Tropical Delight
200-28 Hollis Ave., Hollis

Cuisine: Caribbean

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to midnight, Sunday to Thursday; 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 6 p.m. to midnight, Saturday

Telephone: 217-8711

As cold weather sets in, certain kinds of food just don’t cut it.

Forget about sushi—not warm enough.

Forget about Chinese or Thai—that stuff’s too light.

Ditto for Italian dishes, especially from the northern part of the country.

What people need when the cold arctic winds start to blow into Southeast Queens is something a little heartier, something that fills the body with a solid, sedative warmth.

For the vacation-deprived, something that evokes warmer climates doesn’t hurt either.

Tropical Delight, a Jamaican restaurant on Hollis Avenue at 200th Street, fits our requirements for this first really cold week of the winter season nicely.

The atmosphere at Tropical Delight isn’t particularly Jamaican in nature, except for a few details.  A green neon sign in the window greets visitors warmly and inspires thoughts of the tree-covered hills of that island nation.  A table holds stacks of Jamaican newspapers and community flyers, mostly about the importance of God and religion.

There’s also a small flag here and there, along with some posters of the country that make the restaurant look a little like a tourism office (“Mmm… Jamaican Me Hungry,” one poster featuring a bigger-than-life beef patty reads).

The bright corner restaurant, founded two years ago and the only business open late on an otherwise quiet, dimly lit street, follows the tradition of many Caribbean eateries by including a bakery section.  There are various breads and muffins available, like patty and cocoa bread ($1.75 for a piece), as well as various cakes.  The lemon cake, at $1 a slice, is very popular, as is the carrot cake, at $2.

Tropical Delight, like many Caribbean restaurants, has a full range of natural homemade juices available.  The most popular, according to the manager, is the carrot juice ($2-4).  The root drink sorrel is also available, as are “Peanut Punch” and Irish Moss ($3 or $5).

One especially nice drink at Tropical Delight is the 100 percent-pure coconut water ($3).  Bottled and labeled in Jamaica, this tropical nectar is something that just has to be had to be understood.  It tastes more pure and neutral than even the freshest tap or bottled water, both of which can have a mineral-like, sometimes even carbonated taste to them because of their additives.  The coconut water, having almost no exposure to light or even air as it distills inside its protective coconut shell, is a paradox in that it tastes so great, and has almost no taste at all.

But back to why we came here.  The food at Tropical Delight, is characterized as being some of the most hearty, filling Jamaican food you’ll find anywhere.

The most popular dishes at the restaurant are the chicken dishes, whether prepared as a soup, curried, roasted or fried.  The Honey BBQ Chicken ($4, $6 or $8) has a slightly smoky taste, with a subtle touch of sweetness that comes out once in a while.  The jerk chicken (same price) is similar but without the sweetness, more smoky and rather spicy.

Both chicken dishes are very soft and filling.  They both come with a generous helping of plantains, cut very thick.

The rice and peas served with the dishes are also very hearty and have a spicy, smoky taste to them.  The “peas” here are actually kidney beans, and the rice, in thick, puffy grains, is smothered in a kidney bean paste.

This is what people mean when they say “comfort food.”

Also popular at the restaurant are the curry chicken, stewed chicken and oxtail.  A mixed vegetable dish, not always popular, is also picking up.  For seafood lovers, king fish ($8) or a red snapper ($10 or $12) are very popular at Tropical Delight.

The restaurant is busiest on Sunday afternoons, with big after-church crowds.  But with the mercury dropping and the restaurant’s late hours, Tropical Delight is a great place to go any time a good warm meal is in order.