Caribbean Platters from Little Delicious

I was afraid that the metal gates on the windows and doors meant Little Delicious, the spot I picked for a Caribbean lunch, was closed. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. Inside was a family sitting at the counter, a few tables with friends and massive plates of food, and a line of locals, anxious to get some take out. We sat at an empty table and wondered whether there was table service, or if we should line up. After a bit, we were given menus and our orders were taken. No line standing needed.  Little Delicious is located in a pretty dilapidated area. Neither the exterior nor the interior of the restaurant is pretty, but its all about the hot plates of food.

Platters can be ordered by size; mini, small, or large.  A “small” plate of jerk chicken ($8.50) came with sides pretty much selected by the guy taking our order; “You want rice,” he determined. When I asked for fried dumplings, he said they were sold out, but then managed to sneak us one per platter. One dumpling was enough, just a fried dough ball, perfect for sopping up the jerk gravy. Both the cabbage and the generous heaps of rice had a lot of flavor. The chicken also had a good flavor, but it could have been spicier. It could have also been a little juicier but it was very tender, I barely needed a knife. The whole plate was more than I could eat.

An order of oxtails was more juicy and fatty, so take your pick based on what you are in the mood for.

The beef patty I checked out was not homemade and I wouldn’t recommend them. But the juices are. I asked for a combo of carrot and pineapple juice. It was totally delcious. I noticed the addition of a spice and asked our guy if he added cinnamon, which he confirmed, and then laughed at me for complimenting him on it so hard.

Little Delicious is a bit out of the way and its lack of ambience, to put it mildly, might not be for everyone. But if you care more about getting into some Caribbean home cooking, take an adventure over here. Bonus points: its right by Bartram’s Garden for a post meal stroll.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  • I love seedy looking places with homecooking
  •  Generous platters of meat and sides
  • Great fresh juice

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

  • I like spicy jerk chicken
  • This place looks scary

Little Delicious, 4821 Woodland Ave, 215-729-4911

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4 Comments

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    “I love seedy looking places with homecooking”

    This. That’s the general rule of thumb I used for Mexican places out in California and Oregon, and I was rarely if ever disappointed.

    I can tell just by the sign (“Health Food Center” = awesome!) it’s likely to be good.

    Caribbean food is something I need more of in my life. I’ve been wanting to try two places (one Dominican, one Puerto Rican) near me, on Lehigh just west of the Huntingdon El, for a while now. I need to get to that. I also need to get back to Esquina del Bronco, the little Dominican place a block west of York-Dauphin which I inexplicably stopped eating at for some reason a few months back. Hmmm, I may pick up dinner at the latter this evening, now that I think of it!

    • User has not uploaded an avatar

      Ha! Thanks, Jamie. Ya know, I had forgotten where I first read about those places, but now I remember. It was you!

      I’ve walked by them numerous times, but still haven’t stopped in either yet. I should definitely be able to hit up at least one of them this week or next, and when I do I’ll leave an update in the comments there…

      • User has not uploaded an avatar

        Oh, and since the other isn’t mentioned in that link (although I think I read about it elsewhere here, too?), the Puerto Rican place is Isla Nena, a block down from El Principe.

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