off while they get your food together.

The Menu (Note the correct spelling at the top)

I've eaten here three times, and had the shrimp curry twice and the jerk chicken once. IC's shrimp curry is certainly something to take note of. Their curry is a layered flavor that doesn't pack a stinging heat like you get with some of the Thai or Indian curries. I also found the savory rice and beans to be a great counterpoint to the seasoning of the shrimp. Recommended.

What I would not recommend is the jerk chicken. For the money, I'll go to Tradewinds over in North Randall. When I order jerk chicken it has to have a decent kick to it. I want a nice discernible jerk crust on the outside of the chicken. Island Cuisine's relies on a thin almost soup-like gravy to season the meat. Maybe it's been marinated with the jerk, but it's a pretty weak flavor. While I didn't care for the sauce on the chicken it did taste really good when it seeped into the cinnamon and nutmeg of the rice and beans.

Island Cuisine isn't going to wow you with their atmosphere. You won't find any takeout menus, a website, or curiously enough spoons. (Which I find odd, since they serve soup.) I would, however, suggest an order of curry shrimp called in ahead. What IC lacks in refinement, they make up for in soul.

Island Cuisine
20023 Harvard Ave
Warrensville Heights, OH 44122

(216) 491-8250

Island Cuisine on Urbanspoon


  1. Looks like they got it right on their old sign...,+OH+44122&fb=1&gl=us&hnear=Lyndhurst,+OH&cid=0,0,5134705974447161138&ll=41.449861,-81.538024&spn=0.000469,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.449861,-81.538024&panoid=6ywtTCgZfPwhwCLGyDc3hg&cbp=12,15.33,,2,-0.88

  2. Pat? I'd like to buy a vowel. Can I get another "I"?

  3. 4 questions for Mr. Mite about Geraci's:
    1. Ever since being on Diners, Drive-in's and Dives...did their prices go up or quality go down?
    2. Thin crust or their regular
    3. What are your favorite toppings to order there?
    4. Is their veal parm worth the 20 bucks?

  4. 1. I don't THINK the prices have gone up (but maybe they have. What I get doesn't cost a lot so I probably wouldn't notice), and I think their quality's definitely the same.

    2. Regular

    3. The pepperoni is thick and spicy, sausage is the crumbly kind (which I like). My favorite pepperoni in Cleveland.

    4. I'm not a big veal, chicken, eggplant Parmesan kind of person, so I'm probably the wrong guy to ask.

    4. I only get pizza to go. I think once we ate there for actual entrees. I don't really remember it, so it must not have been THAT good. I do remember getting gouged on a side of broccoli, though. The server was friendly.

    Here's the Geraci's post:

  5. Thanks for the answers and for the advice on getting the pie and splitting, Mr. Mite.

  6. Reading your post and my eldest son having such high regard for island cuisine today I was HIGHLY disappointed. At his treat I received day old or overcooked cabbage, tainted boiled chicken, tasteless rice & where's the beans. Terrible food. He ordered the shrimp. Which seems to be the only dish that he has ever eaten from IC. But I refused to express my disappointment since he has continually bragged about their food, even when we were at various other Jamaican eateries. Yet he even stated he didn't know what was up with the steamed cabbage. I asked him whatt he meant he said that he always orders it but never had the slimy texture. I really didn't respond I just said well the flavour is good. When he left to go back to work I put my carry out in the frig and gave them a call. After saying hi, how are you? No response. I asked the person answering who am I speaking with please? He said that does not matter do you want to order or what? Explaining everything. I asked how can we work this out Sir? Excuse me what is your name again please? All I heard was Bring It BACK CLIKSLAM! We are right up the street but in order to maintain my peace I personally will not be returning the order. Yet from this day forward I promise to act as if I do not even know that the place even exist, unless someone else mentions the name IC. Would really like to talk to the owner but afraid that possibly might of been the guy on the phone. Do not let my son know we had this talk:) Dee

  7. dineomite, Just discovered Island Cuusine prices shrimp 12.00,god-awful chicken $9.00 + 2 beverages = @ $25.00 dee