NEW RESTAURANTS 2010: Yahman Jamaican Restaurant

If you’re in the mood for something a little exotic, you don’t need to sail into the Caribbean. Nestled in a fairly new shopping center off of 23rd Street in McAllen, Yahman Jamaican Restaurant has plenty of room for a hungry lunch crowd. The owner is from Jamaica, so you can expect authentic cuisine, such as curried goat, jerk chicken and oxtail.

It’s a casual dining restaurant, so the décor follows suit with photos on the walls of scenes from Jamaica and rows of tables and chairs. The restaurant serves eggs with fritters and plantains or steamed cabbage and cod fish for breakfast, and it’s just as authentic as the goat and oxtail.

“I think it’s pretty good,” said Blayde Carroll, 32, who lives in Austin, but is often in McAllen for business. He also visits friends and family in Jamaica several times a year, he said. “What I have eaten here seems authentic.” 

Yahman Jamaican Restaurant

• WHERE: 2313 Harvey Ave., McAllen
• CALL: (956) 686-7794
• TYPE: Jamaican
• COST: $ OUT OF $$$
• HOURS: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

TRY THE: JERK CHICKEN – Grilled chicken marinated with a variety of spices and herbs to give it a robost and spicy flavor. It’s served with festival, which is like fried cornbread or a hushpuppy, as well as fried plantains and potato salad.