Café Calypso cooks Caribbean cuisine
There is a little restaurant at 5555 Morningside in the Village which not too many Rice students seem to know about. Café Calypso features Caribbean cuisine, especially dishes originating in the Bahamas and Jamaica.
The food is well done and authentic, specializing in seafood. Seating is available both on the patio and inside the restaurant. This is not an extremely elegant restaurant. The ambiance is casual and fun -- on the weekends, a steel drum band plays outside.
The food is excellent. The majority of food on the menu consists of seafood, as is typical of the region. For appetizers, we ordered conch fritters and curried onions. The conch was tasty, and was improved with the use of the lemon sauce which accompanied it. The curried onions were also done very well, thin sliced and fried in curried flour. The servings were very large -- the onions alone would have made a small meal. Additionally, the complementary bread proved to be both delicious and interesting -- little muffins which were made of a cornbread-type dough, only softer.
We chose the pork tenderloin with champagne-mango sauce and the court bullion de Martinique as entrees. The pork was grilled with a creamy sauce and diced mangos. The court bullion de Martinique consisted of braised mahi mahi with shrimp and lumps of fresh crab in a tomato, garlic and lime sauce. The fish, shrimp and crab were served in a bowl and liberally covered with the sauce to form an extra- thick soup. Both meals were accompanied by sides such as rice, beans and vegetables. Although we had heard amazing things about the peanut butter pie, it was not available this evening, so we suffered through a piece of the excellent key lime pie.
Additionally, there is a wide selection of Caribbean drinks -- lots of fruity things with rum. The wine/champagne selection is almost nonexistent, so do not plan on having a romantic wine-filled evening here. However, if you like seafood, Café Calypso will certainly provide you with an extremely satisfying meal. The court bullion was one of the best seafood dishes I have experienced in this city. Additionally, a wide range of poultry, beef and pork dishes are offered, many jerked or barbequed as per the Caribbean tradition.
We plan to return with the intent to try the barbequed honey steak. The total cost of our meal -- two appetizers, two of the more expensive entrees, desert and coffee -- came to about $45 (including tip). But one could easily eat a $15 meal here and be very satisfied. Call 524-8571 for details.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the February 23, 1996 issue.
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