LATEST NEWSRECENT REVIEWSRECENT COMMENTSLATEST POSTSOTHER STUFF
Last Update: Mar 15th, 2016
Jerk Machine Fort Lauderdale

Jerk Machine

317 SW 6th Street
Fort Lauderdale FL, 33315
Overall Rating
2.5
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
03/14/2016

Details

Attire: Casual
Parking: Private Lot
Reservations: No
Delivery: No

Pros

Relatively Cheap Fast Food
Different Than Every Other Place

Cons

Mediocre Fare
Cheap Ingredients

Critic's Review

Jerk Machine moved from the creepy location on NW 2nd a few years ago, and I saw little reason to check them out again. This location has been the home of many failed businesses so I thought it was a curious move; why move from the worst location in Fort Lauderdale to the 2nd worst? But they seem to be making it work.

They did a bit of work in the inside; the BBQ place was pretty dingy. This leans sterile, but it's better than before. I wasn't eating in so I didn't really care.

Jerk Machine Counter

I ordered the oxtail, because I eat a lot of chicken and any twit can make jerk chicken. Oxtail takes a week to make without a pressure cooker. When I got home I was pretty unhappy with the packaging. Stuff with gravy needs better packaging than this.

The bag it was in was filled with gravy; but luckily it didn't leak out. At $10 it's not that cheap for this kind of place, but it "appears" to be a lot of food.

Jerk Machine Oxtail Lunch

The big problem, of course, is that oxtail is mostly bone. And they didn't trim the fat that well, so it was a pain to find the little bits of meat. I liked the cabbage; it's kind of buttery (margarine more likely), and the rice was fine. Oxtail is a bit gamey; this was tougher than it should have been after braising for half a day.

Jerk Machine Oxtail Lunch

I figured I'd eat half when I first opened it, but I ended up eating it all and still not finding enough meat to satisfy my hunger.

Conclusion

This place is better than the only location in that you could actually eat in here; the people eating here seemed disinterested in the Trump rally playing on the TV however. It was a better deal with everything was $7, but you get a decent lunch for around $10. The oxtail isn't that good; these are the pieces that restaurants reject. Go for Chicken for Fish instead.

Review 03/12/10

Jerk Machine Old Location

I heard about this place by accident and I wasn't too familiar with the neighborhood, but with tornado warnings looming I didn't feel like driving around too much. I found their website which was missing all sorts of info, particularly prices. So I didn't really know what I was getting into.

Jerk Machine Interior

As it turns out, the place is a dump right across from the bus station. Its not a good part of town, and the bad weather didn't help. I went inside and looked for a menu, but there are no menus. There are blackboards with the "menu", which was different then the one on their web site. The handwriting was bad, so it could barely be read. I figured I'd go simple and just order the small white meat jerk chicken and a dumpling. the woman kept saying "what", and asking me things in some drawl that I couldn't understand. Finally I think she got it.

Seconds later, it was in a box and ready. I paid the $8.75 and headed home. I thought it was a bit expensive for the small. Well there's nothing worse when you get home with take out and find that they gave you something other than what you ordered.

Jerk Machine Chicken and Rice

I'm pretty sure that legs and thighs are dark meat, right? Ok, so I figured I'd deal with the extra calories. It smelled pretty good. They said I was getting white rice, but I guess its mixed with the jerk sauce so its not really white, and there were a couple of kidney beans in there also. While it looks like a lot, what they gave me was mostly bones. The thighs had little meat. While the spices were pretty good, it was annoying to eat; bones were broken and had to be picked out.

I'm a pretty light eater and it just wasn't enough. The dumpling was just a dense ball of calories with little taste so I tossed it. Its really not a good deal at all for the price.

The good news is that I can have more than usual for dinner. But I won't be going back and wouldn't send anyone else either.

Comment Policy Add Comment

Next: Agave Taco Bar