I sat down yesterday to eat a $13 lunch special: brown stew chicken, rice and peas, steamed…read morecabbage, and plantain, and bit into a piece of chicken that was refrigerator cold. Not lukewarm. Cold. I bit it a second time because I genuinely couldn't believe it. Meanwhile, the rice was so hot it was still visibly steaming from what I can only assume was a microwave, drowned in a watery gravy I never asked for, next to the old cabbage with solidified liquid. I brought the plate back to the counter, explained the chicken was refrigerator cold, and asked them to reheat it. I'm writing this today with an upset stomach.
I wish I could say this was a one-time issue. It's not. I've been trying this restaurant, on and off, for over 15 years, and I kept giving them chance after chance because I wanted so badly for it to be good.
I first met the owner when he ran a food truck, before the restaurant existed. I was excited; there weren't many Jamaicans in Austin at the time, and I was happy to support one. The rice and peas was so bad I threw the plate away.
Years later, I tried the restaurant location. I ordered curry goat, took it to my car, and found the meat flavorless, fatty, and poorly trimmed; basically inedible. I threw it away in the parking lot. I later ordered oxtail through Uber Eats: flavorless again, poorly prepped meat, and an actual rock in the rice and peas. I tried introducing the child to Jamaican food with one of their beef patties, and it was dry and flavorless.
Yesterday I ordered the "safest" thing on the menu, brown stew chicken, specifically because I no longer trust myself to spend real money on anything more ambitious here. I still got food that had clearly been microwaved and reheated unevenly, served with a piece of chicken that was still cold. Are we really selling microwaved leftovers out of an established restaurant with a huge kitchen?
Jamaican food is something our culture takes real pride in. This restaurant has had a decade and a half to get it right, and instead I've watched it consistently cut corners on seasoning, on prep, and now on basic food safety. I don't say this lightly: if you want real Jamaican food, this isn't where you'll find it, and depending on the day, what you're served may not even be handled safely.
