Gorgeous Gorilla

I wish I could add stars to this gem of a restaurant. It was truly love at first bite, the jerk chicken was seasoned and grilled to perfection– just melted in my mouth. My friend and I stumbled upon this place at Oakland’s First Friday event. She had a Garlic shrimp skewer and we shared the impeccable oxtail soup. Every bite was exceptional in flavor and purely delightful to the palette. The staff was friendly, charismatic and helpful. My entire experience was pleasant, from my understanding they will continue to frequent First Friday and I fully intend to frequent them! if you have had an opportunity– check out this spot I highly recommend it!

I can’t believe no one has written about this little food stand!
My fiancé and I paid a visit to the vet this Saturday and were heading to Costco. We saw that a small Farmer’s Market was going on in the Bishop Ranch complex #3 (adjacent to GE Software’s lot). Since we needed vegetables that Costco probably wouldn’t have (or have in the mega Duggar family pack), we decided to make a quick detour into this small farmer’s market.
Man, are we glad we did. I mean this FM is much, much smaller than the one we went to in Pleasanton. But at the end of the rows of vegetable and other stalls was this delicious aroma of grilled food. Since we hadn’t eaten lunch and Costco food was NOT a healthy option, we decided to take a peek at Gorgeous Gorilla.
While I don’t want to make a definitive statement about the ethnic origin of the food, my guess is either Jamaican or (generically) Caribbean. They had Jerk chicken, Oxtail, shrimp, and grilled salmon. Also they serve their plate meals with red beans and rice. Oh snap, I love red beans and rice! And best of all: fried plantains. They also serve it with a small side of a fruit salad which is heavy on the mangos. Nice. We also ordered a positively awesome strawberry fruit drink which we know used fresh strawberries from a vendor down the row of veggie stands. We saw him deliver two boxes of strawberries while we ate lunch.
We shared a jerk chicken plate and that was enough for us because we didn’t want to fill up too much before shopping. The flavors were AMAZING on every part of the meal, esp the chicken. while I’ve had much spicier jerk chicken in the past, this one was one I’d consider a very mild jerk flavor. Maybe if I ask for what the locals would eat would they turn it up a notch.
They let me know that they are there every Thursday in the same lot, so I’m going to make another trip next week as this Thursday I won’t be in the area. But for now, here’s some pics to whet your appetite!