Discovery! Irie Caribbean Grill

Today we kick off a recurring blogalicious feature, Discovery! All those out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-path places people with real jobs would never have the time to find. Rejoice, nine-to-fivers, we’ve done the work for you.

Looking for Jamaican jerk on the go? Shawty, we can take you there. Follow us down into the trenches of Deep South Philly, along Passyunk Avenue’s western arm. If you wind up at the crossing the bridge into Southwest, you’ve gone to far, though really we can’t imagine anyone missing this Irie Caribbean Grill, a festive hunter green-and-banana yellow lunch truck parked on the corner of 24th Street. If “oxtail”, “curry goat” and the owner Veronica Clark’s other West Indies delights hand-painted on the truck’s southern side won’t stop traffic, we don’t know what will.

Lunch platters cost $6, $9 or $11 for small, medium or large portions, respectively. Served over killer red beans and rice, the medium-sized jerk chicken was more like a supersized order; zippy, zesty pieces of succulent chicken splashed with a brown hot sauce we just said yes to without knowing what the hell it was. Clark poured it on like she was putting out a fire. We began with the plastic fork and knife, but eventually got hands on, gnawing till our lips stung and fingernails were dirty. To the dark meat- and bone-averse, consider yourselves warned. Not to be missed: Irie’s mac ‘n’ cheese, the springiest, creamiest we’ve ever encountered. All those truffled, lobster-studded imposters, you should be ashamed of yourselves. This is what mac ‘n’ cheese is supposed to be, elbow noodles packed together into a sublimely soft, supple, square pillow. Visual aid incoming.

Photo: blogalicious