For years, we had sped passed the Mo-Bay Grill, set back in a shopping plaza on US1 just south of the Sebastian River hospital, occasionally remarking: “That place is supposed to be pretty good. We should try it sometime.”
But sometime never came. Then on New Year’s Eve, Chef Wesley Campbell relocated his Jamaican eatery to a Sebastian riverfront site much closer to Vero.
With no longer the excuse that it was a bit far for an evening excursion, we tried the new Mo-Bay Grill one night a couple of weeks ago – and couldn’t believe we had been missing out on Campbell’s Jamaican-fusion cooking all these years. What were we thinking?
The new Mo-Bay, considerably larger than the old, is located next to Earl’s Hideaway in the building that formerly housed the Sebastian Chill & Grill. When we arrived at 7:30 on a weeknight, the restaurant was crowded (Campbell clearly has a following) and we were shown to the last available booth in the dining room.
A very helpful server suggested that for starters, we might want to try a cup of the “she-crab” soup. We found that a bit curious, since we tend to associate this soup more with South Carolina than with Jamaica. But as we subsequently learned, while Campbell was born and got his culinary start in the Montego Bay area, he later worked in several of the better kitchens in the Washington, DC, area including Georgia Brown’s, a low-country restaurant that just happens to feature Charleston she-crab soup.
In any event, Campbell’s rendition of this soup, much like a bisque with chunks of blue crabmeat, was excellent. On a subsequent visit, however, he proved he is equally adept at making shrimp pepper pot soup – a long-simmered Jamaican classic, which we found relatively mild but offering a complex variety of flavors.
For entrées on this initial visit, I ordered the jerk half chicken ($14.99) and my husband went with the Mo-Bay’s featured dish, pecan brown butter grouper ($24.99). My chicken was marinated in jerk spice, then baked to a golden brown and served with mashed sweet potatoes and house vegetables. The chicken was very nicely seasoned.
My husband’s grouper, however, was sensational: a perfectly seared filet topped with a luscious pecan brown butter sauce, and served with spinach mashed potatoes.
We concluded this initial visit with a slice of the Mo-Bay’s cheesecake ($7) topped with a hot caramelized banana rum sauce. My husband – not much of a banana enthusiast – said the dessert was “to die for.”
On a subsequent visit a couple of weeks later, I decided to try the Mo-Bay style seafood paella ($22), my husband opted for the jerk style mahi mahi ($18.99), and our companion ordered the Maryland jumbo crab cake ($16.99).
The paella was a casserole of grouper, shrimp, mussels and Andouille sausage tossed in red beans and rice. The dish was very tasty with the seafood enlivened by the spicy sausage. The mahi mahi filet had a nice jerk taste, though it was just a speck dry. Our companion’s large, perfectly seasoned crab cake stacked up well with the best we have found at fine-dining restaurants in this area.
We accompanied our meals on both occasions with a moderately priced wine, but other options include the Jamaican Red Stripe beer and tropical iced tea, a refreshing beverage with hints of mango, passion fruit, and guava, available both sweetened and unsweetened.
On both visits, as we were dining, Chef Campbell – who does all the cooking here – kept popping out of the kitchen to visit with guests.
While there are enough classic Jamaican dishes on the menu to satisfy any craving for this unique island cuisine (we decided to pass on the curried goat), there also are plenty of options for those who don’t fancy the hot jerk taste. The menu is as much a melting pot as it is Jamaican.
Dinner for two at the Mo-Bay Grill, depending on what you drink, will run $60 to $80 not including tax or tip.
With the Mo-Bay now more convenient for most North County residents and much closer to those who live in Vero, give it a try. You, too, may be sorry you did not discover this restaurant sooner.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
