Hearty and affordable Latin lunches in the 757

Here's a tough one.

It's lunch. You're hungry. Money is tight.

Would you rather shoot through the drive-thru, or, for the same price or less, pop on over to Latin America? What about Jamaica, mon?

Pupusas, anyone? How about a jerk chicken patty? Or, for the more adventuresome lunchtime palate, curried goat or cow's feet?

"Ven y deleitate," said Victor Romero, who with his brother, Jorge, runs Jessy's Tienda - Pasteleria - Panaderia - Carniceria -Taqueria y Mas in the Ocean View section of Norfolk. "Come and enjoy."

In the past couple of years, Caribbean and Latin American markets and restaurants have been opening up in strip shopping centers across South Hampton Roads. Every day, places like Jessy's offer fast, hot, filling food that is perfect for a quick weekday lunch and infinitely more interesting than downing yet another burger.

Over at Pupuseria y Restaurante El Gavilan, a Salvadoran and Mexican restaurant on Chesapeake Boulevard in Norfolk, in a dining room humming with Spanish, we feasted on pupusas that were just $2 to $3.50 each.

Pupusas are round, pitalike affairs. But the soft "bread" is made of thick, moist corn flour rounds that are filled with queso (that's cheese), pollo (chicken), queso y chicharron (cheese and pork) or camaron (shrimp). Our favorite was the savory squash pupusa, or pupusa de ayote, that is filled with cheese and zucchini.

The cook here shapes 5-inch corn rounds, grills them to deliver a bit of a charred taste, and then serves them with a tomato-based sauce and a side of cabbage doused in a mouth-watering vinegar studded with chunks of hot green and red peppers. Two made a hearty, hot $5 lunch.

Over in Virginia Beach, on Holland Road, we parked at All Island Grocery for the lunch special: a beef or jerk chicken patty with coco bread and a Jamaican soda for $3.50.

All Island is a clean, well-stocked ethnic market owned by native Jamaicans Lance and Odette Cameron. Odette orders the patties pre-made from New York City and then bakes them every day at the market. The first ones come out of the oven at 9:45 a.m.

"Lots of Americans eat these patties," Odette said. "I think it's a little bit healthier than fast food."

The patties themselves are about the diameter of a quarter-pound burger, but not as bulky. The spicy meat inside is covered by a deep goldenrod-colored crust, about the consistency of pie crust. Sometimes Jamaicans like to put the patty between two slices of "coco" bread, which is a tad sweet and a bit buttery, but with no cocoa taste.

Wash it all down with a D&G soda, made in Jamaica. Flavors include ginger beer, champagne, pineapple, cream soda and orange. Chips aren't included, but the Camerons sell yucca chips seasoned with garlic ($1.75). Particularly popular in the Camerons' native land are "chippies," or salted banana chips, imported from Kingston. There are plenty to share in a $2.59 bag.

On another afternoon, we zipped over to Jessy's in Ocean View, where the Romero family's Mexican tienda and taqueria (that's market and restaurant) has been operating for about four years, according to manager Victor Romero. Two years ago, the family expanded the eatery and market and added a bakery and butcher shop.

The open, from-scratch kitchen is sparkling, and from the counter where we placed our order we saw a tub of freshly cut limes and bowls of steaming lamb soup ready to be taken to a table.

The menu is made up of Romero family recipes, "con el sabor tipico Mexicano," Romero said, which means "with the authentic Mexican flavors." We ordered off the antojitos menu (antojitos means "little whims"), because Romero said those items were the quickest to prepare.

We sidestepped the $2, double-tortilla tacos that come with a choice of steak, chicken, Mexican sausage, beef tongue or pork chunks. Instead, we splurged and spent $2.50 on sopes, somewhat akin to tiny hand-sized pizzas. Here, the cook shapes corn meal into a small piecrust shape and puts savory fillings inside. Jessy's sopes come with a smear of refried beans, onions, lettuce, sour cream, dried heart cheese and Mexican white cheese.

Two would be plenty for lunch. Round it all out with an authentic Mexican "water." Jessy's makes these ice cold waters in the same big stainless steel dispensers that Southern restaurants make iced tea in. Flavors include tamarindo, a sweet/tart tea-colored drink made from the tamarind fruit, and horchata, which Romero describes as rice milk. On other days they might have cantaloupe or pineapple water. The price is $1.50 for 16 ounces and $3 for 32 ounces.

The more adventuresome might want to try Montego, a market and restaurant on Newtown Road in Virginia Beach that specializes in Caribbean, Latin and African food. At the rear of the market, behind a glass counter, an array of hot dishes can be packed to go in an instant.

Daily specials include a chicken dish each day - stewed, curried or jerked - plus other specials like curried goat on Tuesdays and cow's feet on Saturdays.

Portions are generous. The curried chicken special on Tuesday for $4.49 filled an entire Styrofoam to-go container. A bed of yellow rice studded with peas and corn was topped with three pieces of curried chicken, a large chunk of potato, two slices of baked plantain and a heaping spoonful of greens. It was enough for lunch and dinner.

A jaunt across the street puts you in Colombia, where for $6, the El Desorden Restaurante Colombiano crew will fix you up with almuerzos, or lunch specials. On Monday it's seco de Costilla de res, beef ribs with creole sauce, white rice and a salad. For lighter fare, try one of the antojitos. The chorizo con arepa, or Colombian sausage and corn cake, is only $3.50. It's a 6-inch-long link of spicy sausage slashed and then cooked until the outside is crispy. It's served with a white corn cake and a slice of lime, which gives the meat a whole different flavor.

Back in the kitchen, Biludis Brito, a Colombian who has been cooking for 30 years, makes sure it's authentic.

"What we want," said Miguel Rendon, one of the managers, "is, if you go to Colombia, we don't want you to see the difference in the atmosphere or the food."

Lorraine Eaton, (757) 446-2697, lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com