In these three words — “WE ARE LINDEN” — the crisp-looking T-shirt worn by a server inside Ena’s Caribbean Kitchen said a lot.
I’d later learn this server was Marlon Hayles, the restaurant’s general manager and son of its eponymous owner, Ena Hayles. Marlon’s shirt obviously expressed pride in the neighborhood, but it also conveyed support for the WE ARE LINDEN community outreach and youth-mentoring organization, which recently held its 7th Annual Linden Block Party.
The shirt could almost have been commenting on the widely beloved eatery, too. As a 20-some-year fixture on a prominent corner in Linden (Cleveland and Myrtle avenues), Ena’s Caribbean Kitchen is a neighborhood landmark where people from all walks of life show up for delicious, home-cooked-style Jamaican food.
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This was evident during recent visits when various passersby waved, asked how I was doing and remarked on the dishes I was ripping through on Ena’s convenient patio. Situated near the parking lot behind the restaurant, the patio provides umbrella-shaded, nicely spaced picnic tables that make fine lunchtime perches in good weather. These come in handy because Ena’s doesn’t currently offer indoor seating.
Orders are taken at two counter stations inside the modest-sized eatery. Ena’s interior could be described as no-frills, but it's bright and tidy and you might — as Bob Marley once sang — “lively up yourself” with its reggae-happy soundtrack, Jamaican-flag-green shiny paint and framed flags of Caribbean nations.
One decoration speaks loudly to Ena’s local-icon status: A signed photograph of Guy Fieri (didn't someone say he resembles a human Hot Wheels car?), who featured Ena’s on his popular Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Ena’s easy-to-navigate menu lists jerk chicken at its top for good reasons. The dish is practically synonymous with Jamaican cuisine and the eatery’s flavor-packed version is a great value — $10.95 for a huge portion served, as all entrees are, with heaping helpings of two of the place’s good sides.
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Easily among the best jerk chicken in town, it was grill-smoked and brought real island heat courtesy of Scotch Bonnet chiles. Beneath appealingly blistered skin, it also brought falling-off-the-bone meat fragrant with a vivid herb-and-spice medley. The equally spicy, same-priced and also delicious BBQ jerk chicken hit similar notes with the addition of a tangy-sweet house barbecue sauce ladled on like gravy.
More falling-off-the-bone spicy meat arrived wWhole red snapper with escoveitch, rice, and collard greens are seen at Ena’s Caribbean Kitchen with the excellent curry goat ($14.95). Some of those bones were small and jagged, but this rustic stew with notes of clove, allspice and ginger was worth any meticulous fork work.
Ena’s Jamaican-style rice and beans — simple, hearty and versatile if somewhat clumpy — are a fine side to sop up sauces and juices. Other soulful sides include: thick strands of cooked-to-sweet cabbage enlivened by sauteed onions, peppers and a whiff of chile; juicy, tender and terrific collard greens; soothing mac and cheese with a tangy sauce; buttery, sweetness-restrained, warm cornbread; and righteous, hand-cut, not oily, crisp fries.
The latter made a natural match for the fried whole red snapper ($18 for a medium-sized fish). If you’d like the crispy-skinned fish topped with onions and chiles animated by a fiery but nuanced, vinegary condiment with mustard notes — boy, I did — order it escovitch style ($2 extra) and choose a flame-retardant side dish like the mac and cheese or cornbread as your second side.
Craving an entree without chile heat? It’s hard to beat the peppered steak, a Friday and Saturday special ($16.95).
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Like a merger between beef stew and fajitas, this was long-cooked tender beef chunks with a few potatoes and carrots plus abundant big pieces of onions and bell peppers in a peppery broth. Maybe because fortune was shining down on me on Ena’s lively patio that day — or was it just the mild, late-August sun? — my meal came with the lagniappe sometimes added here: a stretchy, golden-brown, crisp-yet-soft and thoroughly comforting fried Jamaican dumpling.
Where: 2444 Cleveland Ave., North Linden
Contact: 614-262-0988; www.enascaribbeankitchen.com
Hours: noon to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays
Ambience: Only patio seating is currently available at this longtime neighborhood favorite, where orders are taken in a bright and tidy space with shiny green paint, Caribbean-themed decorations and a lively reggae-leaning soundtrack.
Quick click: Some of the best homestyle Jamaican food in town is served up in hefty portions at this iconic, family-run Linden eatery.
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