Tucked into the back end of Strip District, a warehouse/ethnic grocery store area in Pittsburgh, is a place called Kaya. Part of the Big Burrito Group that seems to run a big portion of the Pittsburgh food scene. Kaya bills itself as island cuisine, but really has a bit of everything. Including burgers, which I heard were quite delicious, so I clearly had to get one.

The Kaya Burger was topped with bacon, avocado, pickles, tomato, Chihuahua cheese, a sunny side up egg and “Kaya sauce.” It also came with a choice of sweet potato fries, waffle fries or some kind of dirty salad. Being a lover of waffle fries, I went for those and made sure to order the burger without the pickles and tomato that would surely ruin the whole situation.

It turned out to be nearly a damn good burger. I say nearly because everything except the actual burger, which spent a bit too much time on the grill. It was big, but brown all the way through. Aside from that, each ingredient was prepared perfectly, right through to the waffle fries that were awesome.

If only they could actually get the patty right, this burger would have been incredible. Without that, it was all style, not so much substance.

In a display of mercy, a work event of mine ended last week at a little Jamaican restaurant in North Hollywood called Coley’s. As it turned out, one of my bosses had been Jamaican all along, but none of us knew it. Yet, Jamaican boss or not, I had been wanting to check out Coley’s for a long time, as it sat in that weird area of town that seemed just a bit far for walking, but too close to hop in a car for.

In any case, work had decided to spot us some drinks and something called “patties.” A patty is essentially the Jamaican version of an empanada, in that it’s a pocket of dough stuffed with meat. The dough takes on a sort of orange tint and the whole thing is fried up, rather than baked. The dough is flaky and pastry-like which provides for a nice contrast of texture with the minced meat inside. Despite showing up to the patty dispensary late to the game, I managed to get myself a beef one and found it was quite delicious. It was spiced to give a bit of a kick, but also had some other great flavors in there. And even better, I couldn’t find one vegetable inside.

While the beer and patty were nice, they would certainly not be enough to get me through the rest of the day. I decided to fend for myself from their regular menu to make myself a full meal. The waitress told me there was a Jerk Chicken lunch special and I figured there could be no better way to test out Jamaican food.

When that eventually came, the plate of food looked like it had come right out of the Caribbean. In addition to the chicken, the plate was loaded with steamed rice, fried plantains, “festival bread” and steamed veggies. I had neglected to notice the veggies on the menu, so I won’t hold them against Coley’s, but I still wasn’t happy that they had been an option. Anyway, I dug into the chicken and found that unique flavor associated with jerk chicken. In the past, I had only eaten jerk chicken in its dry form, but this was served wet and it kept the chicken incredibly moist and tender. It had a mild kick and slightly smokey taste to go along with it. The festival bread was almost like a donut, in that it was fried and light, but wasn’t sweetened. The plantains were also different from any fried plantains I had ever had. In a contrast to the chicken, these were dry and edible by hand. Usually fried plantains can be really sweet, but these were much more relaxed and made a nice addition to the meal.

So this was pretty much a good experience, except that when the bill came I found that I had been charged for the regular portion of Jerk Chicken and not the lunch special. This was no good, and the woman told me that the regular portion was bigger. As I had eaten everything on my plate that didn’t start with v and end with egetable, I wasn’t in a position to complain, but I was still annoyed at paying an extra couple of bucks. I know things were a bit crazy with the sheer number of people there, but my order still should have been correct. If only it had been wrong in a more obvious way that I would have known when it arrived.

Alas, I still recommend Coley’s. I’m not exactly a Jamaican expert, but I can tell a good meal from a bad one. It may not reflect the cooking you may have grown up with if you are a Jamaican, but it is certainly not bad.

Hidden behind faux bamboo stalks that protect the restaurant from the noise pollution of Venice, you would expect Bamboo to be a sort of Asian-inspired restaurant. Going in with these expectations, you’d be surprised to find that Bamboo is a Caribbean and Latino inspired restaurant, but you definitely won’t be disappointed by the food. Bamboo’s outdoor seating area has a nice and comfortable ambiance that would make it a great date spot.

The menu is a nice range of options, from pizza to seafood. I found my own personal niche in the steak section and chose the Milanesa a La Bamboo Breaded steak. This was topped with mozzarella, sauteed tomato, garlic and spices. I asked the waiter if I could get mine without the tomato and he seemed very surprised at the prospect. He then explained that this wasn’t just going to be some pile of tomatoes on the plate, but actually a tomato sauce. I rescinded my request and awaited my meal.

When it came, it was more than just the Milanese steak. The plate included rice, beans and fried plantains. This was a very pleasant surprise and I dug in. Everything tasted pretty fantastic. The tomato sauce was really good and thankfully nothing like simple stewed tomatoes. The sides were also great and made for a very happy eating experience. My only small issue was the price, which came in at $14 for my plate, but for all that came with it I couldn’t complain too much.