Jerk!

The other day I went to get some lunch at a place I've wanted to try for a while. It's a Jamaican restaurant near where I live called Jamaica Irie. A small place tucked away in a strip mall, with Bob Marley posters all over the walls and Reggae pumping over the sound system. I tried to order the Ackee and Saltfish, but the guy said he has trouble getting ackee in anymore. Darn. It would have been fun to try a completely new food. Oh well. So I decided on the Jerk chicken.

I soon got over my ackee disappointment when I saw my lunch. A large portion of chicken, mostly the thigh and leg, bone-in, with a dark, fragrant coating on it, a huge pile of beans and rice, a little salad with some spicy looking dressing on it and a few slices of fried plantain.




The chicken was sooooo good. A good amount of heat with a bit of cinnamon flavor, and very moist (yay for skin-on bone-in cooking!!). The rice was flavorful as well. I thought there could be more beans, but that's probably just because I love beans way too much. The salad had good flavor, but I'm not a fan of iceberg lettuce. Still, it was a nice cool crunch contrast to the chicken. The fried plantains were sweet...a good accompaniment to the savory spicy chicken and rice. It was a comforting meal, yet still unique and new (to me). I'll definitely be visiting again. I'm excited to try the goat curry and the oxtail stew! Meanwhile, here's a good Jamaican recipe site with photos.