CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Stepping in to Cocoa's Jamaican Jerk is like stepping into Paula Brown's home -- bringing customers the closest to the Caribbean possible without booking a plane ticket.

• Cocoa's Jamaican Jerk is located in north Charlotte on Old Sugar Creek Road.
• Paula Brown and her husband keep the kitchen like they are cooking at home, using stoves instead of deep fryers.
• The restaurant's speciality is Cocoa's Escovitch snapper, an entire red snapper served whole, smothered down with the peppers and onions and Jamaican spices.

When the couple moved the restaurant to Charlotte last year, they found the city has a big appetite, for true authentic Jamaican food. 

The kitchen is even is set up like the Browns would at home.

“We don’t have the deep fryers and all that stuff. We have stoves and everything we do, we do as if we were at home,” said Brown.

What sets Cocoa's apart form other Caribbean-style restaurants is its commitment to staying true to the food -- to the point Cocoa's keeps an outdoor smoker running every day, filled with slow cooked chicken on pimento wood, just like it would be on the island.

The specialty is Cocoa's Escovitch snapper, an entire red snapper served whole, smothered down with the peppers and onions and Jamaican spices. It’s laid down on a bed of rice, greens and enough sides to be an entire meal on its own. They also have homemade mac and cheese, potato salad and homemade collards with smoked turkey – just to name a few.

“Everything we do here is as if we're cooking for Thanksgiving or Easter, every day,” said Brown.

“I want them to feel like they're sitting on the beach. [The] same flavor, the same kind of food as if they were back home in Jamaica." [And if] you’ve never been to Jamaica? Then come here to Cocoa’s, because that’s what you’ll get here."

Have a favorite restaurant you want us to try next? Send us your favorite places to eat in town by emailing us at menuhopping@charter.com.