“I have his recipe and I still can’t figure it out,” laughed Patrick Walters, Jr. of his father’s jerk chicken. “You can have all the pieces of a puzzle and still not get it.”
Here’s what we do know about Patrick Sr.’s chicken: it’s marinated and seasoned for 24 hours, cooked in a traditional Jamaican smoker, which gives the chicken a nice finish, and, let’s see, what else?
“It comes together nicely,” was all Jr. would say. That it does. In fact, there are lots of things coming together nicely in Uncle Don’s Kitchen, a just-opened, takeout-only Jamaican eatery in Hicksville. Besides the plates of jerk chicken, which come in three sizes ($9-$13) and are served with two sides (think rice-and-peas, plantains, steamed vegetables), there are great heaps of mouthwatering, fall-off-the-bone braised oxtail ($15-$18, also with two sides), and wonderfully juicy jerk-spiced fried chicken ($8-$12, yup, two sides). The loaded jerk chicken fries, meanwhile, topped with diced meat and drizzled with spiced Cheddar cheese ($5.99) will please nontraditionalists, of whom there are many, it seems.
“People come from all over for that,” said Patrick Jr.
And once word gets out about Uncle Don’s selection of Jamaican beef patties (the fillings are enveloped in buttery, flaky crusts and start at $2.85), people will be coming for those, too. Additionally, there are breakfasts of cornmeal porridge, soups such as red pea, sides like spinach rice, and lots more.
The only thing that gives me pause: the name. Why are two men named Patrick Walters running a place called Uncle Don’s Kitchen?
“His ancestral family name is Donovan,” laughed Patrick Jr. “That’s how he’s known in Jamaica.”
Uncle Don’s Kitchen is at 1B W. Village Green in Hicksville, 516-226-3808, uncledonskitchen.com. Opening hours are daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
