Front Page Jamaican Grille

1117 W Manchester Blvd #C
Inglewood, CA 90301

(310) 216-9521

www.frontpagejamaicangrille.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/front-page-jamaican-grille-inglewood

Rating: 4.5 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $$-$$$ ($7-12)

What was ordered: Oxtails, Jerk Chicken, Homemade Ginger Beer

Date of visit: 2 February 2011 (1^st visit)

Review: A hole-in-the-wall restaurant, serving ethnic cuisine, in a strip mall, in a rough part of town, sporting a 4.5 star rating on Yelp… now that is a recipe for culinary excellence! Don’t go to Front Page if ambiance is important to you; don’t go to Front Page if you can’t handle spicy food; don’t go to Front Page if you constantly worry about your car being stolen; but everyone else get over to Front Page as soon as you can.

I was feeling adventurous and hungry so I got a large order of Oxtails and a homemade Ginger Beer. Before I knew it a big pile spicy, meaty, boney stewed oxtails was brought to my table. What is an oxtail? I don’t know… the tail of an ox I guess. They certainly aren’t health food but these were delicious. They were served over an even larger pile of rice and beans. Mixed steamed vegetables and fried plantains were on the side. The rice and beans were slowly cooked and full of flavor. I’d guess large quantities of garlic and some form of animal fat was used in their preparation. The mixed vegetables were mostly cabbage and some green leaf (maybe collard greens?) and had a similar flavor as the rice and beans. I’m not usually a fan of fried plantains but these were pretty good (still a little too oily and sweet for me).

My friend ordered their signature dish, the Jerk Chicken and it did not disappoint. For a buck more he got all breast meat and that’s quite a deal for how much breast meat was on his plate. The chicken was tender and juicy and the marinade definitely involved some habaneras. The homemade ginger beer we each ordered was sweet, delicious, and made with so much fresh ginger (from the root not a powder) that I could only finish a quarter of the cup with lunch. The guy behind the counter added some ice for me and I timidly sipped it the rest of the day.

If you show up and Front Page Jamaican Grille is closed just go to Los Taquitos further back in the same strip mall. Front Page holds somewhat odd hours which thwarted us on our first attempt to come on a Monday. Lucky for us that is how we discovered the great Mexican restaurant Los Taquitos. As is my normal procedure, I will refrain from giving them 5 stars based on one visit. 4.5 stars.

-Ben