In their hit song Kokomo, the Beach Boys sang, “Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya…” I found myself thinking of that refrain following a visit to the Jamaica Tropical Restaurant, where you can taste the unusual fare and atmosphere of Jamaica without traveling 475 miles.

Inside the small dining area, which seats 24, there is a TV set and posters of Jamaican life. However, my dining companion and I opted to take out.

No hand-out menu exists. Instead, chalkboards posted next to the door and above the entrance to the dining area list what’s available. As anyone familiar with Jamaican cuisine knows, it rates many adjectives but “mundane” isn’t one of them. Even the drinks are, well, exotic.

Take the Agony ($3) — yes, Agony — subtitled Peanut Punch Plus, which more accurately describes its taste. This concoction includes cashews, Irish moss, peanuts, bananas, milk, sugar and unspecified “roots and spices.” It’s so thick it doesn’t pour; it jiggles. (Adding milk or water creates more of a liquid, though, as a purist, I drank it straight.)

Another libation, the Apple Ginseng UP ($1), features a tasty combination of carbonated apple juice and ginseng tea.

The most unusual drink of all, Mount Teman Roots ($3.50), proved dark and strong, tasting like a semi-sweet Guinness Stout beer, but without the alcohol. Some ingredients sound like something straight out of a witches’ sabbath: chaney root, strong back, blood wisp, raw moon, proani and manback.

For those who don’t want something quite that exotic, Jamaica Tropical also offers Pepsi (65 cents), Ritz sodas (50 cents) and other non-island drinks.

The fare here is equally exotic sounding: jerk chicken, curry goat, oxtail, escovich fish (this version features fried fish with a very spicy sauce of onion, pepper, vinegar and thyme), cow’s foot and tripe, as well as beef ribs, meat loaf, barbecue chicken and stew peas.

Most dishes cost $4 for the small portion, $6 for the large (escovich fish is $8, available in large only). All are served with rice and peas (mixed together), a choice of salad or vegetable. However, when I ordered, I didn’t know salad — lettuce, tomatoes, Cheddar cheese — was an option. I found out after hearing someone ask another customer what kind of salad dressing he preferred.

Jamaica Tropical serves take-out food in three-compartment foam containers, with the entree ladled over the moist rice and peas (actually, red kidney beans). The vegetable nestles in a separate compartment (in our case, tasty steamed cabbage with julienned carrots and black pepper; other possibilities include broccoli or collard greens). A plastic fork wrapped in two napkins is supplied for each diner.

My guest, whose favorite dish is oxtail, selected a large order ($6). To the uninitiated, this entree may sound unappetizing; it’s anything but. The meat, despite its many large and small bones, proved moist and tender. And the rich, dark gravy, made from the tail’s own juices, complemented the rice wonderfully.

The curried goat (small, $4; large, $6), a longtime favorite of mine, featured moist, tender morsels in a slightly piquant curry sauce that accented the rice.

For dessert, carrot cake ($2) is always available. Wrapped in tinfoil for take-out, this moist (that word again) two-layer cake contained many raisins. It also was covered with semi-sweet frosting that had orange-and-green icing carrots and walnuts on top. Chocolate cake and cheesecake ($1.50 each) are other possibilities.

Within two weeks, owner Tony Hyde will open another establishment of the same name at 5075 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Another taste of Jamaica happily close to home.

JAMAICA TROPICAL RESTAURANT

430 Northwood Road

West Palm Beach

(407) 835-0841

Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Sunday.

Prices: entrees, $4 to $8.

Child’s menu prices: none.

Reservations: not accepted.

Atmosphere: very casual, non-smoking section.

Credit cards: none.

Wheelchair access: available.

Liquor: none.

Child seating: none.

—- A Bite Out is a regular column of the Sun-Sentinel devoted to helping readers find inexpensive local restaurants. J.D. Vivian makes every effort to remain anonymous, and all the reviewer’s meals are paid for by the Sun- Sentinel.