Jerk It Smoke It — Restaurant in Frederick

We visited this restaurant because we wanted to support a local black owned restaurant.

Pros: This atmosphere of the restaurant has authentic Jamaican vibes. Food was on point. Menu selection was good. Bathroom was really clean. Price point for dinner was about what you would expect in this day and age. They do have lunch specials that are less expensive.

Oxtail - 5 stars! It was on point!!!

Cons: we didn’t really get a warm greeting from the first waitress we had; it’s almost as though they are more used to carryout because it took her awhile to even bring us a menu or table settings. The second waitress was much friendlier and helpful

Spice level- I hesitate to list this because I know Jamaican level spice is different than American spice but even with that said I asked whether stuff was spicy before ordering it, especially after the first thing I ordered for my 10 year old was too spicy and even the salmon burger came out spicy after they told me it wasn’t. Again, I don’t personally mind spice but just be aware that most of the stuff we ordered was spicy, even when they said it wasn’t.

Mac-n-cheese - it looked good but after tasting it, it was a 1star. Even my toddler wouldn’t eat it and it was on the cold side. It needs work.

Overall we will def be back for the oxtail and try some other things...

I ordered rice and peas, Mac and cheese, fried dumplings and festival. The rice and peas were hot beyond consumption because the pepper burst in the rice. The Mac and cheese was ok. The fried dumplings were small and hard, but edible. I called to let them know to check the rice and peas before they kept selling it because for someone who can’t take pepper at all, they would have been shell shocked eating that rice. The festival was stone hard so I took it back. The rice I was going to let slide but not the festival. He brought me out some others. And they too very dry. They were not fresh at allll. Now I lived in Brooklyn Ny for most of my life and festival is something I always eat. I have never seen them look like this or taste like this. I think they could stand to maybe prepare them in advance but not drop them in the oil until someone orders it. What notice about Maryland is the lack of Jamaican restaurants and the quality is simply not the same maybe due to lack of competition. If you are a festival fan this might not be the place to go. I’ve uploaded...

Update - closed now, not surprised, can't imagine why they thought this would work, no unique angle, not high standards, weird location, feels like a place started with mommy/Daddy money. They tried to recover after a bad start, hopefully a learning opportunity

Update - after a poor first visit gave it another try, restaurant has been renovated, had the lunch special jerk wrap, was excellent...I mean really good, and only $10 with fries. Staff were v nice, kitchen and dining areas v clean, music wasn't over loud. What a turnaround....so deserves an improved review.

Jam-meh-can, first visit, really sub par vs the other Frederick Jamaican place on east, st. Herb potatoes were raw, yes raw, dumplings we're not dumplings but fried dough balls, jerk chicken was good but not sure it is any better than store bought sauce, took an age for food to arrive, place played reggae at 9000 decibels, I try and support local businesses but this food...