3 Tampa Bay Area Spots On Yelp’s Top Caribbean Restaurants

If you're in a tropical place like Jamaica, you know part of the thrilling experience is getting a taste of some authentic cuisine. Yelp recently ranked the best Caribbean restaurants in America and three Tampa Bay establishments were named in the top 25.

There are certainly some mainstays that are the first things you think of when you think of Caribbean food. For example, jerk chicken or pineapple-infused "anything." Add a glass of fresh coconut juice, and you have many of the island essentials.

However, in this tropical part of the country, cooking can be an art form. Furthermore, sitting around with friends and family, sharing home-cooked delicious food, is an important part of Caribbean culture.

In America, Caribbean restaurants seem to have become understandably more popular. In fact, it's not unusual to even find Jamaica-inspired food trucks in the metro area. In Tampa, Jamaican On The Go is in business every day around the city.

While there were many Florida establishments on Yelp's list, here are the places to know around here.

The Floribbean in St. Petersburg ranked #22. This is arguably the best restaurant name on the entire list. Yelp highlights their great bowl offerings. Specifically, the Island Umami Bowl is smoked paprika chicken, coconut rice, sweet potato, and miso curry.

The Floribbean is located at 2410 Central Ave in St. Petersburg.

Yah Mon in Tampa ranked #18. Perhaps this is the runner-up for the best-named Caribbean restaurant. This is an elegantly decorated establishment that serves creative and colorful plates. You can score Caribbean patties for $5, five different styles of wings (you can order up to 60), fish, jerk chicken or an Island Platter for $39.

Yah Mon is located at 301 W Platt St Unit C, in Tampa.

K-picu in Clearwater ranked #8. This is the second Florida establishment to be named on the entire Yelp list. That's because Yardie Spice in Homestead is number one overall.

Technically, K-picu goes by a label of "international fusion cuisine." Before you dig into their extensive menu, be aware of their unique hours. They are closed on Monday and Tuesday, and only open for dinner (4 PM) on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Then on Saturday and Sunday they open early at 12 PM.

Yelp highlights how K-picu is well-known for its Skirt Steak, Coconut Rice, Red Snapper, and Caribbean Pigeon Peas Risotto. However, their guava sliders and friend plantain tostada also provide a ton of island flavors.

K-picu is located at 1443 S Belcher Rd in Clearwater.

The Tampa Bay Rays started in Major League Baseball in 1998. Originally called the "Devil Rays," the expansion team opened at home 25 years ago today (March 31, 1998), taking on the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field. Coincidentally, the Rays opened their season yesterday at home, beating the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field. Though the club has had numerous all-star players over the years, the Tampa Bay Rays retired numbers are slim. The group contains only one person who was a player on the team.

Over the years, Tampa has been a breeding ground of great baseball players. Rays legends such as Fred McGriff and Tino Martinez are from Tampa, as is the team's current manager, Kevin Cash.

The retired numbers are displayed inside the park on a wall that is to the left of the center field scoreboard. One of these numbers represents a manager who ended his career as an advisor with the Rays and was a Tampa, FL resident. The other two numbers reflect players, but again, only one of them actually played for the Rays. He too, called Tampa home.

The Rays will sport numerous uniform options this season. They will pay tribute to their anniversary with the throwback Devil Rays look on Friday home games (in addition to opening day). Over the course of the season, they will call up various players from their minor league system. These players, like the current roster and coaching staff, will immediately have three numbers unavailable to them regardless of the colorful uniform combination.

Here are the official Tampa Bay Rays retired numbers.