Jerk isn’t an insult the West Indies but a type of Jamaican seasoning that traditionally was rubbed into meat for curing. In bygone days, the heat of the Caribbean meant long term meat storage was a dicey proposition at best. Meats (traditionally pork or chicken) would be cured, smoked and then dried using a paste (or dry rub, or both) creating what we call “Jerky.” This fragrant and spicy concoction has basically three main stars with a larger supporting cast. The headliners are scallions, scotch bonnet peppers and allspice. Rounding out the paste is garlic, thyme, some sort of sweet and some sort of salty. The later two usually consisting of brown sugar and soy sauce. The addition of nut meg and cinnamon round out the spice category nicely with the sweet and salty components tempering the heat as well as helping with the curing process. Make no mistake though, jerk is not for the faint of heart. Scotch bonnet peppers are among the hottest on the planet. Milder peppers can be substituted but heat is part of the deal. There’s no getting around it.
With refrigeration being prevalent now, the practice of jerking meats has gone from a necessity to a culinary art form. Tofu, fish and veggies now get the jerk treatment while secret family recipes are handed down and guarded like crown jewels. The open fire for the most part has given way to the oven as well. There are a few places that still cook over a fire but the large pimento wood pyres are more for special events in the islands.
Toronto, has a thriving Jamaican communtiy and boasts several restaurants offering tastes of the tropical island and one of the best is Mr. Jerk. Founded in '79 in a Carribean grocery they opened their first store in 1986. They now boast 6 GTA locations to serve you and are bringing the heat of the West Indies to the people of the north. My usual location is on Don Mills in the “Peanut Plaza.” So named for the peanut shaped island in the middle of Don Mills Rd on which the plaza sits. The broom closet sized place does take out only as a line up of thee or more customers constitutes a line up out the door.
Serving the usual cast of characters such as Curry Chicken and Goat, Jerk Chicken and Pork, Patties (made by Tastee) and Akee and Saltfish. The later being the national dish of Jamaica. Rice and peas being the common accompanying side.
Much like BBQ joints with their smoky, porky aroma, jerk has it’s own Siren’s song. Mornings in and around the city can find you intoxicated by smell of a jerk place gearing up for the days business. Most places roast their wares in an oven but there are a few, particularly in the Eglinton West areas heavily populated by West Indians that grill them in a barrel over charcoal.
Well, on to the food.
Rice and peas are like the pasta of the Caribbean. They often show up for duty. Peas are not peas as we know them though. Pigeon peas are small legumes much like Indian dhal or the black eyed pea. When not in season in Jamaica red or kidney beans are substituted and since it’s never pigeon pea season in Canada, we always get red beans. The rice and beans are cooked together in a coconut milk broth. Other flavourizers can be steeped in the cooking liquid such as thyme sprigs and garlic. Such aromatics are necessary to provided some back bone for the rice when going up against a pungent curry or jerk. While the rice and peas at Mr. Jerk are fine they don't have the background flavours that others do.
The Jerk Pork is wonderfully tender with a nice bark and is somewhat lean. Often times you find a layer of fat and even skin. The less fat content meant the sauce was a little thicker and a bit sweeter but nicely well rounded. The sweetness masked the heat which was a bit of a disappointment at first. I was hoping for much hotter. It was a bit of a Trojan horse though as by the time I finished my lunch my mouth was wide awake and very happy. The sneaky heat was very nice.
The oxtails are quite mild and very tasty. Teetering towards the sweet and sour that some trod upon and showing off the beef flavour of the meat. Said meat is wonderfully tender and holds together nicely on the bone but pulls away very easily and leave a clean piece of skeleton. In other words, cooked perfectly.
The Jerk Chicken is much like the pork although I swear it's hotter. I had chicken one night and pork the other and you'd have a hard time convincing me they're the same heat level. Again, the chicken is cooked perfectly so it's not dry. A half chicken is chopped up and served over top of the rice.
The home made pepper sauce is a real treat too. Slightly tangy with a nice sweet and heat to it. A very nice addition to any dish.
So there you have it. Great Jamaican take away food.
You can find Mr. Jerk at 3050 Don Mills Rd in Toronto or one of their other 5 locations.
View Larger Map
You can also find them on the web
Well that's all for now folks, we'll see ya next time in the food court.
You know the problem. You’ve spent all morning walking around a mall and it’s time for lunch. Your options are pretty much the same in just about every mall. Chains. Boring. Fortunately for us here in the GTA, in some of the B or C grade malls you’ll find a small, Caribbean franchise named Tropical Joe’s. While they have a couple other locations the only one I’ve been to is at Gerrard Square. The tiny mall in Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood anchored by Home Depot.
