By Meredith Moore
Staff writer

When we walked into Mo-Bay Grill, its walls painted vibrant yellow with a lime green trim, I half-expected a woman carrying a basket of bananas on her head to seat us. She never came.
Regardless, the space implores its patrons to partake in a truly Jamaican experience.
Several partitions made of varying wood sizes and textures give the feeling of an afternoon by a tiki hut on the beach of Montego Bay. Above almost every table hangs a wooden wind chime. The slats of the rustic green hanging lamps are held precariously together by small dark cord.
It is an intimate setting complete with island music playing quietly over the speakers.
My companion and I dined on a weekday afternoon. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, so we weren't sure what the crowd would be like. Some people were still diving into their pumpkin pancakes for $3.99, but we opted for more substantial fare.
The breakfast menu includes a variety of juices. We both tried the ginger pineapple juice for $2.29. It was a perfect blend of sweet ginger and tart pineapple and a surprising departure from the run-of-the-mill orange juice. Nothing could have been more refreshing on a warm afternoon in Sebastian.
For an appetizer, we both had the pepper pot shrimp soup. Patrons can indulge in a bowl for $3.59 or a cup for $2.99. We also had the option of ordering the soup of the day, which happened to be corn chowder.
The word "pepper" made me a little cautious about the dish's spice factor, but the word may as well have been "yummy." The soup was a mild medley of flavors and I wished I had gotten the bowl.
We also tried the fried plantains, which is another Jamaican staple. Often, I have passed by these smaller, coarser versions of bananas in the produce section at the grocery store, wondering, "Do people actually eat those?" The answer, I found, is "Yes, they do. And they are the luckiest people in town."
After a plantain is cooked, it yields a soft, sweet, hearty meat, which Mo-Bay Grill complements with sour cream for dipping.
In Jamaica, it is customary to eat the delicacy at any meal. The restaurant offers a plate of these for $3.99. Other starters include green herbed, steamed mussels for $7.99.
For an entrée, I ordered the jerk half-chicken. This item is found on the dinner side of the menu and costs $9.99. Juices burst from the meat. The chicken had obviously been marinated in jerk spice for hours before being served.
Accompanying the generous portion of chicken were warm, mashed sweet potatoes and light, house vegetables.
Across the table, I couldn't help but hear my companion exclaim about her grilled grouper sandwich, "Oh, that's good," several times throughout the meal. It was as though she tasted a new flavor with every bite. The fish was marinated and grilled with sautéed onions on top. It came with a sweet onion spread that "adds a lot," she explained.
We decided to skip dessert this day, but the menu offers several options for sweets lovers. There is coconut rice pudding for $3.99 and banana cheesecake for $5.59.
The only thing that would have made this dining experience more authentic would have involved taking a plane ride over to the restaurant. Luckily, we don't have to.