The Dutch Pot shares a plaza with two other restaurants of ethnic
origin, a Colombian bakery and bar and a Salvadorian lunch spot that
serves pupusas. I'd like to return and eat a little something at each
place. As far as the Dutch Pot goes, there's a big lunch counter with a
glass case when you walk in. All of the dishes are served sort of
cafeteria style, spooned from metal warming trays by the Jamaican
ladies behind the counter. You can get oxtail, curry goat, curry
chicken, jerk chicken, cow foot stew, tripe and beans, and a whole lot
more, and everything comes in three sizes -- sample, small, and large.
The sample is just $4.95, and just gives a taste of the main dish, but
the small, for $3 more, comes with a huge pile of rice and peas and a
side of stewed cabbage or plantains. You can also get whole steamed
snapper smothered in rich brown gravy or jerk sauce with onions and
peppers for about $12.
I ordered the curry chicken, and my
companion got the jerk chicken. The curry was loaded with onions and
thyme, and the sauce had a really vibrant stock flavor. The chicken
itself was completely falling apart -- at one point I stabbed a piece
with my fork to give to my friend and it fell apart before I could pass
it to his tray. Because of its texture, the curry is ideal for that
habit islanders love so much: sucking on the bones. For a non islander,
I think I cleaned mine off pretty damn good.The curry wasn't much on
the spice, however, so I grabbed a bottle of Gracie hot sauce from a
nearby table. This stuff was super hot -- a blend made from
Jamaican-grown Scotch Bonnet peppers. I only needed a few drops total
to turn the curry up to scorching.
The jerk chicken was good too, but I prefer a bit more jerk flavor than what this provided. The
meat was smokey and grilled, though it had sat in the warming tray for
a while after cooking, I think. It tasted mostly like pretty good
grilled chicken, without much spicy/sweet jerk flavor to speak of. My
companion did get some fantastic oxtail gravy ladled onto his rice,
however, rich and almost sticky with rendered marrow. A couple pieces
of oxtail even found their way into the mix.
I'd definitely
return to the Dutch Pot. The portions are huge and the food, though a
little light on spices, is made very well. And I really would go back
to tour that whole plaza. I could kill a puposa right now.
Dutch Pot
6029 Kimberly Blvd., North Lauderdale
954-979-1915
www.dutchpotjamaicanrestaurant.com