A few years ago I was on a bit of a Jerk Chicken kick. I'd tried about a half dozen places and while all were really good to fabulous, none were as good as the Jamaican lady's who worked the cafeteria at my work. One day I was talking to a fellow toiler and asked him where he got his fix. Being from Jamaica himself and all. I was stunned when he pointed me to a mall but I'm glad he did. This particular location, by pretty much all accounts, is the best.
So let’s have a look at these spicy tastes of the islands.
The Jerk Chicken was the first thing I sampled from here and wasn’t sure about the Chow Mein noodles. I opted for a combination of noodles and rice. Skipping the veggies. The rice is good, don’t get me wrong. Made with coconut milk and pigeon peas it was as it should be. The noodles on the other hand, made sort of pilaf style, were so much better. I’m a big fan of pasta and I guess these are close enough. They stood up nicely to the heat and juiciness of the chicken. Speaking of the chicken, the spicing was nice. Not overly hot but as you can see, if you like it a little livelier you can add hot sauce. The bird was nice and juicy which added oomph to the gravy.
Ox Tails, for those who don’t know, are the tail of a cow. As a young lad I didn’t want to try them. For some reason the name is rather off putting for people. Rest assured though,these are all cow. These ones are nice and rich. A sweet and sour sauce that’s little spicy but not much but with a big, well rounded flavour. They’re some of the meatier pieces you’ll find. At least, in this order they were. They matched perfectly with the noodles. The veggies, basted in the gravy were quite good too.
The Stew Chicken is amazing. Chopped bits of chicken in a sort of sweet and sour curry (different from the ox tail gravy) fortified with some onions. It’s also rather peppery. Not spicy though it does have a slight tingle but more just tasting of pepper. The chicken managed to stay moist even during stewing which is a huge plus. As you can probably tell I’ve landed completely in the Chow Mein noodle camp by this point.
You can find Tropical Joe’s in some Toronto area food courts but this particular, and probably best one is in Gerrard Square at 1000 Gerrard Street E. Toronto, On.
View Larger Map
Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
Davwud
For anyone who loves to cook, the dream of some day opening their own place never dies. Most people though never act on it. The reasons will vary from fear of failure to job security. It would be difficult to give up everything you have to venture into the restaurant business. It’s a cruel and unforgiving trade. Most don’t make it.
In 1970 when Jeslin Needham immigrated to Canada opening a restaurant was simply a dream. Trying to establish yourself in a new country and raise a family isn’t a time to gamble. Thought she was always in the kitchen preparing dinner, readying for back yard BBQ’s or family gatherings job security was important. So she took a job at an accounting firm. Ever the loyal employee, Jeslin toiled away at virtually the same job for some 30 years. Never getting ahead.
Finally in 2004 enough was enough. Tired of the long commute and same old boring job, Jeslin took the advice of her friends and family. “You should open your own place” they’d say so that’s precisely what she did. Taking the recipes she learned at the feet of her grandmother in Jamaica, she leased out a small unit in an industrial mall in Newmarket and started gaving the locals “A Taste of the Islands.”
Offering the best of Jamaica, A Taste of the Islands would build a loyal following which included myself. Business was such that her son Richard joined her within the first year. Together they served up the Jerk, Curry and stews that have made Jamaican food famous. Although doing well, the tiny take out place near Yonge and Mulock wasn’t THE dream. After five years of learning the business it was time to open a proper sit down restaurant. The new place is bigger with a proper dining room and an expanded menu with items such as Jerk Shrimp added. Soon there will be a liquor license and island drinks and beer will flow.
When it comes to the food, “Everything irie.”
I’ve had almost everything on the menu except for the new items. It’s all good and it’s all (just about) made on site. The only exceptions are the patties (Non Nisa/Tastee) and roti skins (hand made though).
The Oxtails are simply superb although not spicy. They have a rich gravy and are slow cooked until the meat is so tender. Oxtails aren’t for everyone though. They’re rather fatty which also makes them greasy. Greasy in a good way I say.
The Jerk Chicken is spicy, slightly salty and very robust. The chicken is slow roasted in the island spice paste until it’s fall apart tender. It had enough heat although if I were in the mood, I’d have kicked it up a bit.
The rice and peas that come with it are also very nicely cooked. The extra gravy we asked for went nicely with it without drowning. A fantastic fresh slaw accompanied our entrées.
Based on the fact that their Curry Chicken and Curry Goat are both great I can assume the roti is fabulous as well.
Once they’re in the swing of things at the new place, a Saturday special will alternate between Akee and Saltfish (the national dish of Jamaica) and Liver and Onions. The Akee as I can attest is fantastic. I do add a bit of hot sauce to mine as I like it a little hotter than they serve it.
