Tropical Bites — Restaurant in Virginia

The food is pretty good, that's why I've returned several times. I reside in MD, thus this trip would be about 1 1/2 hrs of travel time for me, so instead, whenever I'm in the area, I make a conscious effort to stop in........ I have passed up dozens of eateries, to do my part in supporting blk owned & operated businesses. This being one of them. I also really like the fact that there's multiple entries to choose from, and I can indulge in, little bites of all my favorite foods.

HOWEVER, the reason I rated it a TWO............ I visited this establishment approximately five times, within a few weeks. Not once has anyone took the time to greet me. So I thought it was a very nice touch, as one of the owners was exiting, he took the time to acknowledge his "customer", being a fairly new restaurant & all.......... the key is, YES, leave an unforgettable & great impression. That's how it's done, that's entrepreneurship @ it's best.

The disappointing fact, is that he ONLY greeted a Caucasian couple, sitting actually two seats from me. I made eye contact, and continued to do so, giving him that hint ! Which he refused to acknowledge. That just sends a totally AWFUL message, that he would overlook someone that looks like him, and go out of his way to make conversation with only ONE party. There was only the two of us dining in, so it would have taken....... what 2.1 seconds to have small-talk with both, rather than just curtail for one. This I felt was reverse racism. So let me take this opportunity to educate......... THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A PRIVILEGE RACE !!!!! As The Word Says, We Are All Made In HIS Image....... Now if you're brainwashed, you'll buy into it. The thing is, we all must make a concerted effort to perform with excellence. In doing so, you should then treat "all" others with dignity & respect. So let's raise our standards, don't discriminate and/ or take advantage of those that look like you. EMANCIPATE YOURSELF FROM MENTAL SLAVERY............. especially as a business owner, because when you feed your family, all the $'s look the same, and green all spend just the same also......... it's all of OUR contributions that will make a business flourish !

This experience was SOOOOOOOOO disheartening, as a social worker, my travels has taken me all over to various locations, unfortunately I get to view continuously how gullible we can be & see it all too often. LETS STOP the nonsense. The mind is powerful, so RETRAIN your brain daily...... one, in loving self & the image you see in the mirror , you'll then have no problem, no issues, no circumstances in which we'll have missing opportunities to saluting & honor those with the same skin color. Raise your self esteem + self worth, then we can therefore not ever look over one another so flagrantly.

Lastly, try this on for size....... how about empowering, supporting, honing each other. As it's very obvious & covertly illustrated each & every day what one of us may face @ any given time. So where should we go....... if not to give back to our community; while feeling comfortable and at ease, then where ????? DO BETTER !!!!!!

NOW, have a sensational day, on purpose.......

Tropical bites is fantastic. My wife and I both loved the food. We went in on a Saturday evening and greeted warmly by the owner and his staff. They gave us a full run down of the food, beverages, and a little about the artwork they had on the walls. It's self serve buffet style so I settled on the mac and cheese, red beans and rice, cabbage, green beans, along with one leg of the jerk chicken and two thighs of the curry chicken. Needless to say I had enough for two meals. Everything was seasoned great, chicken was tender, rice along with the chicken juice was great reminded me of a old Jamaican spot I would frequent in DC. The cabbage and beans hit the spot also. My wife had the stewed chicken, red beans and rice, curry shrimp, with the chick peas and potatoes. She is a tough critic of food but loved the food here, agreed on the red beans and rice being taste also she loved the stewed chicken. Another standout to her was the rum cake, she regretted not getting two pieces to have one for later. I had the red velvet, which was okay, but her rum cake was better I will get that next time. I will defiantly be returning, I look at it as a treat. I know some reviewers say it is pricey which is true but I look at it like any other restaurant that offers food alternative to american traditions it's going to be a little pricey especially in today climate. If I go to Indian, Thai, etc which I also like those are usually around the same price so I have no complaints about the price. It's authentic food that isn't made in a factory like fast food places. So we loved it and will...

We ordered a large order for Fathers Day.

The packaging of the food could have been done a bit better ended up getting curry from the chicken all over my car.. a simple plastic wrap around the container or bag would have prevented this from happening!

The food quality was a bit of an issue... I have made and had plantains many times but these seemed like they had turned they had a sour taste and were mushy and not cooked well at all. The rasta pasta was inedible it tasted like a sweet honey and we just threw it out.. was not at all what I was expecting! The Stewed chicken was good but not what we are accustomed to calling stewed chicken .. The curry chicken was good but all thighs which it did not clarify when ordering lots of Fat on the chicken.

The roti was probably the best part of what we ordered but they are pricey...

The worst part of the meal was the jerk wings which had a very bitter off taste to them and the curry potato and channa (Which was very watery.) The rice and beans were just rice and red beans and lacked all flavor... the spinach was also not very flavorful

Overall I would not ever order here again! It was not good and for the $400 I spent... we ended up having to throw out quite a lot of food. The quality of the food was NOTHING like I expected ... much of the food tasted like it was turned or close to spoiled. I was very...