I had originally gone to the west side of town for a completely non-eating reason — it happens every now and then — but when I saw Negril Jamaican Restaurant I immediately changed course.
Negril is a fast-casual restaurant, more casual than it is fast and it’s pretty fast: most of the food is already prepared and in a steam table set behind glass.
The menu has Oxtail, Brown Stews, Jerked dishes and Jamaican Fried Chicken. But every menu listing for a curried dish — available in goat, chicken and shrimp — included the line “Best Curry in Town.” How could I not go with that?
I chose the the chicken variety and the young woman behind the counter, who was otherwise not very congenial, put more rice and peas, curry and plantains into the white clamshell takeout container than I thought would have been possible. And I’d ordered the small portion.
As usual with Jamaican dishes, the meat was cleavered and included lots of bones. I suppose the shrimp version is the only one without that problem.
But there was still plenty of chicken to chew. And the curry, milder than curries of other nations, was well seasoned.
The best curry in town? No, I don’t think so. But it’s certainly one of the best food values.
And because I stopped to eat I was able to add my mileage and tolls to my expense report. Win win.
