Day 5: Ox Tail
Graced by the presence of Shane (of MollyandtheGirls fame), I endeavored to Jamaica House on Broad St. to indulge in one of jamaican cuisine’s mainstaples. Not to be thwarted by a stomach virus earlier in the week, Shane bounced back to make the trip after all.
I’ve consumed a wide variety of animal meat in my time. Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, deer, pheasant, squirrel, and probably a few others in between. Whereas I was expecting a unique flavor to match the high praises of this curious dish, I found myself a bit surprised to discover that ox tail had a pretty common flavor to it. I could have easily mistaken it for any salisbury steak or beef dish in Shafer. It lacked the diversity or ‘out-there’ factor I’d been preparing for. That’s definitely not to say that it was terrible in the slightest. Not at all. It complimented the cabbage/beans/rice that it came with quite nicely, and made for a decent lunch. In the end, I was just stoked to finally be eating with pleasant conversation and ’80s funk in the background.
The moral here is this: some (like myself) may go into trying new foods from different cultures with the express intention of making a profound discovery. But if we preach that originality is dead in just about every other area of our lives, than we shouldn’t be let down when it comes to the exotic dishes we passively daydream about not blowing us out of the ballpark. Being in the city, Richmonders certainly have a better shot of experiencing these new things, but the McDonald’s factor still rings true: no matter where you vacation, voyage for business or randomly stumble upon in your travels, there will always be something vaguely familiar around the corner.
(and trust me, I’m sick of going to FL/WI/everywhere only to find the same restaurants/shops/excuses to leave the house as home. Go on an adventure instead.)
