Mo's Island Spice opens in Setauket
Curry chicken at Mo's Island Spice, a Jamaican eatery in Setauket. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Mo’s Island Spice, a new Jamaican eatery, has taken up residence in a particularly delicious little stretch of North Country Road in Setauket: Next door to Taj Crown of India, it’s only a short walk to Sichuan Garden (a Newsday Top 50 Chinese restaurant) and Ichi Sushi & Ramen.
While Caribbean restaurants are more numerous in Nassau and along Suffolk’s South Shore, owner Mo Green was determined to bring a taste of her native Jamaica to this corner of her adopted island. "Even though there are not a lot of Jamaican people up here, people will smell the food and wander in, that’s how it starts." She’s only been open since November, but "customers already know to come early for the oxtail before it runs out."
Along with the stewed, falling-off-the-bone oxtail, popular items include jerk chicken, brown stew chicken or beef, curry chicken or goat. Platters, $13 to $19, come with rice and beans, steamed cabbage and peppers and fried plantains. At lunch, there are also jerk chicken tacos and wings, Jamaican patties and soups. For breakfast, a belly-busting platter of eggs, sausage or bacon, fried plantains, dumplings, toast or bagel, oatmeal or porridge and coffee or tea ($15.99).
Mo Green is the owner of Mo's Island Spice, a Jamaican eatery in Setauket. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Green worked as a banker in Jamaica before moving to the U.S. seven years ago and continuing to work in the financial sector. But, she said, "it was always my dream to open a restaurant." Growing up, she helped her mother in their outdoor kitchen. "We’d make the fire before we cooked the food," she recalled.
In Setauket, she transformed the former Subway into a sliver of Caribbean sun. All the food is served in takeout containers but there are a few tables where you can sit and enjoy your food piping hot. Alongside the food, Green also sells a few Jamaican provisions and Bob Marley-themed hats. A singer herself, she hopes to add live music to the mix before too long.
Mo’s Island Spice, 18 Woods Corner Rd., Setauket, 631-350-2430, mosislandspice.com. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday (closed Sunday).
