Around Vancouver in 52 Restaurants > Caribbean > Jamaica

Conveniently when I was working my way through Vancouver’s Caribbean restaurants (and hoping I wasn’t going to have to make the trek to Calypso in Surrey or Kingston 11 in North Van), Calabash Bistro opened a block and a half away from me. Yes, sometimes sheer laziness pays off. And also conveniently, they were open one night when I was sweaty and cranky from unpacking boxes and more than happy to plunk a couple of cold ones down in front of me.

I ordered the Ackee and Saltfish, a dish that has intrigued me for some time, simply because of the sheer foreignness of it. What is an ackee? What is a saltfish? All I knew was that it is the national dish of Jamaica. As it turns out, an ackee is a fruit that is so poisonous raw that it can kill if eaten before it ripens. So it needs to be boiled before eating it and it can only be exported in cans. Saltfish is not that interesting. It is, as you might think, another name for salted cod. At Calabash, it’s sauteed with cilantro, spices, peppers and tomatoes and served with rice, peas and fresh greens. It was enough to make me forget the pile of boxes waiting at home for me and slide a little farther into my chair, still clutching the Red Stripe.

They make their own sauces in house, including curry, jerk and Jamaican ketchup. I tried the jerk sauce on a side of fries and was thoroughly convinced to come back for the jerk chicken. Hot and spicy with a world of flavour to back it up, it filled the balance between the beer and the dinner and the hot, muggy evening. Their menu is small…only a handful of dinner items, but you could stop in several times and not get tired of the variety of flavours.

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Calabash Bistro
428 Carrall Street, Vancouver

When I walked into Jamaica Pizza Jerk at lunchtime, there was only one other table occupied, but warm smiles greeted me all around the vibe was happy and mellow. I’m sure that the Bob Marley concert playing on the television did much to add to the ambiance, as did the colourful Caribbean decor…Even though Jerk Chicken must surely be the national dish, I was after the curry goat. Curry Goat is only available on Tuesdays and Fridays at Jamaican Pizza Jerk, so I ordered the chicken and even though I am not actually a chicken connoisseur, I was thrilled with this dish. Dark meat was very tender being so close to the bone and cooked to perfection. The sauce was thinner than I expected, but rich and flavorful. Rice cooked in coconut milk and spices and a tangy homemade coleslaw accompanied the meat.

Instead of goat, we also ordered cow’s foot. It came with a warning (that it was not to everyone’s taste), and a raised eyebrow but I was determined. When it appeared in front of me, smelling meaty and yes, a little bit barnyard-y, I was still confident in my ordering decision, but at some point midway I realized that I was eating much more rice and hot sauce than the strange, gelatinously textured hoof and I had to concede that maybe yes, this was not particularly to my taste. Luckily there was plenty of Red Stripe to wash it down.

Later I went back and had the goat. It’s toughish, as goat is, but the flavour of the curry is delicious and hot and I could eat it again and again, except I would still want to have the jerk chicken some of the times. And I still need to try the ackee and saltfish. Sigh, one of these days.

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Jamaica Pizza Jerk
2707 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Photo Credit: ecstaticist.

So I’ve dedicded to start a new project for dining in 2010. The tagline of this site is “Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver” and so instead of of traipsing around Vancouver’s culinary delights in the random way I have been for the last (almost) 2 years, I am going to present my finds country by country.

I still have a bit of a backlog of reviews, so I may post those interspersed with the project and if I feel really keen, I may even post some recipes.

First stop on the grand tour: North America. Got any favorites you’d like to recommend?

There’s something to be said about having a beer in the sun after some hard work and even tho it only took me a couple of hours to pack up my apartment, I fully intended to call in that reward.

I headed to The Reef on Commercial Drive which I have managed to never visit yet, despite living not far from it and having eaten at the Main Street location several times.

Dragon Stout was dark and brooding and not really fitting my sunshiny mood, so after I got my food I switched to a party-in-a-glass umbrella drink. The Irie Shaker has cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut and the requisite umbrella garnish which had me kicking back in no time.

I ordered the Jerk Chicken roti ($10) which is pretty spicy on its own. Even more so when it’s doused liberally with Miss Kitty hot sauce. The flatbread, jerk chicken and coleslaw is pretty traditionally Caribbean, but if you want something more exotic, Jamaican favorites jerk goat and Jamaican’s national dish – akee fruit and salt cod – are also available. I’ve had both at the other location and while there are more authentic Caribbean restaurants around, you can’t argue with a patio and a drink with an umbrella in it.

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The Reef
1018 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

A good friend recently came back from a vacation to Jamaica and in fit of jealousy this week, I took myself to Jamaican Pizza Jerk on Commercial Drive. I’ve also been to Riddim & Spice, another Jamaican place on the Drive, recently and not blogged about it, so here goes the showdown.

It’s actually not much of a showdown, more like a blowout for Jamaican Pizza Jerk. When I walked in at lunchtime, there was only one other table occupied, but warm smiles greeted me all around the vibe was happy and mellow. I’m sure that the Bob Marley concert playing on the television did much to add to the ambiance, as did the colourful Caribbean decor. My entrance to Riddim & Spice a week earlier was not really noted and while I floundered around the sparse room deciding on where to sit, I actually considered leaving. It lacks warmth and, at least while I was there felt empty and apathetic.

Even though Jerk Chicken must surely be the national dish, I was after the curry goat. They did have it at Riddim & Spice but the tiny Asian waitress seemed to think I should have the jerk chicken, so I did. It was pretty good. The meat was tender and fell off the bone, but I didn’t find the meat as flavourful or spicy as I was expecting. It was, however, a lot more food than I was expecting and I was stuffed by the time I left to collect my laundry from across the street.

Curry Goat is only available on Tuesdays and Fridays at Jamaican Pizza Jerk, so I ordered the chicken again and eventhough I am not actually a chicken conoisseur, I was quite enthralled with this dish here. The dark meat of the chicken was very tender being so close to the bone and cooked to perfection. The brown sauce was much thinner than at Riddim & Spice (where it seemed like more of a glaze), but tastier. Both came with rice cooked in coconut milk and spices and a salad; at Jamaican Pizza Jerk it was a tangy homemade coleslaw and at Riddim & Spice it was a green salad with a thick yellow dressing. In this respect, both opponents faired equally. I found the coleslaw somewhat more interesting, but in both instances they were delicious. Serving sizes at Jamaican Pizza Jerk are noticeably smaller, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re starving.

So, the verdict? I am planning on going back to Jamaican Pizza Jerk as early as next week to try the curried goat, oxtail and ackee and saltfish dishes, while I’m pretty sure I won’t revisit RIddim & Spice. Sad, because Riddim & Spice clearly has the more prominent storefront and I’m sure many diners stop in one time only thinking they’ll get an authentic Jamaican experience. Incidentally, I actually have no idea which place is more authentic. I’m waiting on my friend to check them out and let me know, but in the meantime I’ll be at Jamaican Pizza Jerk.

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Jamaican Pizza Jerk

2707 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Riddim & Spice

1945 Commercial Drive, Vancouver