Wednesday Dinner 7/14/10

Good Morning!!! I hope you all are well and doing wonderful positive things in this life. I have to be honest; this week has gotten the best of me. I found out that one of my friends lost her grandfather and dad in a matter of days, so my prayers are with her and her family during this time. Other than that I've been going through something’s personally, but as of today everything is on the up and up, so let the "Wednesday Dinner" story begin. Yesterday I was on another solo mission, I am not sure if you know this about me or not; but my mother is part Jamaican. My grandmother was born and raised in Jamaica, she came to the US when she was 19 and has lived here since. Neither my mom nor my grandmother has a Jamaican accent and we weren't really raised on Jamaican food however we do eat a few Jamaican items. So yesterday I traveled to "The Jerk Shack" (http://www.jamaicanbbqjerk.com/). "The Jerk Shack" is located at the Bridge at Howard Hughes; if you live in L.A. you know where it’s at. I went straight from work, and to my surprise I was the only person in that joint. I noticed that their menu is pretty simple and straight to the point; however they threw me for a loop with some of the other menu selections (pasta, egg cream cheese sandwhich, and tacos). When I walked in I noticed the restaurant was very clean and empty, I mean not a soul was in that place. The menu was simple and so I decided to order two meals. I know I know my inner fat child was released and so here is what I ordered:


#1 Kingston Special- Jerk Chicken, Rice & Beans, Plantain, & Cabbage
#5 Lunch Curry Bowl- Yellow Curry Chicken & Coconut Rice

It took about 10 minutes for my food to be prepared, I thought I told the cashier that I wanted my food for "here" but apparently she heard "to go" and bagged me up. I was a little shocked that "The Jerk Shack" does not have a restroom for their guest, because I had to piss like nobodies business (excuse my french) but I had to go bad. Once my food came out I was ready to eat, I started with the Kingston Special; the jerk chicken was a leg and thigh quarter, it was saucy, tender and very SPICY!!!!!!!!!! The rice and beans was alright, I was expecting more from the rice and beans. The cabbage was DELISH (I love cabbage), this cabbage was very SPICY also, and then there was the plantains (OMG DELISH!!!!), I have fallen in love with plantains. This Kingston special was ok, it had a little too much spice for me, I think the menu should reflect that this dish is spicy. I've had jerk chicken before but I remember it being more like bbq. The meal would have been great minus the spiciness and the rice & beans. Next was the curry chicken bowl with coconut rice, this was an interesting taste. I expected the curry to be a little more yellow and thicker and the rice had actual coconut shaving in it (???). The curry chicken had peas, carrots and potatoes in it, this wasn't spicy although it was missing something, I can't put my finger on it but some kind of seasoning was missing. The total for both meals was $15.35, I don't think I'll be going back to the "The Jerk Shack" anytime soon; my dinner was quick because I had to use the ladies room. I am sure there are better Jamaican restaurants in Cali so someone please let me know. Of course I didn’t finish all that food I ordered, but I just couldn’t decide on what to get. If you would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" red bean team drop me a line wednesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com and follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/wednesdaydinner. In closing I would like to leave you with this “The only thing that intimidates good is great" until next week live, laugh and love- Ashley