Jamaica Jerk: a restaurant I recommend wholeheartedly. Today I went with two friends to this lovely down-home establishment right off the Howard stop. We went specifically to visit Donald, a worker at Allison Dining Hall who hails from Kingston. Donald is a cook at the restaurant on weekends (which, combined with his job at Allison, makes for a 7-day work week.) At some point this year Debbie and I went from exchanging the occasional warm smile with Donald to being close enough to sit down with him when he is on a break, eating alone at a corner table. His smile is one of the best I’ve ever seen — there’s a history there, although there’s no way we can truly unearth all the experiences he’s had, from growing up in the wet heat of Jamaica to cleaning tables at Northwestern. I would guess he’s around sixty years old. It’s funny to think of Donald as a constant in my everyday life — but there he is, everyday, doing his job with a crooked smile and thick accent, maintaining a semblance of order in a hall of hyper-scheduled undergraduates. I’ve become so used to our conversations, which touch on everything from how to cook oxtail to my favorite aspects of Sri Lankan cuisine to the year my parents spent living in Donald’s hometown of Kingston. Once in a while our communication barrier leads us to a funny dead-end (Me: “Donald, how’s your day going?” Donald, nodding kindly: “You take care now, take good care.”) Lunch at Jamaica Jerk felt like lunch at someone’s home. The restaurant is incredibly reasonable (an unbuckle-your-belt plate of food for under $7? Yes indeed.) The owner strolled over to our table and talked to us about how business has strangely perked up due to the recession, as the restaurant is picking up customers who are turning away from high-end establishments. Though busy in the kitchen, Donald checked on us not one but three times during the meal. He seemed so genuinely happy and grateful that we had followed up on our promise to visit the restaurant and eat his food, this time in a different setting. And my steaming plate of cornbread, jerk chicken dripping with homemade sauce, rice and peas made the trip worthwhile in itself.

Jamaica Jerk: a restaurant I recommend wholeheartedly.

Today I went with two friends to this lovely down-home establishment right off the Howard stop. We went specifically to visit Donald, a worker at Allison Dining Hall who hails from Kingston. Donald is a cook at the restaurant on weekends (which, combined with his job at Allison, makes for a 7-day work week.)

At some point this year Debbie and I went from exchanging the occasional warm smile with Donald to being close enough to sit down with him when he is on a break, eating alone at a corner table. His smile is one of the best I’ve ever seen — there’s a history there, although there’s no way we can truly unearth all the experiences he’s had, from growing up in the wet heat of Jamaica to cleaning tables at Northwestern. I would guess he’s around sixty years old. It’s funny to think of Donald as a constant in my everyday life — but there he is, everyday, doing his job with a crooked smile and thick accent, maintaining a semblance of order in a hall of hyper-scheduled undergraduates. I’ve become so used to our conversations, which touch on everything from how to cook oxtail to my favorite aspects of Sri Lankan cuisine to the year my parents spent living in Donald’s hometown of Kingston. Once in a while our communication barrier leads us to a funny dead-end (Me: “Donald, how’s your day going?” Donald, nodding kindly: “You take care now, take good care.”)

Lunch at Jamaica Jerk felt like lunch at someone’s home. The restaurant is incredibly reasonable (an unbuckle-your-belt plate of food for under $7? Yes indeed.) The owner strolled over to our table and talked to us about how business has strangely perked up due to the recession, as the restaurant is picking up customers who are turning away from high-end establishments. Though busy in the kitchen, Donald checked on us not one but three times during the meal. He seemed so genuinely happy and grateful that we had followed up on our promise to visit the restaurant and eat his food, this time in a different setting. And my steaming plate of cornbread, jerk chicken dripping with homemade sauce, rice and peas made the trip worthwhile in itself.

Feb 16 2009

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