If Noah Webster were alive today, Vernon’s Jerk Paradise would make him eat his words. — literally. Whereas Webster defines the word “jerk” as a dull, stupid person, this two-year old Jamaican restaurant, 252 West 29th Street, gives it new meaning: Jamaican barbecue.
And if the old lexicographer could taste just one morsel, he would gladly become a Jerk. Especially if he tastes the sauce. ”It can become habit-forming” says the 48-year-old Vernon, a dead ringer for a Fitter George Foreman. Sitting at my table, he supports his claim with the following story:
“A man came in here the other day, exclaiming: ‘The worse thing to have happen to me was to come into this damn restaurant! You are making me an addict! What the hell do you have in this thing, Marijuana?’ “But that’s not the worst of it,” adds Vernon, his muscular frame shaking with laughter. “The man sent a jar to his mother in Virginia, and now all he can hear is ‘Hey Joe, when are you going to send me more of that Vernon sauce?’”
The jerk craze began in 1982, when Vernon and his now deceased brother opened their first restaurant in the Pelham section of Westchester.
They pioneered Jerk cooking in America, and a national appetite for it has developed. “Restaurants have sprung up all over,” he says, “not only in Brooklyn. You see them in places like Montauk, Long Island and Seattle, Washington.”
Chicken-giants are cashing in on the hunger too. Leaning forward over the table, Vernon asks: “Have you seen Frank Perdue’s TV commercial?” Mimicking one of Frank’s commercials, he quips: “.How would you like to try my spicy, marinated chicken?”
Settling back in his chair,” Vernon says “Go to Kentucky Fried Chicken, and what do you see? — Hot and spicy, marinated chicken! They don’t call it Jerk because they suspect that people will think that Jerk is jerk. But we are changing a bad word to good.”
It never was a bad word in Boston Bay, Jamaica. This area, lying about 65 miles southeast of Kingston, the capital, is the home of Jerk cooking, still done in the traditional way. Pepper, spices and herbs are rubbed into meat, especially pork, chicken or fish then placed in a deep pit covered with pimento wood and smoked for several hours.
The locals are split on the origin of this method. Some say it arrived with the Maroons, a small, self-governed group that descend from the Ashanti in Ghana, West Africa. Others give credit to the first inhabitants, the Arawak Indians. These south American hunters would jerk a pig for 24 hours. But a Jerk doesn’t care about the origin, only about the taste.
At Jerk Paradise, Vernon has simulated the process which is enhanced by the house sauce. Chicken, meat and fish are marinated overnight in the house sauce. The meat is baked, then grilled. In the case of pork, this insures thorough cooking.
Vernon brags about the hot demand for the house sauce. Bill Cosby, who sometimes hires him to cook for his show, “is a fan of it.” And food chains, such as Zabar’s, Balducci’s and Bloomingdales, stock it, thanks to his marketing company, Entre. “It’s going to be my money maker”. Holding up a jar, he says, “At the moment, that’s the role of the restaurant.”
An elegant place with a white latticed ceiling, murals depicting tropical birds and pink tablecloths, Jerk Paradise has the perfect ambience for enjoying the Jerk experience. It can begin with either Goat Head or Cow Cod Soup [$3], followed by a selection of Jamaican hors d’oeuvres: fried plantain, beef patties, vegetable patties, codfish cakes [which could use more fish], and Festival, a tasty cornmeal dumpling normally eaten with fish.
Of course the entrée [$10-$12] should be a Jerk dish, of pork, chicken, fish, lobster or seafood. If you have room, try a side order of Oxtail or Curry Goat. Both are as tender and juicy as the Jerk dishes.
The short menu, kept that way to insure fresh food daily, also offers other Jamaican specialties, including the traditional dish — Ackee and Salt Fish. It’s a sauté of Ackee, which resembles scrambled eggs, codfish, tomatoes and onions served with white rice or rice and peas. Absolutely delicious! And sitting on the table is a dish of the addicting house sauce.
For dessert [$2.50-$3.00] try the Jamaican-flavored ice cream or a piece of Rum Raisin, Jamaican Rum or Carrot Cake. Beverage choices [$1.25-$4.50] vary widely. There is coffee; exotic drinks such as Passion, which tastes like a cocktail of flowers; tropical sodas, including homemade ginger beer.
Still waiting for its liquor license, the restaurant allows patrons to bring their own “brown bag”. It offers a wine list, along with a list of “Powerful Drinks,” whose names suggest a kick. The Knock-Down, for instance, is reputed to “nice-up” your sex life. Ah! Another lexicographical twist. If so, ain’t that another one up on Webster!
Vernon’s Jerk Paradise is open Monday to Friday, 11:30am to 11pm and Saturdays, 3pm to 12pm. Live Caribbean music on Fridays. Visa, American Express and Master Card are accepted. Telephone (212) 268-7020.
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