They also carry a selection of island soft drinks including the favourite Ting.
You can find A Taste of the Islands at 16700 Bayview Ave. in Newmarket, Ontario.
View Larger Map
You can also find them on the web
Well that’s all for now.
Davwud
Running due north out of Huntsville, Alabama is US 231/431. This artery strings together a series of small towns all the way up to Fayetteville, Tennessee, including Meridianville, Alabama. Not much more than a gas stop for most people it just happens to be where my in-laws live.
I get to spend a good deal of time in this area and one thing that I've always found intriguing is the two smokers out front of the Raceway gas station. The very thought of having fire located not 20 feet from a gas pump always seemed rather puzzling. I don't make the rules though and am not one to question.
In the early 90's Allen Rawls left Kalamazoo, Michigan chasing a comedy dream. He got no further than northern Alabama when family responsibilities dictated his road days were over. Ever the entrepreneur, Allen dabbled in the car wash and gas businesses but food was always his passion. Now 6 days a week he puts smoke to meat and serves it up inside in what is known as "Raceway Cafe." A counter in the back of the station with a stove and microwave. There's also a large communal table and a couple singles.
It's also worth checking out the "70 Hemi 'Cuda in the store.
Allen serves up a variety of southern style BBQ as well as some "Caribbean style" or "Jerk" chicken for those who are familiar with it. The menu changes daily but there are some constants like BBQ chicken and Polish sausage. The latter being a store bought, spicy Polish sausage that's smoked to perfection. So good I'm gonna have to try it at home. On occasion he'll even smoke a whole baloney. If you're a fan of baloney, you'll like it. The smokey element really works well.
Most of the food is either made from scratch or semi homemade. Take the beans for example. They're standard Bush's baked beans but are "Doctored" to taste even better. This is something that a lot of pitmasters will do. Especially with BBQ sauce.
It's good enough to keep a steady stream of customers flowing. I went by at dinner one night and they only had a bit of chicken and some sausage left. This was at 5:30. I wait another day and had lunch.
Allen continues with show biz gigs but it's more of a hobby now. You can catch him from time to time in and around Huntsville, Alabama.
For your consideration.
For lunch we had the chicken two ways. Naked and sauced.
The naked chicken was very simply done. Smoked to juicy perfection.
The sauced chicken was the above sauced and then grilled. It was tastier with the addition of the sauce but the extra cooking time dried it out slightly. It wasn't the dribble down your arm juicy like the naked but not bone dry either.
The beans were very good. I can't quite tell what Allan did to them but you could tell they had that special little "ju ne sais quoi."
The green beans were very good. Chunks of yesterdays sausage and some pulled pork were added to some canned beans to kick them up several notches.
When you boast about being the 3 time state cornbread champion, I take it as a personal challenge. It better be lights out good.
This is very different than the cornbread you're gonna find almost anywhere. It's more of a "Yankee" style in that it's much more moist and cakey. Allen adds onion to the mix and something I've never seen before. Country sausage. The meaty "Jimmy Dean" style sausage made for an excellent cornbread. I'm not sure I'd call it the best I'd had, being so different but it was absolutely terrific.
Check out Raceway Cafe at 11525 Hwy 231 - 431N. Meridianville, Alabama.
View Larger Map
Well that's all for now. Catch ya later.
Davwud
Much like BBQ joints with their smoky, porky aroma, jerk has it’s own Siren’s song. Mornings in and around the city can find you intoxicated by smell of a jerk place gearing up for the days business. Most places roast their wares in an oven but there are a few, particularly in the Eglinton West areas heavily populated by West Indians that grill them in a barrel over charcoal.
The Jerk Pork is wonderfully tender with a nice bark and is somewhat lean. Often times you find a layer of fat and even skin. The less fat content meant the sauce was a little thicker and a bit sweeter but nicely well rounded. The sweetness masked the heat which was a bit of a disappointment at first. I was hoping for much hotter. It was a bit of a Trojan horse though as by the time I finished my lunch my mouth was wide awake and very happy. The sneaky heat was very nice. 
The oxtails are quite mild and very tasty. Teetering towards the sweet and sour that some trod upon and showing off the beef flavour of the meat. Said meat is wonderfully tender and holds together nicely on the bone but pulls away very easily and leave a clean piece of skeleton. In other words, cooked perfectly.
The Jerk Chicken is much like the pork although I swear it's hotter. I had chicken one night and pork the other and you'd have a hard time convincing me they're the same heat level. Again, the chicken is cooked perfectly so it's not dry. A half chicken is chopped up and served over top of the rice.
