Tag Archives: Jamaican food

Lick it up, lick it up @ Miss Likklemore’s

Now, I’m not a member of KISS, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, bro! We’re hanging out at Miss Likklemore’s, this funky family-style Jamaican joint on King West, where they’re serving up all kinds of Caribbean classics. We’re talking jerk chicken, oxtail, mac pie, escovitch fish… and even a super-legit lamb that’s all part of the jam, fam!!!!

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Let’s save the best for first, bro! This braised oxtail was fall-off-the-bone tender, served in a nice gravy that wasn’t too rich or too spicy. Even if I ate nuttin but oxtail this evening, I’d still be happy!!!

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Now, here’s a dish you don’t see every day. We’re talking crab fried rice, with all kinds of crab (it’s hidden in the middle), and they’ve even got some crab legs on top. Shut the back door, bro!!!!!!

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Sticking with seafood, this escovitch style snapper is battered and fried to perfection, with a nice, citrusy kick. Ja mon, as they say in Germany!!!!

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Of course, I couldn’t come here and NOT order jerk chicken, bro! Half a jerk chicken is 35 bucks, and I ate half of it myself. The chicken was moist and juicy, and the gravy added a nice kick. But I’m not sure it was much better than the 5-dollar daily special at Ritz Carribbean Food…

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Now, when we went to Chadon Beni a couple weeks back, they had these “Mac Pie Bites” that were really just mac ‘n cheese balls. So when I saw mac pie on the menu at Likklemore’s, I felt like having my own personal Cheesus, bro! Tasty, creamy, cheesy — nothing wrong with that at all!!!!

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But now we’re saving the second best for last with this lamb platter. You’ve got a super-tender lamb shoulder with a few mini rotis — I totally made a taco outta this. It might not be authentic Jamacian, but it’s Jamaican its way straight down my piehole, bro!!!!!

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Now, the name of this blog ain’t Burgers, Bacon & Rum, but they’ve only got Red Stripe, Carib and Dragon Stout in the beer department, and a rum list that runs over 100 deep, including some from countries you wouldn’t even expect, like this Companero Ron Elixir Orange, coming straight outta Denmark! This one was sweeter and didn’t cut through the Coke as much as the other ones I tried, though.

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Who knew they made rum in Fiji, son? This Plantation Isle of Fiji reminds me a lot of Kraken Dark Spiced Rum, which I drink whenever my team plays against the Seattle Kraken. (Good thing I’m not an Avs fan, eh?)

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Up next, a Barbancourt 8 Year Special Reserve from Haiti. This was the strongest and most flavourful one… that I combined with Coke, anyways.

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And for dessert, we’ve got chocolate mousse, topped with peanuts and caramel, and paired with a Dzama White Prestige from Madagascar that really knocked my socks off! Let’s just say I be jammin’ tonight, bro!!!!!

Ah-ah-ah-ah, Jerk Lobster!!!

Now, we’ve had lobster a few different funky ways on Triple B, whether it was the 1.5-pound lobster roll at Smoked & Cracked (RIP), the Typhoon Crispy Lobster Mountain from Dine & Dim or the grandpappy of them all, Fishman Lobster Clubhouse’s 15 pounds of flavour. But one thing we haven’t tried until now was jerk lobster. I didn’t even know that was a thing, bro!

So, we’re hanging out at Patois, the legendary Jamaican Chinese joint on Dundas, which is now back at full capacity. I’ve already ordered takeout from dem a couple times during lockdown, so I know the food’s legit…and now they’re about to kick it up a notch!!!!

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With jerk in the name, I figured it’s gotta be spicy — the waiter even warned us — but there wasn’t really any heat in this dish. Turns out it’s cooked with jerk butter, which definitely adds flavour, but not much of a kick. Now, what puts this ahead of other crispy lobster dishes we’ve destroyed is they pair it with tater tots instead of frozen french fries. You KNOW I gotta have my tots, bro!!!!!!!!

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But that’s just the first act of this festival of funk in Flavourtown, son! We’re going to town on this $169 feast for four, starting off with Jamaican patties, kale salad and crispy Brussels sprouts. OK, so this wasn’t my favourite part of the feast — but hey, those Brussels sprouts weren’t too shabby…

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These Caribbean side dishes ain’t no side chick, son! We’ve got coleslaw, rice & peas, shrimp chips and my personal favourite — Trini Mac Pie. Dude, any dish that combines mac ‘n cheese and pie has gotta be one of the all-time greatest culinary creations in Flavourtown, bro!!!!

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But you KNOW this party’s just getting started in here, Bro-k Eyed Peas! Here come the hotsteppah — jerk chicken, fried chicken, and a pair of double smash burgers served on a Chinese pineapple bun!!! Oh, and they happen to have an extra-special secret ingredient…

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Now, I dunno if you can tell from this angle, but they actually put Hickory Sticks, my all-time favourite chips on top of this burger! Patties are pretty tasty, too, and the pineapple bun adds some extra sweetness… Can this night even get any better, bro!!!!!!???????

