Jerk Pan
“You get rice and peas and another side along with your main order of chicken or oxtail.”
“The proudly flying Jamaican flag is perhaps the only way to identify this otherwise unassuming truck.”
“I also had a bite of the oxtail (my other choice) and it was flavored well, though not as fall-off-the-bone as I would expect it to.”
Jerk Pan
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
After relocating to Midtown East from the Financial District, I was in need of finding a Caribbean food truck to fill the hole in my heart. Yelp quickly unveiled Jerk Pan to me and I was sold. What really sealed the deal? The line at noon on the dot.
Yes, the line is long. No, it doesn't move extraordinarily fast. Yes, you'll probably do better with an hour lunch rather than a half hour if you want food from here. The truck doesn't really say too much. There is a small banner on the front with the name, while the rest of the truck seems pretty beat-up. There is no menu posted, just a few folded menus you can take and browse through while you wait.
The staff is friendly and everyone knows what they want before they get up there (I suggest you do the same). For $8 you can get a medium-size Jerk chicken, stew chicken, curry goat, curry chicken, oxtail, etc. A large will run you another dollar. They also offer lunch "mini" sizes for $6.50 but if you want the rice and peas (yep, not beans here) and cabbage then go with a medium or large. The medium was FILLED with food. I watched them fill up my platter with a ton of chicken, a shitload of rice, and a nice serving of cabbage.
1) the food smells amazing and authentic (I grew up with Jamaicans and West Indians and this is what their kitchens always smelled like) and 2) it's delicious! The chicken is moist (although a bit on the bony side) and the rice is the way rice should be made. For another dollar, you can throw in a can of soda. They also offer hot sauce. Overall, this is a great food truck lunch option in the area. I tried the curry chicken this time around, however, I want to try their curry goat next.
Delicious jerk chicken available in the midtown area. There are limited international foods around the area, so this truck is a godsend to the area. Great chicken at reasonable prices. Not a fan of their mixed vegetables or cole slaw though. I'd pass next time.
CHEAP EATS at its best. I would suggest you go with the Mini Meals its simple Rice and Meat Curry for $7.
Platters never made sense to me ever, its like I don't want to eat all that extra Lettuce and Tomato AKA Salad and some stupid side AKA food no one wants at a premium price. These guys have got that part spot on.
I suggest Goat or Chicken Curry over the name sake Jerk Chicken and if you are feeling adventurous you cant go wrong with the OX Tail.
What is fragrant, fiery hot and smoky all at once?!?!
The perfect Jamaican jerk chicken !!! and it's all coming from a food stand. Could you believe it?
My belly was so happy! You have no idea!
The seasoning was perfect – the right amount of heat was exciting – the char flavor in every bite was arousing- the tender white chicken breast was juicy- and the aroma made everyone at work so jealous of me!
The best part was the price – $8.50! ( medium size )
I ordered my platter with rice and "peas" and macaroni salad. The "peas" are really beans. Wasn't sure if it was kidney red or black beans. Nevertheless, I thought it was edible because I found it to be a little on the dry side and was missing the fragrant use of thyme and coconut ( typical traditional recipe). Like I said, I ordered my platter with macaroni salad but I received cabbage salad instead and I wasn't too upset. At least I was able to taste it and critique it today. Most would think a cabbage salad is served cold and there's a crunch with every bite. Not here. Turns out the cabbage was steamed – making it warmer than expected.The cabbage salad ( maybe I shouldn't call it salad anymore ) contained carrots, onions, bell peppers and spices like salt, pepper and garlic and perhaps a Jamaican spice too.
Still curious how the macaroni salad would have tasted. Would it be served warm too? This just means I have to go back. And I certainly will.
Yes, as my fellow yelpers stated, the line tends to be very long between 12-2pm but it moves relatively fast. And who cares if you are 5-15 minutes late from lunch, it will all be worth it! YOLO!
Our meeting ended at 11:15 a.m. in the morning. It was hardly lunch time, but I was determined not to pass up this opportunity to eat in a different part of town.
"Come on," I said to my two colleagues, "I know a Jamaican truck just a couple blocks from here."
Now when I worked on 42nd and Madison, it was a bit of a special treat to come over to Park Avenue and walk up towards Jamaican food. In the often less than hospitable Manhattan weather, it felt like a rather far trek to go there.
I wasn't sure of the exact cross street, but since we were starting on 57th Street and heading down, I thought it must be close.
My team flagged by 52nd street, were complaining by the time we reached the church and would have gone into open revolt if the Jamaican flag wasn't visible as we crossed into the 40s. Turns out this place was much closer than I remembered to Grand Central.
There's also the small fact that Jerk isn't the food truck I remembered from meals passed. I'm not sure if this is a descendant or completely unrelated truck, but it's pretty damn tasty none the less. I came back to the office with a massive amount of jerk chicken, some nice rice, and sometime later a small food coma because all the food I ate.
Thankfully it took a bit of a walk to get there.
Awesome "Lamb curry with Rice" . One of the best places for Jamaican food.
There is usually a huge line and you have to wait for your order for a while BUT the wait is worth it.
Highly Recommend- "Lamb curry with Rice"
I have been to this truck three times so far. Once I left because I wasn't able to take the pod smell. Not sure why people like to smoke pod there.
So far I tried jerk chicken with jerk sauce and oxtail. Jerk chicken was little dry and you need to watch the bones. The sauce was too sweet for my taste. Oxtail had a very good flavor but wasn't too tender.
The service was okay. Sometimes could be a bit slow.
craving jerk chicken or other carribean delights? this is your spot. how do you know if you've found this seemingly non-descript truck? just look for a long line. a small order is $7 but if you get the medium jerk chicken platter ($11) you get a side of cabbage or mac salad. decent portion. how do you know it's good? if you are still craving it for dinner that day!