Jerky Jerk near Loyola U.

This place is not a derogatory nick-name for Mark Wahlberg, rather it is a hole in the wall Jamaican carry-out joint near Loyaola University. The menu is very limited, but what they do, they do right. The meals are all a la carte, with the meaty entrees and the sides ordered separately. The entrees are all priced at a reasonable $5.99 each and the sides are $3.99 for a generous portion. The Jerk Chicken is available in half or whole for $5.99 and $10.95 respectively. There are also combo platters available, which are a great way to sample several menu items. The combos consist of smaller (but still generous) portions of 2 or 3 entrees with 2 or 3 sides. The entrees include Curry Goat or Chicken, Brown Stew Chicken, Ox-Tails and, of course, Jerk Chicken (they do not have Jerk Fish, which would be nice). The sides include steamed Cabbage, Rice and Peas (actually red beans), Corn and Peppers, Mac and Cheese, Candied Yams and Plantains. There are other "extras" available such as the dense and slightly sweet Jamaican bread, sweet or regular fried potatoes, fried mushrooms, festaval, onion rings and cheese sticks. Some interesting lunch options include Jerk Chicken Sandwiches, Wraps and Fajitas. The menu includes several vegetarian (called jerkatarian) dishes including a stir fry which resembles an Asian stir fry of broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, onions, snow-peas and garlic with the unusual addition of plantains and jerk sauce. They also have a veggie burrito which contains veggies beans and rice, lettuce and avocados wrapped in a spinach tortilla and served with a side of jerk sauce. There is also an interesting salad which contains a plethora of veggies plus strawberries, avocado, plantains and mango salsa.

At any rate, tonight I ordered a 3 entrée 3 side combo platter with a couple of slices of Jamaican bread for delivery. The food was certainly plentiful (enough for 2 adults). My combo consisted of Curry Goat, Ox Tails and Jerk Chicken. The Ox Tails was a very tasty rendition of one of my favorite dishes. The bones were thinly sliced, but very meaty. The tails were braised in a very rich and spicy sauce that was not overwhelmingly hot. The sauce tasted of allspice, garlic and possibly coriander. The tails were cooked perfectly removing much of the fat yet leaving the meat still slightly chewy and stuck to the bone. The Curry Goat was also in a very tasty sauce which was served over the rice and peas along with the Ox tails. Again, the goat was cooked perfectly tender, but it was still solid and stuck to the bones. The dish also contained potatoes. I think the goat was cooked jerk style before being added to the sauce.

The make or break dish for any Jamaican restaurant is the Jerk Chicken, and Jerky Jerk's Jerk did not disappoint. It was of the hard to find dry variety. The chicken was chopped and coated with a tasty but not terribly hot dry-rub. It was definitely cooked over wood, with a distinct but light smoky flavor. The chicken was nicely browned but still very moist, just right. I did not think it was quite as good as my Jerk benchmark, the short-lived D's Irie kitchen on the far south-side, but it came close. What really made the chicken special and kicked the entire meal up a notch was the exceptional Jerk sauce, which was served on the side by default. The sauce came in two very small containers but that was all that was needed. The sauce's flavor started out with a chord of sweet flavors, followed by a grace note of sour vinegar which lead into a gentle crescendo of heat, culminating in a fiery hot climax. Underlying the entire flavor progression was the wonderful taste of scotch bonnets.

The sides were also very good. The Rice and Peas served as a perfect base for the Ox Tails and Curry Goat. The Plantains were a pleasantly sweet respite from the fiery jerk sauce. The Mac and Cheese was also good, moist but not drowning in cheese sauce.

The 3 entrée combo (a mountain of food) Not very pretty, but tasty as hell.



All in all, my first experience with Jerky Jerk was quite positive. I will be back soon and often. I really want to try a larger portion of the jerk chicken, and perhaps sample the fusion items like the Jerky Stir Fry or the Plantain Wrap.

The only drawback was that the delivery charge was extremely high, 5 dollars to deliver about 6 blocks away (I guess it can go as high as $7). I attribute this to the fact that the place is a grub-hub associate (although I was careful not to use the grub-hub listed phone number to order). I asked why the charge was so high, and was told that this is all the money the drivers make. They also taxed me on the delivery fee. I tried to explain that was illegal, but I don't think I was understood.

Jerky Jerk
1217 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60660
(773) 856-0222

This looks great. Definitely going to try ordering some for lunch tomorrow before the Super Bowl.

Thanks for the heads up.

we tried 3 items today: Jerk Chicken, Oxtails, Curried Goat

Our whole jerk chicken was devoid of any real jerk flavor, I even tried eating the little jerk bits off of the chicken and never got any pronounced jerk flavor. Very disappointing.

Oxtails were good, not quite having the depth of long cooked flavor I hope for when having oxtails but none the less, we enjoyed these.

Curried Goat, our favorite dish of the 3 items. Very good.

If anyone would like to try some of their food for free, Jerky Jerk is celebrating their 1st anniversary of being in business on Saturday Feb 22. There will be free food & live music.

Sweet Willie wrote: Our whole jerk chicken was devoid of any real jerk flavor, I even tried eating the little jerk bits off of the chicken and never got any pronounced jerk flavor. Very disappointing.

The "Jerk" flavor is mostly in the sauce, which comes on the side. That seems pretty typical for this "dry" style of jerk chicken. The chicken has a dry rub and is cooked over wood. Jerky Jerk's rub is extremely mild, and should probably be spicier. The spice is all in the sauce (which is good and hot). With the "wet" style of Jerk Chicken, the chicken is basted with the jerk sauce, then served swimming in sauce. I think the dry style of chicken is more close to what you find in Jamaica.

I have had the oxtails from here twice. The first time they were very tasty and had that deep caramelized long cooked flavor that Sweet Willie mentioned. The next time I ordered them at lunch, and the flavor was not as fully developed. I think the flavor gets richer as the day wears on. I also thought the goat was the star of the show. The food is certainly not the best Jamaican I have had, but it is good and the prices make it a real bargain.

The owner of a Caribbean jerk restaurant on Devon Avenue is weighing whether or not his shop will reopen after it was shut down by the city's health inspector earlier this month.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017011 ... ion-rodent