Island Soul

Tonight's date night took us to Island Soul in Columbia City - a spot that's been at the top of our list to try for some time.

As we walked by with our grocery bags loaded up from the market, we ran into my old friend and housemate, Julie, who was sitting outside Island Soul waiting for a group of Yelpers who were having a meet up.



We stashed our groceries in the cooler in the trunk and returned to the restaurant. By then, Julie and her fellow Yelpers were gathering at a big table. So while I snapped photos of our meal, there was a huge table of food reviews in the making, and at least one huge professional camera capturing photos.



We arrived during happy hour, so I opted to try three of their $5 small plates as my meal. I started with a great plate of crispy, sweet potato fries, that came with a subtley spicy aioli.



Next up I enjoyed my favorite item - the Seafood Fritters.



Somehow, Island Soul has created a delicious little fritter that tastes like a hybrid of a crab cake and beer-battered fish - and is better than both. Green onions and chunks of fish encased in a light corn batter, with both a sweet/sour sauce and more of the tangy aioli, and a little slaw on the side.



My last dish were the Sweet Plantains.



These were bias sliced soft plantains, cooked with a sugary, caramelized sauce - much more dessert than an appetizer, and very sweet.



While I was gorging on three small plates of fried goodness, Dan was gobbling up the best chicken curry either of us have ever tasted.



We were curious what the difference between other curries and Island Soul's 'West Indian Chicken Curry' might be. The answer appears to be perfection. This was hands down the best curry either of us have tasted. They aren't shy about using spice - giving the tender pieces of chicken plenty of flavor and a little kick. I'm sorry we hadn't stopped into Island Soul before now, but am eager to try more of the menu.

It's also worth noting that despite the huge group of foodies being catered to by the owner and staff, we never felt neglected by our friendly waiter, and the owner even took the time to check in with us.