TORONTO: Positively Irie

UPDATE – January 2010: The owners of Irie Food Joint have closed the Jamaican restaurant and opened Harlem Underground in the same location. The new eatery focuses on Southern food as well as live events.

Irie comes from Jamaican Creole and roughly means “feelin’ great.” One of the first things you see when you walk into Irie Food Joint is a wall made up of stubby Red Stripe beer bottles. I think that’s a good sign.

Then a very pleasant woman greets you with a smile and lets you choose where you want to sit. Also a good sign in this city of “I have better things to do but I guess I’ll take your order” servers.

I’m a sucker for Irie’s jerk chicken. But on this night, I’m feelin’ adventurous so I order the braised ox-tail special with rice and beans. The meat is tender and falls off the bone but I’m a tad impatient with the amount of bones on my plate.

Joanne gets the jerk chicken salad, and Nat orders the curry chicken roti. I think the roti is awesome but Nat says it’s not as good as the ones her grandparents make.For dessert, there’s cornmeal cake that’s surprisingly good and mango cheesecake that gets Nat’s thumbs up.

I probably go to Irie every time I visit Toronto. Great food, reasonable prices and always really nice service. This time, I discover their martinis are pretty damn good too, especially the “Screw Face,” made of vodka and sourpuss.

There’s a shady patio in the back for the summer. And check out the artwork – made of acrylic hair.

Irie Food Joint, 745 Queen Street West, Toronto, 416-366-4743