Step into the Hungry Spot on Memorial Boulevard in Murfreesboro and take a mini-vacation to the Caribbean—right in the heart of the ’Boro. Warm steel-drum rhythms greet visitors stepping in the door as island-flavored versions of pop songs (and, naturally, some Bob Marley) play; the even warmer air adds to the feel of a tropical island escape, as the scorching summer sun pours in through the windows.
The restaurant—which has its roots as a food truck, still operating under the Hungry Spot name—now serves the flavors of Jamaica at its brick-and-mortar location. Find oxtails, jerk chicken, beef patty, curry goat, curry chicken, collard greens, yams, fish, fried chicken and more at the local eatery.
Samantha Johnson, serving as hostess-cook-server, lets some guests know that they were out of a couple of dishes momentarily, as she welcomes the first-time customers into the place.
“Out of wings today,” Sam tells the visitors, also notifying them that the fried chicken takes about 20 minutes to cook as she juggles taking orders and kitchen duties.
The daily lunch special that day was the curry chicken, rice and peas, and cabbage.
Everything arrived quickly from the kitchen (other than the fried chicken, expectedly), served piping hot.
The yellow curry chicken—not spicy, but displaying a bold yellow color, presumably from turmeric, containing pieces of bone-in chicken atop the rice and peas—made a solid value and delicious lunch plate at $11.99.
For those looking for oxtails, not the most common dish in the Middle Tennessee region, find them here, well.
“My boyfriend and I ate here today. I ordered the curry goat with rice and peas and mac and cheese. He ordered the escovitch fish. The lady was super sweet. She filled our plates up really well. I would definitely recommend this place for Jamaican food,” Jalon Thomas posted in a review following a meal at Hungry Spot.
The jerk chicken [pictured, top] came coated in a dark red sauce more reminiscent of BBQ sauce than some may expect.
“It honestly tasted like chicken with KC Masterpiece sauce, which didn’t make sense to me,” Cody Sanders said. “Felt more like a BBQ place than Jamaican.”
Although this dish may not have the traditional jerk chicken wood-smoked flavor that some want, it’s still a fantastic chicken dish, more closely related to baked chicken with barbecue sauce, pleasantly spicy, and just hot enough.
The Hungry Spot sides deserve praise in their own right—exhibiting home-cooked, comfort food qualities.
As far as the rice and peas, some in the South may expect black-eyed peas in their rice, Hoppin’ John-style, but “in Jamaica we do red beans in the rice,” Sam says about the Hungry Spot version, which blends rice, kidney beans and just a bit of red-pepper kick.
The buttery cabbage, sweet yams, and tasty, savory greens all delivered robust flavors.
“That’s some seriously good mac and cheese,” one diner commented.
All of the side dishes tasted great.
The fried chicken, for those who opt to wait for it to be deep-fried to order, has a great crisp to it, and is not very salty (a plus for some diners; for others, a lack of flavor).
Fried chicken with two sides runs $15. The chicken used in the fried chicken, jerk chicken and curry is bone-in, but cut into smaller pieces than typical American fried chicken (chopping style, or Chinese style, sliced right through the bones).
“I moved from Miami, Florida, to Tennessee recently,” said another Hungry Spot patron, Diamond, who is still in search of quality Tennessee restaurants. “I ordered the snapper escovitch meal and it did not fail. It brought me back home with the island feel and Caribbean flavors.”
That escovitch—fried fish topped with pickled vegetables—and the oxtails are distinctly Caribbean, as is the beef patty. These beef patties, a classic Jamaican empanada-like creation, but flatter, arrive scalding hot inside, the rich, flaky pastry stuffed with spicy ground beef. Wonderful.
Otherwise, though, the Hungry Spot’s takes on Jamaican cuisine are not too far removed from traditional Tennessee cooking—greens, sweet potatoes, fried chicken, mac and cheese, cabbage and barbecue chicken.
As far as the drawbacks, some feel the portions a bit small for the price.
“Rice was most of the meal,” one customer commented; “the pieces of chicken had more bone then meat,” another stated.
Yet another customer, Tammy, reported the quantity of oxtails in her plate was minimal.
“I had more rice than oxtails. It was not worth the $30 I paid this go-around,” she said.
Others say that they’d like a bit more seasoning on some of the dishes.
But for those on the hunt for tropical island-style cooking, the area doesn’t have a whole lot of options, and the Hungry Spot is a welcome addition to Murfreesboro’s culinary landscape. So for those looking for island vibes and classic Jamaican soul food—curry, rice and peas, greens, escovitch, goat and real-deal patties—this is the spot for a quick Caribbean escape.
“The tastiest vegetables and jerk chicken around!” said Tammy Rohane-Henderson.
Hungry Spot Authentic Jamaican Cuisine
1600 Memorial Blvd.
Tues.–Thurs.: 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Fri.–Sat.: 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.: 12–6 p.m.
615-617‑0723
Jerk chicken with two sides: $17; Beef patty: $4; Lunch special: $11.99; Fried chicken with two sides: $15
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Photos by Sarah Mayo / The Murfreesboro Pulse
