There used to be a Long John Silver’s on LaFayette Road in Fort Oglethorpe as you head toward the Chickamauga Battlefields. It closed a while back after they built a new one on Battlefield Parkway. That former location has been reinvented as Fi Mi Pot Jamaican Restaurant.
Growing up in Miami, I often drove to the Little Jamaica neighborhood to grab some curried chicken or goat or braised oxtail. Sometimes it was just to pick up some spicy beef patties.
When I moved to Chattanooga, I found and have dined R&N Irie Jamaican on Dayton Blvd. They serve great food made by owner Robert Officer.
Fi Mi Pot is much closer to my house, and as it turns out, Fi Mi Pot is owned by Dwight Officer, Robert’s brother. They were born and raised in Jamaica. According to his website Dwight graduated from Spanish Town Comprehensive High School and began his culinary journey soon after.
He worked as a chef at Port Royal and did so well he was asked to come work for the prestigious Hilton Kingston Hotel. Now living in Chattanooga, Dwight opened Fi Mi Pot expanding the family’s culinary reach in the Scenic City.
The exterior is decorated in Jamaican colors and flags hang from the window. Inside it’s funny to see Jamaican decorations yet all the booths and one large wall painting are clearly leftovers from the Long John days.
His entrees include jerk chicken, curried chicken, brown stew chicken, chicken Cordon Bleu, braised oxtail, curried goat, curried fish, jerk fish, fried fish, steamed fish, brown stew fish, and coconut ginger fish. When you pick your entrée, you can choose two sides. Those include macaroni and cheese, fried sweet plantains, mashed potatoes, Callaloo (greens), coleslaw, sauteed cabbage, Spanish rice, Jamaican rice and beans and fried okra.
On my first visit I ordered oxtail with rice and beans and plantains. Let me begin by saying the amount of food they served me was enough for me and my mom and I still had a little rice left over for the next day. The oxtail was tender and just slid off the bone. The broth, likely cooked for hours, had pieces of meat and a hint of heat from the Scotch bonnet peppers. The rice and beans were spicy too, but in a gentle manner where even mom could tolerate it. Biting into sweet plantains balanced the palate. Those plantains were soft and delicious.
On my next visit I ordered curried goat, rice and beans and plantains. Jamaican curried goat is made with bone-in goat meat marinated in a robust medley of fresh herbs, allspice, and a vibrant, turmeric-forward curry powder.
Again, some of the meat slid off the bones making the broth chunky as well as spicy and great when poured over the rice. The portion, again, was massive, enough for me and my mom. Now, with curried goat you need to be careful because some bones may end up in your broth as well. The goat was tender and the pieces of meat still clinging to the bones are best eaten by hand and sucking the meat right off the bone. There were bits of potatoes in the mix as well and the plantains, once again, helped to temper down the heat.
In addition to their entrees, the menu has grab and go options like garden salad, Jamaican beef patties, and soup of the day. They also have fish and chips, chicken wings, wraps, pasta options and burgers. The menu has vegetarian options too. They have fountain drinks, Jamaican soft drinks, coconut or melon lemonade, Red Stripe beer or Heineken.
Take some time out or your day to experience authentic Jamaican Cuisine by visiting Fi Mi Pot Jamaican Restaurant.
Fi Mi Pot Jamaican Restaurant
- Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
- 2837 LaFayette Road, Fort Oglethorpe, GA
- (706) 956-8154
- www.fimipot.net
- $$ - $$$