Jamaican Food!

Devin and I went to Jamaica for Thanksgiving week. We had several local drivers tell us all about the food (Devin kept telling everyone I'm a chef!), so I wanted to try everything.

Of course we had jerk chicken. Jerk pork is also very common. What surprised us is something that they call Festival. It's basically a fried dough that is served and meant to be eaten with the jerk chicken or pork. The spice of the jerk and the sweet fried dough make for an excellent combination.

We visited Bob Marley's tomb, and on the way back, we stopped at the side of the road for some "apple bananas" that were delicious. They were bananas that were maybe three inches long and so flavorful. Our driver bought the stand out of them, telling us that he likes to make fruit bowls for his kids in the mornings.

Jerkie's was a local spot just outside our resort. We stayed six nights and went there four times! We tried the curried goat and the escoviche fish there. Escoviche is a fried whole fish served over rice and peas (beans), and even Devin liked it. He doesn't even eat fish!

The buffet at the resort was pretty great. They had all sorts of breads that were obviously made fresh daily, as well as a lot of Jamaican specialties, like the jerk, ackee and saltfish (not a fan), and curry chicken. We had lots of Red Stripe. All-inclusive is the way to go, but definitely don't be afraid to venture off the resort!

On the way to the airport on our last day, we stopped at Ultimate Jerky Hut. It was the best jerk and Festival that we'd had the entire trip! One place we didn't get to check out was Scotchie's, but we'll be back in Jamaica in a year! We loved it that much, so we're going to do it again for our honeymoon!