Andral Dawkins, once a crew chief on an Army Chinook helicopter, became an ambassador for Jamaican food at his own restaurant. Image by Tom Adkinson

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t judge a restaurant by its front door. A restaurant named Jamrok near the Army’s Fort Campbell is proof positive of that.

The all-you-can-eat Jamrok Caribbean Buffet is tucked into an unassuming strip mall between a Piggy Wiggly grocery store and a tattoo parlor. It’s barely in Tennessee and about 4 miles from the visitor control gate for Fort Campbell over the state line in Kentucky.

Almost 40 items are on the Jamrok Caribbean Buffet spread, making it easy to construct an authentic Jamaican plate. Image by Tom Adkinson

Fort Campbell plays a major role in the existence of Jamrok because owner Andral Dawkins was still a crew chief on an Army Chinook helicopter when he started hatching the idea for what to do after he ended six years in uniform. That was in 2021.

Jamaican food was Dawkins’ cuisine of choice because he was born in that sun-drenched island nation.

Hostess Fernanda Peña shows off Jamrok’s various protein selections, which include jerk chicken, curry chicken, curry goat and smoked turkey necks. Image by Tom Adkinson

Brooklyn, N.Y., was the destination when Dawkins’ parents moved to the U.S. He recalls helping at a couple of his father’s Jamaican restaurants when he was young, but he didn’t see himself in the restaurant business later in life. He played soccer at Brooklyn College before joining the Army and becoming a naturalized citizen. His service as a Special Forces crew chief took him to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other challenging locations.

“Jerk chicken and (generally) spicy” is about all people know about Jamaican food, Dawkins says. There is much more, and Dawkins enjoys being a culinary guide.

Jamrok’s interior is almost as unassuming as its exterior. There’s a bit on Caribbean decoration, but the food does most of the talking here. Image by Tom Adkinson

“Educating people about Jamaican cuisine is as satisfying as money in my pocket,” Dawkins said with a big smile and perhaps a bit of exaggeration.

He says he loves the occasions when a guest will declare a total lack of knowledge and allow Dawkins to guide the guest through the buffet. He even described coaching guests who spoke no English but willingly followed his guidance.

Of course, his buffet offers jerk chicken, but also curry chicken, curry goat, stew pork, barbecue chicken, smoked turkey necks, sweet potatoes, sauteed cabbage, fried plantains, carrots and much more. There are about 40 items in all.

Three kinds of rice – white, with red kidney beans or with pigeon peas (known as gungo peas in Jamaica) – and flour dumplings are available as bases for traditional Jamaican plates. Dawkins says certain rice styles go best with specific meat selections.

Jamrok occupies a strip mall space between a Piggly Wiggly grocery store and a tattoo parlor. It is near Fort Campbell, where its owner trained in Special Forces. Image by Tom Adkinson

Dawkins laughs when asked why the very non-Jamaican macaroni and cheese is on the buffet. He says it’s there to satisfy some customers’ Southern palates, adding that his mac and cheese is special because, “We cook ours with love.”

In addition to the buffet, Jamrok serves four fish entrees. One is ackee and saltfish, described as Jamaica’s national dish. Ackee is a tropical West African fruit now abundant in the Caribbean, and saltfish are cod. The Guardian newspaper reported that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt often eats ackee and saltfish for breakfast, and singer Harry Belafonte’s “Jamaican Farewell” song mentions the dish.

The other fish choices feature snapper. Herb-roasted snapper is stuffed with greens, peppers and onions; steamed snapper is prepared with vegetables, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers and other seasonings and served with bammy (cassava flatbread); and escovitch snapper is a crispy dish topped with pickled vegetables.

“Jamrok speaks to the diverse food scene in Clarksville, especially our connections to veterans,” said Michelle Dickerson, senior director of marketing and PR for Visit Clarksville.

Other Clarksville restaurants with international roots include Silke Old World Breads (German), welovEmilia (Italian), Pho King (Vietnamese and Japanese) and Momo’s Korean Restaurant.

Jamrok’s name has two sources. One was Jamaican reggae singer Damian Marley’s song “Welcome to Jamrok.” The other is that each letter in “Jamrok” is the first letter in the names of Dawkins’s family.

Trip-planning resources: JamrokCaribbeanBuffet.com and VisitClarksvilleTN.com

(Travel writer Tom Adkinson’s book, 100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die, is available at Amazon.com.