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You can totally order some fruity, tropical cocktails at this place — but since this blog ain’t Burgers, Bacon, Wray & Ting… I had to order a beer. Patois’ beer selection is pretty solid, too, with craft brews from Beaus, Blood Brothers, Cowbell and Fairweather alongside your Red Stripe and Dragon Stout. They’ve even got this Cowbell Citra Smash juicy IPA on tap, which is actually more fruity than hoppy at 40 IBU, and goes pretty great with Jamaican food, if I don’t say so myself…

TORONTO’S TOP TAKOUT: Takin’ and bakin’ some real-deal Jamaican!!!

Now, I’ve never been to Patois before… but I did have their Jamaican patty double-down sammy at Union Market a few years back, so I knew their food’s legit. And when I found out they were delivering care packages of heat-‘n-eat Jamaican classics, you KNOW I had to get in on that, bro!

Now, their half pack was meant for two people, but if you’re stuck in self-isolation, there’s probably enough food here for two full meals — in fact, that’s just what I did.

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So, we’re starting off with a Jamaican takeout classic — jerk chicken with rice and peas and coleslaw. And lemme tell ya, there was more than enough coleslaw for two people here! Now, the chicken leg was alright ‘n all, but when I bit into the breast, that’s when the magic happened…

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Dude, this breast is the best! The meat was super tender and juicy, the skin gets a little extra char from being reheated in the oven, and there’s a little bit of spice, but not too overpowering. Of course, I washed it all down with a Jamaican ginger beer…

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And even after slaughtering a half-chicken, rice and peas, and at least a pound of crunchy coleslaw, you KNOW I still had room for dessert, bro!!!!

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Now, I’m guessing they don’t chow down on this dish in Trenchtown — but it doesn’t get much more Toronto than rum cake tiramisu! You’ve got cocoa, you’ve got marscapone…but instead of ladyfingers, it’s a real-deal Carribean rum cake underneath! I’ve had rum cake from the Bahamas, and this one was definitely on point!!!

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Now, since we went with the Jamaican classic dinner on Friday, tonight was more of a buffet of flavours from the rest of the delivery order. You’ve got stewed oxtail in a rich gravy, a couple itty bitty beef patties, Trinidadian-style mac pie, a side of plantain chips with garlic sauce…oh and some kimchi brussels sprouts. Yeah, I dunno how those got here, either.

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Now, even though I probably needed to reheat it longer than they suggested, the oxtail meat still came right off the bone — these are like little baby beef ribs in Flavourtown! The patties were nice ‘n hot after 15 min in the oven, the plantain chips with the garlic sauce was a nice, tasty snack and that mac pie, man…I wish I could have mac ‘n cheese shaped into a pie with every meal — there’s nothing wrong with that at all!

On the other hand, I wasn’t as much a fan of the kimchi brussels sprouts, a dish served cold like revenge. Now, I don’t mind kimchi with Korean BBQ, but the bitterness kinda clashed with the oxtail gravy and everything else — one of these tings was not like the other, mon!

Oh, and speaking of Ting…

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This Jamaican 7-Up goes pretty good with spicy food — although the only thing that was really spicy about tonight’s meal was the pineapple scotch bonnet sauce on the side. (I still got a bunch of it left to make some hot wings, or something…) For an extra 25 bucks, Patois will add a six-pack of Red Stripe to your order, but I gotta say, I’m glad I stuck with the Jamaican soda. Yeah, we be jammin!

My jerk chicken wrap brings the boys to the yard!

So, check it out. We’re chilling like a villain in the courtyard at Brookfield Place, where they’ve got this local, real-deal, farm-fresh summer market on Wednesdays. There’s these little stalls serving up sausage, veggies and cheese, but the one that everyone lines up for is the Jamaican stand. Not only have they got patties, but they’re funking it up with this double dose of deliciousness–the jerk chicken roti wrap:

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Dude, this is like Caribana in my mouth, bro! You’ve got a multi-layered blanket of cornmeal goodness with some thick chunks of chicken and potato on the inside. The bird is nice and tender, with a good kick, but not too spicy. Washed it down with a ginger beer, which didn’t really soothe my soul–the fizz from the bubbles only put more fire in my wire!!!

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We be jammin’ this double down Jamaican jerk patty sandwich!

OK, now this has gotta be one of the most funkalicious sammies I’ve feasted on in a while. So I’m hanging out on Front Street, where I’ve got a reservation at Casey’s, and I spot this little food stand serving up some honky tonk redonkadonk Island flavours in the Union Market. It’s Jamaican jerk joint meets KFC, with a splash of Sriracha on top. Check out this funky jam:

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So, what we’ve got here is not one, but two Jamaican beef patties, some nice, chewy bacon, Swiss cheese fondue, lettuce, tomato, and hot Sriracha, all served up inside a coco bun. I dunno who came up with this dish, but somebody give him a gold medal, cuz this is the Usain Bolt of culinary creativity.

Now, if we break it down, the bacon is super tasty, we get a soft crunch from the patty shell and a spicy kick from the beef; the cheese just oozes all over the place, but the Sriracha is what makes it. Dude, they take a Scarborough convenience store staple, cross it with the greatest culinary creation in KFC history, and then add some Thai spiciness to the mix!? That is so far outta bounds, it’s like throwing the discus into the fifth row!

And no, that’s not a tear in my eye—it’s the sriracha talking, bro.

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