Jerk 48: Competitor's Menu Comparison
Jerk 48 is one of my favorite Jerk Chicken restaurants in Chicago. In fact, I’ve already written extensively about my love of this authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken restaurant located on Chicago’s South Side here.
The reason I love Jerk 48 over other Jerk Chicken restaurants is the special options offered on the menu that I can’t get elsewhere. I’ve tried many other Jerk Chicken restaurants in the area, but none have the extensive and unique dish options I love to order from Jerk 48. In a minute, I’ll breakdown and compare 2 similarly themed restaurants from the area that can’t match the selection and quality I find at Jerk 48.
The restaurants I will compare are Fire Jerk Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Jamaican Jerk King. First, I’ll start with Fire Jerk.
Fire Jerk Jamaican Jerk Chicken Menu
The extensive seafood options and variety of lunch specials make the Fire Jerk Jamaican Jerk Chicken menu so interesting. Like any respectable Jerk Chicken restaurant, they offer the standard options ranging from ¼ white, ½ mixed, wings, or mixed assortments.
On their menu, Fire Jerk Jamaican Jerk Chicken demonstrates their commitment to offering a wide selection of seafood options. They have snapper fish, catfish, shrimp, salmon, lobster tail, and tilapia. With this many seafood options, I do feel like there is plenty to choose from, but I try to stick to chicken at Jerk Chicken restaurants, and this menu feels too wide ranging sometimes.
Jamaican Jerk King
Jamaican Jerk King is another Jerk Chicken restaurant in the general area of Jerk 48. Like any Jerk Chicken restaurant, their menu includes the basic options for chicken. Jamaican Jerk King offers options like the Jerk Chicken Taco or Wrap in addition to a few seafood options. They have an extensive list of sides that includes red beans and rice, mac & cheese, yams, plantains, green beans, sweet corn, fresh salad and steamed cabbage.
The prices are reasonable, especially considering you get rice, beans, bread, sauce plus two of the sides mentioned above with every dinner special.
Jerk 48 has a great, wide selection of Jerk Chicken options. Like any Jerk Chicken restaurant, they have an assortment of options to try the Jerk Chicken on its own with a mix of white or dark meat. Their side selections include fries, rice and peas, mac & cheese, cabbage, and yams. They also offer specialty dishes like jerk tacos and burritos as well as Jerk Chicken Alfredo dinners.
The Alfredo Dinners are the most unique aspect of this menu and one of the more unique elements I have ever seen at a Jerk Chicken restaurant. Many Jerk Chicken restaurants offer seafood options (Jerk 48 does as well), but not all offer such delicious Alfredo sauce based dishes.
Menu Comparison
After looking at all three of these menus side-by-side, I definitely think Jerk 48 has a really solid menu. They keep it nice and simple, while also offering a few specialty options that allow you to try new things and mix it up. If you are a seafood fanatic, Fire Jerk is probably the place for you.
Here is a quick breakdown of options for a variety of factors:
Price: Jerk 48
Quality: Jamaican Jerk King
Authenticity: Jerk 48
Wide Selection: Fire Jerk Jamaican Jerk Chicken