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Karibbean Grill
3114 S. Dupont Blvd., Smyrna, 423-0839, karibbeangrill.com
Lincoln Notice knew he was onto something when the aroma of his jerk chicken crisping over an open flame began stopping traffic on U.S. 13 near Cheswold. Prior to opening his restaurant in Smyrna, the Kingston-born Notice took to selling his Jamaican family recipes on the street, or at local events. “We’d head outside, light the grill up, and cars would stop,” he says.
That was enough to convince Notice to open his calypso-tinged Karibbean Grill in 2011. Customers clamor for the jerk chicken and pork chops, which Notice marinates for two days before applying a secret blend of seasonings and throwing them onto a hot grill, where they’re basted with a peppery, 20-ingredient homemade jerk sauce. The most crucial ingredient, Notice says, is the grill itself.
“The way you’re supposed to cook jerk chicken is on the grill,” he says. “A lot of places put it in the oven, but that crust and that grill flavor are the most important part.”
Stewed oxtail—which braises for three hours in carrots, butter beans, green peppers and other aromatic veggies—has been praised by Jamaican ex-pats for its authenticity, and lauded by newcomers. Notice’s succulent jerk ribs hammer home the island-soul food mash-up.
“We reach people who have been there and want real, authentic Jamaican food back in their lives,” he says. “And I have a lot of customers that have never had Jamaican food. Once they come, they’re coming back.”