VARIETY IS SPICE OF EATING CARIBBEAN

Caribbean cooking falls into three categories, depending on which country colonized the island in which it is found.

Cuban food remains closely tied to its Spanish origins, relying on spices like saffron and garlic. Every Cuban restaurant serves roast pork (perhaps a bit spicier than the Old World versions) and paella . The English-speaking islands like Jamaica feature an entirely different cuisine. From the English they got codfish dishes, a legacy of early trading days when ships that came to get rum and bananas arrived with holds filled with dried cod. Islanders developed a taste for the cold-water fish, which has remained a staple. On the French Caribbean islands the food is, not surprisingly, similar to Creole cooking. Unfortunately we don’t have any French Caribbean restaurants in Los Angeles. In fact, our Caribbean restaurants don’t seem to be doing too well: A Trinidadian and Puerto Rican restaurant have recently closed.

The Cuban restaurants, however, are doing just fine. El Colmao is the best of them. Its decor is Cuban Baroque: strong on red- and gold-flocked wallpaper and veined mirrors. And while the menu in all three Cuban restaurants is essentially the same, the food at El Colmao is consistently delicious and prepared with care. In a dozen visits, I’ve never had a bad meal.

Paella is the most expensive dish on the menu, but at $12.50 it is a bargain. Since it takes half an hour to prepare, it’s wise to order it by phone before you go to the restaurant. More than enough for one person, the dish has chunks of chicken and fish, large shrimp, lobster and clams ladled onto a bed of saffron rice. Just to draw up the aromatic steam is a heady experience. This is a paella sure to suit anyone who likes seafood--and worth the effort of calling ahead.

One of the best dishes on the menu is Jerez chicken, named for the Spanish city that gave its name to sherry. Two incredibly meaty, golden chicken breasts are smothered in an assertive sherry, onion and olive sauce. This is perhaps the best restaurant-prepared chicken dish I have ever eaten.

The ropa vieja is also excellent. The shredded beef, tomatoes, green pepper and onions are all individual entities here, deliciously mixed into a tasty dish. Masas de puerco fritas (chunks of seasoned, fried pork) is a special that turns up reguarly on the menu and is a kissing cousin to Mexican carnitas. Moros y cristianos (Moors and Christians) is the colorful name Cubans give to rice and black beans. Although they arrive at the table separately, the beans should be spooned onto the rice. The best salad to round out a Cuban meal is a simple plate of avocado and onion. Diners add their own oil and vinegar.

El Colmao has a long counter that singles and couples might find preferable to putting up with a long wait at peak hours--and also preferable to the dreary second room. The action--whole families in spiffy clothes, a jukebox stacked with top Latin hits and the owner who looks like Sidney Greenstreet--is in the main room.

El Colmao, 2328 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 386-6131. Dinner for two (food only), $15-$25.

Versailles feels like the most American of restaurants: the roadhouse, with parking in front, a long counter and neon beer signs everywhere. It is warm and welcoming. And while the dishes all have Spanish names, the barbecued chicken and roast pork would probably play in Peoria.

The room is filled with tables for four; bigger groups would be unwieldy here. On weekend nights, the restaurant is packed and there is little room for standees. It’s sort of a Cuban-style Apple Pan with table. (It is not related to the well-known Cuban restaurant by the same name on Miami’s Calle Ocho.)

The entrees are mainly pork, beef and seafood. The paella and zarzuela need to be ordered ahead of time or you’ll face an ungainly wait and the standees will glare. Ropa vieja is not as finely done as at El Colmao but tasty enough to order again and again. Beware of killer pieces of tiny japones chilies that need picking out.

The three pork dishes are lechon asado (shredded and spicy), masas de puerco fritas (deep-fried chunks) and pierna asada (thin slices of roast pork sauteed in lemon and garlic; tasty but much too dry). The pork chunks are the most successful of the three, which are all served with incredibly sweet and juicy fried bananas slices, rice and black-bean soup. Round out a complete Cuban meal with an avocado-and-onion salad and a fruit smoothie: mango, banana, coconut or papaya.

Versailles, 10319 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista, (213) 558-3168. Dinner for two (food only), $15-$20.

Rincon Criollo is a small coffee shop with only eight tables and a large cold case. Less English is spoken here than at the other Cuban restaurants; just finding out if they have half the things on the menu is difficult. I suspect that when the waitress couldn’t explain a dish with her limited English, she simply said it was unavailable ( unavailable is my word; her’s was no have ).

Although the menu is practically the same, dish for dish, as Versailles and El Colmao, this restaurant shows the least care in preparation of the three places. Portions are smaller, meat is fattier, dishes saltier. Avocado salad comes on a ridiculously tiny saucer. Masas de puercos fritas were dry and salty. Roast pork is simply that: plain slices of pork. Most dishes come with rice, fried plantains and black beans soup. The fish dishes (there were several red snapper specials on the board) seemed to permeate this poorly ventilated restaurant.

El Rincon Criollo, 4361 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, (213) 397-9295. Dinner for two (food only), $15-$20.

Kitty’s Jamaican Food is a clean, airy storefront in the restaurant row area of Pico Boulevard, west of Westwood Boulevard. The room is dominated by a huge, unwieldy bar and some Air Jamaica posters. Reggae music plays softly in the background. The entire menu is on chalkboard on the wall.

The food here is honest, homey and strong on stews. The beef short ribs are flavorful and extremely tender. They are stewed and served with finger-shaped dumplings, taking on an almost Eastern European character. Curry goat was not quite as successful; it tasted more like an inexpensive cut of beef than that gamier animal. Other entrees include kingfish, codfish and cabbage, oxtail and beans and curry chicken. All dinners come with an American style lettuce-and-red-cabbage salad or a delightful homemade soup, a thin puree lightly laced with curry. Food is served family style with a big bowl of rice and peas (actually red beans) and a plate of fried plantains.

Jamaican drinks include sorrel (a very sweet red drink made from hibiscus flowers--it’s popular in Mexico, too, where it’s called “jamaica”) and ginger beer. This homemade ginger beer sneaks up on you. We were cautioned not to use a straw. The first taste is intense, pure ginger, but it quickly sears into the tongue. A straw would have been brutal.

Kitty’s Jamaican Restaurant, 10924 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles, (213) 470-1255. Dinner for two (food only), $20.

JAnet’s Original Jerk Chicken Pit is as much a takeout place as a restaurant. There are only 10 small tables, but they are a well-known secret among USC people. JAnet and crew are friendly, down-to-earth people and it is easy to see why they do a strong repeat business.

The menu is short and limited to charbroiled entrees and side dishes: no curries, no oxtails. Chicken, fish (whole whitings), pork and ribs are smothered in “jerk” seasonings. (JAnet plays very close-to-the-chest on exactly what “jerk” seasonings are but they include the powerful Scotch bonnet pepper that Jamaicans love.)

I think the restaurant should be renamed JAnet’s Original Jerk Pork Pit because the pork was by far the best offering on the menu. The pork chunks stood up perfectly to the strong jerk spices and even though the meat was well-cooked, it was not the least bit dry. Side dishes include rice and beans (mainly rice with some red beans), fried plantains and “jerk fried jigglets” (chicken skins).

The festival bread, which comes with the combination dinners, looks like a miniature baguette of French bread; it is actually a delightfully sweet, doughy roll. The ginger beer here packs a lot less punch than Kitty’s. More the strength of American sodas, it is still a fresh, clean taste that makes you wonder if all sodas tasted better in their early days. You can certainly drink it with a straw.

JAnet’s Original Jerk Chicken Pit, 1541 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 296-4621. Dinner for two (food only), $10-$15.