Jamaican food – Michael Eats

Above Average Patties at Phamilyeats

Published on July 10, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 858 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto
Website: https://phamilyeats.ca/

Though Phamilyeats started out as one of the many delivery-only eateries that popped up during the pandemic, they now share a space with Conspiracy Pizza and Churnt Up. They specialize in meat pies — either family-sized pot pies, or individual patties — and based on the patty I tried, they’re definitely worth checking out.

I went with the spicy beef patty, which is a classic patty through and through. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, but it’s really well executed, with a great beefy flavour and a decent level of spice.

I also appreciated that the beef was a bit chunkier than the norm. The meat in a lot of patties, particularly cheaper ones, is so thoroughly pulverized into a fine paste that it’s only vaguely recognizable as beef. That’s definitely not the case here.

And the pastry might just be the highlight, with a delightful flakiness that complements the beef filling perfectly.

Above Average Patties at Stush Patties

Published on September 29, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Website: https://stushpatties.com/

Stush Patties are available frozen at various supermarkets throughout the GTA (you can see where on their website), but alas, they don’t have a permanent location where you can buy their patties hot.

They were recently set up for the weekend at the Cheese Boutique, and I can say pretty conclusively that they need to open their own place ASAP. They’re top notch patties.

They had five types of patties on offer: beef, jerk chicken, jerk pulled pork, spicy lentil, and swiss chard. They’re five bucks a pop (or slightly cheaper if you buy them frozen), which seems pricey, but you get what you pay for.

I went with the pulled pork, which features a whole bunch of tender pork with a delightful punch of tasty jerk flavour. It’s meaty and very nicely spiced, with a pleasant kick and a mild sweetness that rounds things out.

The pastry is quite good too; it’s rich and flaky without being overwhelming. Some patties overdo the pastry and skimp on the filling, but this one is just right.

Jerk Chicken at Rasta Pasta

Published on August 22, 2019October 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 61 Kensington Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://eatrastapasta.ca/

Rasta Pasta serves, as the name implies, a fusion of Caribbean and Italian cuisine. It’s a bizarre amalgamation of flavours, but they’ve been a Kensington Market hotspot for years, so they’re obviously doing something right.

Their pasta wasn’t available when I visited, so I kept it simple and ordered the jerk chicken sandwich, dubbed the Vatican.

The sandwich consists of saucy jerk chicken and coleslaw in a soft roll that’s nicely crispified thanks to a panini press. It’s quite good.

However, despite the presence of a functioning grill at the front of the restaurant, the chicken tastes more braised than grilled. It’s extremely tender, and the jerk sauce is flavour-packed and mildly spicy, but the crispy exterior and smoky flavour that you expect from jerk chicken is completely absent.

And yet it’s so tasty that it isn’t particularly an issue. The sweet coleslaw complements the savoury chicken really well, and the crispy roll is the perfect vehicle. It’s a very satisfying sandwich.