Tulsa Food

I had never tried Jamaican food before, so Hibiscus was a new experience! I love the Jamaican culture, and sure enough, the restaurant resembled this culture to a T.  Dim lighting, very chill reggae music, warm colors, comfortable atmosphere and friendly free-spirited staff were all present. We went on a Wednesday night which is “open jam” night. Most days you can find live music, dancing and poetry at Hibiscus.

Jamaican food is normally prepared with many unique spices, flavors and ingredients. For our appetizer, we ordered the spicy jerk chicken wings. These were very nice-sized chicken wings marinated in a spicy jerk sauce and lightly fried. They had a unique flavor with a bold kick, a nice treat while waiting on our main dish.

The service was superior, and the waiter was very in-tune with all his guests. Before we had finished the appetizer my side salad had arrived. Spinach and fresh greens set the foundation for this beautiful yet simple salad topped with tomatoes, cranberries, sunflower seeds and a side of raspberry mango vinaigrette. This dressing was so good! I have never tasted a more vibrant dressing…wish I knew their secret.

Every entree on the menu has a story. A lot of the recipes are derived from Jamaica itself, but many are combined with the american culture.  I ordered “That ‘Lil Jerk” for my entree. This chicken also had the same sauce as the wings, but was char grilled, saturated in Jerk sauce and topped with sweet peppers and onions. I ordered fried plantains and a rice blend for my sides. The plantains were sweet, crisp outside with a soft inside, and had a great flavor. The rice had such a unique array of sweet spices…I think they may have used all-spice or pimienta, which consists of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

My friend was very brave and ordered Jamaica’s national dish: Ackee and Salt fish. This unique dish is stir fried w/Jamaican spices and served w/fried Bammy. Ackee is a very interesting fruit, and can actually be poisonous if eaten before it is fully mature. The Salt fish used was salted cod, and was very salty!  My friend said it was a little too salty for his liking, but if you love very salty food, you should love this dish.  Bammy looks like a long narrow fried bread-stick that has a  savory sweet breaded center.

One of the owners brought us out some oxtail soup and butter beans to try. Yep oxtail is exactly what it sounds like…the tail of an ox.  It was a great soup and if you like oxtail, it was cooked very well. Oxtail is very spongy, but yet bony and muscular. It gives a great flavor to soup stocks, and has been used in Jamaican countries for years. I didn’t prefer the oxtail, just the thought of eating it made me uneasy, however, my friend loved it!

For dessert we had rum cake drizzled with a rum butter sauce. This cake was very moist and had a very stout yet sweet flavor. I could really taste the rum in the sauce. Thank goodness though, no hangover the next day! Yah-Man!

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Hibiscus Brookside
3316 s Peoria
Tulsa, OK 74105
(918) 749-4700

www.hibiscusbrookside.com

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