Photos By Joy Grant
Oxtails For Breakfast
Exploring the fusion of Jamaican and Costa Rican flavors at Black and White Restaurant
One main road wraps along Puerto Viejo’s waterfront, lined with colorful shops and restaurants set against the backdrop of the beach. Among the many options for breakfast, there was one that stood out. Outside the restaurant, Nina and I were greeted by a sign that listed oxtails among the specials, paired with the sight of a child eagerly drinking a thick mango smoothie out of a mason jar. This scene created the perfect snapshot of how we wanted to spend our first morning in town.
Black and white is an open-air restaurant that mixes the modern and traditional Caribbean aesthetic. We ate there twice during our stay and both of my meals had the same key ingredient: oxtails. My first visit allowed me to order gallo pinto, a dish that I had never heard of before, with oxtails. Gallo pinto is a Costa Rican rice and beans dish that is traditionally served at breakfast alongside eggs, natilla (sour cream), plantain, and a protein. Adding oxtails as a protein option to accompany the gallo pinto sets this restaurant and the province of Limon apart, pointing to the region’s Jamaican influences. Being in the Caribbean, I wasn’t skeptical of ordering the oxtails, but the first bite still caught me off guard. The meat was tender, perfectly seasoned, and fell off the bone. What I wasn’t sold on was the egg and oxtail combo. So when I tasted how the thick oxtail sauce perfectly soaked into the rice and the fried medium eggs I was surprisingly swayed.
Jason Haus-Louis outside of his restaurant Lewis’s House
While the food at Black and White is great, that’s not the only thing that makes it stand out; it’s a restaurant with deep roots in Puerto Viejo’s evolving culinary scene. After biting into a roll that transported me to eating my great aunt’s famous rolls at Thanksgiving, I immediately knew that I couldn’t leave without speaking with the owner. “Cooking is in my blood,” Jason Haus-Lewis told me during our conversation. Black and White is one of three restaurants that Jason leads. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rest of the country shut down while beach towns like Puerto Viejo subsequently experienced a tourism boom.
Seeing this business opportunity, Jason came home from San Jose, the nation’s capital, and started with his brother’s restaurant, Joe’s Caribbean Food. Since then, he has expanded his business to include two more restaurants, Louis’s House (a vegan and gluten-free eatery) and Black and White (the most upscale of the three). When I asked how he learned to cook, with a nostalgic smile he said, “I grew up in a house where my father did the cooking, he taught me and my brothers.”
While the food at Black and White is great, that’s not the only thing that makes it stand out; it’s a restaurant with deep roots in Puerto Viejo’s evolving culinary scene. After biting into a roll that transported me to eating my great aunt’s famous rolls at Thanksgiving, I immediately knew that I couldn’t leave without speaking with the owner. “Cooking is in my blood,” Jason Haus-Lewis told me during our conversation. Black and White is one of three restaurants that Jason leads. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rest of the country shut down while beach towns like Puerto Viejo subsequently experienced a tourism boom.
Seeing this business opportunity, Jason came home from San Jose, the nation’s capital, and started with his brother’s restaurant, Joe’s Caribbean Food. Since then, he has expanded his business to include two more restaurants, Louis’s House (a vegan and gluten-free eatery) and Black and White (the most upscale of the three). When I asked how he learned to cook, with a nostalgic smile he said, “I grew up in a house where my father did the cooking, he taught me and my brothers.”
Jason took that natural passion and turned it into magic, attending university in San Jose to study culinary arts. With a Jamaican father and a Costa Rican Mother, Jason has crafted the menu at Black and White to perfectly reflect the cultural fusion that is Puerto Viejo. It features specials like red snapper, banana pancakes, prime rib, and ceviche alongside fresh pressed juices and smoothies. Each dish blends the techniques from Jamaican and Costa Rican cooking.
The oxtails for example are a Jamaican staple but where Limon’s influence shines through is the Costa Rican Caribbean sauce they’re served in. One of my other favorite menu items was the passion fruit dressing used on the salad served with the oxtails meal. It offered the perfect level of sweetness to anchor the rest of the savory meal. The passion fruit used in the dressing, like many of the restaurant’s ingredients, is sourced from local vendors. Jason says his motivation for sourcing local foods is to both benefit the community and ensure that he always has the freshest ingredients. The dressing: a mixture of locally grown cinnamon, passion fruit, and sugar is the personification of this collaboration between Jason, local farmers, vendors, and the land.
Speaking with Jason, it was clear to see how much he loves his hometown. Jason boasts that his food is universal proudly saying, “Like Puerto Viejo, my food is for everyone.” And I couldn’t agree more, these meals made me feel at home while also giving me the chance to explore something new. If you find yourself in Puerto Viejo, I strongly suggest that you visit Black and White early in your trip—you’ll definitely want time to go back for seconds!