Cuse’ines: Jerk Hut
If you are like me, when you move to a new city the first thing you look for is where to find good food. Fortunately, Syracuse is a cultural hub when it comes to the different types of food you can try. This week, my friend and I were craving Jamaican food and a Yelp search led us to this small comfortable restaurant called the Jerk Hut.
Description
The Jerk Hut has been in Syracuse’s community for the past 20 years. It is operated by a married couple, Bongo and Judy. This restaurant offers a wide variety of Jamaican and Caribbean dishes such as jerk chicken, oxtails, cabbage, jerk wings, curry chicken and red rice and beans. The restaurant features their food annually at the New York State Fair.
Wait time
For a full plate of food including sides and your meat choice, the wait was reasonable. For both me and my friend’s plates, it took no longer than 15 minutes. If you are on the go and you only have a couple of minutes to spare, you have the option of calling the restaurant to place your order via phone.
Place decor
The restaurant’s decor shows its significance in the community. When you enter the restaurant, it feels similar to entering a family member’s home. In a glass screen, you get to see photos of local little league teams and flyers encouraging local children to get involved with the community, such as joining a new dance program. Additionally, there were old flyers from when Jamaican music artists came to perform in Syracuse.
Food quality
The food was the highlight of my experience. It was delicious and came in large portions. There was enough food to last us for at least two meals, depending on your appetite. Our plates contained our selected meat, red rice and beans, cabbage and plantains. The food was well seasoned and full of flavor.
Service
The food was served in to-go plates and my friend and I made ourselves comfy at one of the few booths available. Not many people were dining in but rather taking their food to go. Some people online complain about rude service and that seemed to be incorrect for the most part. During me and my friend’s loud (I’d rather call it engaging) conversation we were asked to quiet down by one of the owners. It definitely added to the home-like feeling.
Price
For how much food we both received, the price was reasonable. My oxtail plate with a soft drink came out to be $13.50 and my friends plate of jerk chicken and a drink came out to be around $11.
Overall
This is definitely a place I would go back to eat at again for obvious reasons. However, next time I might just take my food to go. If your ever craving authentic Jamaican food or simply want to try something new, I definitely would recommend swinging by the Jerk Hut.
