Nothing like the rainy season to make you want to leave the city.

To go somewhere off the beaten path.

A place oozing with fresh island fare.

You know, like Oakland...

Give a warm “Hey, mon” to Miss Ollie’s, a soul-food-obsessed Caribbean joint from a Barbados native, now open in Old Oakland.

If the restaurant version of Tom Cruise’s Jamaican bar in Cocktail moved to the Bay Area, it’d look something like this: a friendly, window-filled spot modeled after traditional one-stop shops in the Caribbean. (Elisabeth Shue sadly not included.)

Your host: Sarah Kirnon, a Barbados native (and Front Porch/Hibiscus vet). She’s named the whole place after her grandmother, who taught her how to cook. Meaning you can thank Miss Ollie for the various daily lunch plates, like fried chicken on Tuesdays, curry goat on Wednesdays and oxtail on Thursdays.

Order by the zinc-topped bar overlooking two barn-wood-framed mirrors. Then grab a seat at a communal table, where you can keep an eye on Washington Street’s goings-on. For now, the place is lunch only, but next month they’re launching dinner and serving drinks like sorrel rum punch.

Flipping bottles Tom Cruise–style is frowned upon.