Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Pretty dang Jamaican

Barrio Logan gets Laylah’s

The enigmatic brown stew chicken
The enigmatic brown stew chicken
Place

Laylah’s Patties and Jerk

3160 Main Street, San Diego

In the past few years, San Diego has experienced a bit of a Jamaican restaurant switcheroo. Last year Island Spice, a favorite of mine, moved from its longtime Grant Hill location up to Rolando. A couple years back, Laylah’s moved out of Rolando, winding up in the south end of Barrio Logan, right beside the gate to the 32nd Street naval base — pretty near to that old Spice location.

Sponsored
Sponsored

As per usual, I’m mostly interested in how this had an impact on me. When Island Spice left my general vicinity, I lamented its departure. Suddenly I lost my quick access to its jerk chicken and oxtail plates. But I hadn’t tried Laylah’s yet.

Laylah’s Patties and Jerk

It’s a bit further of a drive for me, by about three minutes. But it’s pretty dang Jamaican. Showing up at a slow hour between lunch and dinner, I found dance hall playing to a small, empty restaurant — no one even manning the counter. I stood there, grooving out to the music for a few minutes before I noticed a call bell on the counter, the kind you expect to find at a hotel registration desk. I rang the bell, and a couple moments later a lanky Jamaican man appeared from the back of the kitchen to take the order.

Laylah’s offers the same jerk chicken Ian Pike enjoyed back in 2012, and I’ve since tried their excellent curry chicken as well. This day I went with the more enigmatic brown stew chicken. It’s basically chicken braised in a seasoned brown tomato-and-chicken-stock sauce. Whichever chicken dish you like, you may get it on a plate or in a bowl. Both are served with rice and peas and vegetables, while the plate included plantains.

The “peas” are small black beans, scattered throughout the seasoned rice. The vegetables are composed mostly of sautéed cabbage, and while that doesn’t sound like much, the buttery concoction turns out to be sumptuous — good vegetables for people who don’t like vegetables.

The tender, meaty chicken did not disappoint. Though I’ve yet to try Laylah’s jerk chicken or oxtail, my early favorite here is that Caribbean curry. It’s bright and spicy, while the brown stew skewed earthier. Either will keep me coming back.

The good-sized lunchtime plate went for ten bucks, and it’s a few bucks more at dinner time. Laylah’s did make me want to revisit Island Spice, so I’ll probably make a trip to Rolando soon and start comparing dishes in earnest. But for now, it feels like a win just knowing I still have Caribbean food in the neighborhood.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
The enigmatic brown stew chicken
The enigmatic brown stew chicken
Place

Laylah’s Patties and Jerk

3160 Main Street, San Diego

In the past few years, San Diego has experienced a bit of a Jamaican restaurant switcheroo. Last year Island Spice, a favorite of mine, moved from its longtime Grant Hill location up to Rolando. A couple years back, Laylah’s moved out of Rolando, winding up in the south end of Barrio Logan, right beside the gate to the 32nd Street naval base — pretty near to that old Spice location.

Sponsored
Sponsored

As per usual, I’m mostly interested in how this had an impact on me. When Island Spice left my general vicinity, I lamented its departure. Suddenly I lost my quick access to its jerk chicken and oxtail plates. But I hadn’t tried Laylah’s yet.

Laylah’s Patties and Jerk

It’s a bit further of a drive for me, by about three minutes. But it’s pretty dang Jamaican. Showing up at a slow hour between lunch and dinner, I found dance hall playing to a small, empty restaurant — no one even manning the counter. I stood there, grooving out to the music for a few minutes before I noticed a call bell on the counter, the kind you expect to find at a hotel registration desk. I rang the bell, and a couple moments later a lanky Jamaican man appeared from the back of the kitchen to take the order.

Laylah’s offers the same jerk chicken Ian Pike enjoyed back in 2012, and I’ve since tried their excellent curry chicken as well. This day I went with the more enigmatic brown stew chicken. It’s basically chicken braised in a seasoned brown tomato-and-chicken-stock sauce. Whichever chicken dish you like, you may get it on a plate or in a bowl. Both are served with rice and peas and vegetables, while the plate included plantains.

The “peas” are small black beans, scattered throughout the seasoned rice. The vegetables are composed mostly of sautéed cabbage, and while that doesn’t sound like much, the buttery concoction turns out to be sumptuous — good vegetables for people who don’t like vegetables.

The tender, meaty chicken did not disappoint. Though I’ve yet to try Laylah’s jerk chicken or oxtail, my early favorite here is that Caribbean curry. It’s bright and spicy, while the brown stew skewed earthier. Either will keep me coming back.

The good-sized lunchtime plate went for ten bucks, and it’s a few bucks more at dinner time. Laylah’s did make me want to revisit Island Spice, so I’ll probably make a trip to Rolando soon and start comparing dishes in earnest. But for now, it feels like a win just knowing I still have Caribbean food in the neighborhood.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.