Before Pam Jacob arrived in the Pacific Northwest, she owned and operated a food stand in her native Trinidad, where she blended the island’s influence of Caribbean and Indian cuisines into her cooking. Now, at her eponymous restaurant Pam’s Kitchen — her brick and mortar spot in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood — she’s flexing those same muscles with dishes like jerk pork ribs, spicy string beans, and goat curry, the latter featuring chopped habaneros for an extra kick.
Jacobs now acts as an ambassador for Trinidadian cuisine. “Being from Trinidad, nobody knew this food,” she says of those who’d stop outside during restaurant’s early days. “They would look at the sign and walk away.” Now, Pam’s Kitchen’s serving full-flavored plates to a growing Caribbean community: “I believe this food, eventually, will do its thing.”
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