jamaican grill entrance
today was sunny and breezy, so we decided to have lunch somewhere with a patio. you would think that would be common on island, but no; it's too damn hot most of the time, or raining. luckily, one of our favourite restaurants, jamaican grill has one.
the patio. notice convenient jumbo sized paper towel rolls
view from the patio
as you can guess, this little but extremely popular restaurant in the chamorro village specialises in jamaican style jerk-spiced grilled items. jerk spice is a spicy, pungent mix of chili pepper, onion, allspice and other spices that is used to flavour meats before grilling or roasting. jamaican grill features everything jerked, from burgers to prawns; the downside of this is that no matter what you order, it will pretty much taste the same. the upside is that their particular spice mix is really, really good, their products are fresh, and they are expert grillers, so everything comes out cooked perfectly.
today we ordered their most popular beverage, the reggae sunsplash, a pineapple, mango, guave juice mix:
we started off with the soup, a tomato vegetable chicken combination, that was loaded with tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, and had a very subtle spiciness:
i don't know why we ordered it, considering every meal also comes with a green salad, a chopped veggie salad or fruit bowl! i suppose the relaxed and casual atmosphere really whets the appetite.
we ordered combination plates of the two most popular items, the kingston barbecued jerk chicken, and boston beach ribs, which either come with chamorro-style red rice or a jamaican-style rice with adzuki beans:
combo with red rice
combo with jamaican rice
yes, i know, a festival of meat. but they do have seafood and vegetarian selections, including steamed fish (in white wine or coconut milk) from the fishermen's co-op next door, and a lovely vegetable curry. most entrees range from $6 to $10, and as you can see, the portions are substantial. i'm told they have some sort of dessert (a weird barbecued banana that's *not* a bananacue), but most people never get that far. they also do family and party-sized platters, and fundraising events.
jamaican grill
in the chamorro village, across from paseo stadium.
hågatña
472-2000
Hi Santos,
ReplyDeleteI haven't had good Jamaican food since I moved back to Hawaii from New York! My friend's mother was actually from Jamaica and used to cook jerk chicken and curry goat...mmmmm! There used to be a Jamaican restaurant here, but I think it may have closed already. =(
hi reid!
ReplyDeletethat's so odd, that there isn't a jamaican restaurant there. you would think that with the whole "jawaiian" music thing, they'd at least have one! there's a little jamaican patty (kind of like a pasty or empanada) kiosk near us in manila, i wish we had one of those.
I was wondering, does Jamaican Grill still have a website? I'm craving jerk chicken...
ReplyDeleteHi Santos
ReplyDeleteI just thought you'd like to know a bit of trivia about the reggae sunsplash drink.
It's named after a huge annual music festival in Jamaica. The festival ran each year from 1978 to 1999 but then it folded.
You'll be pleased to know that after a long break, Reggae Sunsplash was relaunched earlier this year. I was there and can confirm that it is well worth having a drink named in its honour.
I love your blog!!! I come in here when I'm homesick and craving for my island favorites like Jamaiican Grill jerk chicken. Thank you for all your posts and I love how you allow your readers to view food in "first person". If only you can incorporate smell-o-vision. Thanks again :)
ReplyDelete