Jerk Food Finds a Home in Chicago

Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

Society & Culture, Education, Public, Chicago, Arts, City, Radio, Curious, Investigation

4.8 • 642 Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2023

⏱️ 21 minutes

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Summary

Even though the Jamaican population in Chicago is relatively small, the city is flush with restaurants serving jerk-style foods. Why are there so many? And what is authentic jerk cuisine?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Imagine being by the ocean, hanging out on the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean,
0:08.0	the sky, a vibrant shade of blue, the sun on your face, a place like Jamaica,
0:14.0	the sounds of reggae music, mixing with the smells on the grill,
0:20.0	slowly cooking a crispy chicken that's been marinating for days.
0:24.6	It's nice to dream, isn't it?
0:27.6	When it's actually March in Chicago, about 40 degrees and cloudy.
0:32.6	Luckily, we can soak up some of that Jamaican vibe right here,
0:36.6	because there are many jerk
0:39.5	restaurants in town that are trying to bring the island's flavors to our palettes.
0:45.5	So many in fact that Test Name Hassan took notice.
0:49.6	You know just moving around the city I just noticed that there was either a jerk restaurant, like, seemingly
0:57.0	on every corner, or if you went to a restaurant that wasn't specifically a jerk restaurant,
1:02.1	they had a jerk offering.
1:04.0	Test name is originally from L.A. and loves Jamaican food.
1:08.9	But it feels really odd to her that she'd notice so many more Jamaican restaurants here.
1:15.3	What's going on with that?
1:17.3	So she sent Curious City a question.
1:20.1	Why are there so many jerk restaurants in Chicago?
1:24.0	There's not a big enough Jamaican community to justify all of these jerk spots.
1:29.3	Hey, it's Adriana Cardona McGigad and while we wish we were on the beach by the ocean,
1:37.3	on this episode we're talking about Jamaican food in Chicago.
1:42.3	We'll find out what eats jerk,
	...

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