by SARAH MUSGRAVE

Yup, right about now a vacation from ice would be most welcome. If a trip isn’t in the works, you can get a taste of something tropical at these Haitian and Jamaican eateries.

Jamaica Way

This colourful, haphazard CDN space attracts seniors and scenesters alike with its laidback vibe, affordable Jamaican food and reggae rhythms. Jerk chicken is a house specialty; it’s moist on the inside, almost blackened on the outside, and slathered in a distinctive sauce that artfully combines fiery heat with deep-down flavours. Meals are served with red peas (kidney beans) and rice, as well as plantains that are puffy, soft and sweet like caramel. The saltfish and calalloo is delicious, made of dried cod stewed with onions, tomatoes and greens. You can also get your saltfish with ackee, a combo referred to as Jamaica’s national dish. Check out other Caribbean classics like oxtail stew, red snapper, kingfish and curried goat. An added bonus is the choice of large or small servings depending on your appetite and budget. You can always order dumplings, daily soup (like chicken foot and cow foot) and patties stuffed with vegetable, chicken or beef to round out your meal.

Address: 4961-B Queen-Mary, Phone: 343-JERK (5375), Hours: Tues–Wed 9am–10pm; Thurs–Sat 9am–11pm; closed Sun & Mon, Price: $9/person before tax, drinks or tip

Au Bec Fin JRR

An outdated sign in the window of this Parc Avenue hole in the wall claims that it’s a bakery, but it’s actually a popular refuelling spot for local cabbies who stream in for chitchat and inexpensive homecooked Haitian meals. Daily specials are written on a board and include fresh fish and pintade (guinea hen), along with hearty vegetable and meat stews featuring eggplant, spinach or the more exotic mirliton (aka chayotte). Look for “poisson rouge” or “poisson blanc” served whole, steamed to flakiness and adorned with onions and red peppers atop a thin, tasty sauce. Plates come with “bananes pesées,” plantain flattened into discs and fried to semi-crunchiness. As an accompaniment, choose between plain rice or riz collé, a delicious Creole staple flecked with chillies. Meals also include soup and salad, which may come before or after the main course. To drink, there’s fresh papaya juice, lemonade and Malta Corona that tastes like Ovaltine soda.

Address: 5607 Parc, Phone: 278-6134, Hours: Mon–Sat noon–7pm; closed Sun, Price: $10/person before tax, drinks or tip

Le Paradis des Amis

A winter visit to this Caribbean hideaway - complete with banana-thatched bar and steel drum music - is all the more incongruous because of its location overlooking Parthenais prison. Le Paradis offers carefully designed multi-course feasts ($25–$45) that combine West Indian and French inflections, with an emphasis on local ingredients: veal from the Charlevoix, Perron cheese and shrimp from Sept-Îles. Start off with the “chef’s fancy,” which might be a pastry-topped stew of musky mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Move on to complex appetizers like pheasant ballottine, a cylinder of braised meat surrounded by a savoury sauce and tiny little apples, or baked goat cheese salad in a poppy seed shell. After the “pause paradis” - palate-cleansing sorbet - mains include a seafood tower of enormous shrimp and scallops layered with pineapple rings, or a breast of guinea hen stuffed with wild rice and a mousse of fois gras cooked in white truffle oil and lemon thyme. Desserts are divine too. :

Address: 1751 Fullum, Phone: 525-6861, Hours: Mon–Fri 11am–3pm & 5:30–9pm; Sat 5pm–11pm; closed Sun, Price: $30/person before tax, drinks or tip