Quick Bite: Morgan’s Island Grill

Morgan’s Island Grill
Hightstown
110 Mercer Street
609-308-2108

Open: Lunch and dinner, Tues-Sun

Price: $

Style: Casual corner place in downtown Hightstown with cheery yellow walls, serving Caribbean specialties. Interacting with the warm and gracious staff is one of the pleasures of eating at Morgan’s or even of taking out.

The Scoop: After running a restaurant in Irvington with his sister, chef Kenroy Morgan, a native of Jamaica, and his wife, Jewel, opened Morgan’s in 2013. Their daughter, Paityn, and local high school students pitch in on weekends.

The Menu: For a taste of Jamaican tradition, start with a chicken or beef patty, a kind of hand-held meat pie. Equally authentic is Morgan’s goat curry (pictured), which, like all entrées, comes with seasoned rice, fried sweet plantains and house-made cornbread. Other specialties include jerk chicken or seafood; boiled ackee fruit sautéed with salt cod; oxtail stew; and several kinds of roti flatbreads. The self-serve fridge is stocked with Caribbean juices and sodas, including the insanely sweet Jamaican Kola Champagne, the perfect companion to the spicy cuisine.

Heads Up: There’s street parking aplenty. At lunch, portions are smaller, prices lower. Popular dishes such as jerk chicken and goat curry sometimes run out, so go early.—Shelby Vittek