Carena's Jamaican Grille, Richmond

When Carena Ives moved to the States at age 16, she slowly eased into New York City’s concrete-and-steel embrace, its fast-paced and oft-gray surroundings a world away from the crystal blue waters and balmy breezes of home. A native of Ocho Rios, Jamaica, she had followed her culinary passion north to the restaurants and vibrant food scene of NYC, leaving her family behind to chase the dream. Years later, and wiser in the ways of the restaurant business, Carena opened her own eponymous restaurant in Richmond as a celebration of the home she left behind but never forgot. Carena’s Jamaican Grille brings stateside diners an authentic taste of Carena’s home cuisine thanks to its laid-back atmosphere and lineup of noshes prepared using traditional methods and piquant spices. All day, chefs bustle about the kitchen chopping and grilling up fresh ingredients that fuse into homemade soups, jerk meat dishes, and savory oxtail. Several of Carena's dishes have become favorites among the locals who line up for the grub as well as among other local chefs.