Maxwells Caribbean Take-out – Philadelphia, PA
Getting to Maxwells Caribbean (MC) is not one of the most scenic routes in Philadelphia. Sitting in a depressed area of North Philadelphia a couple of blocks from the Temple University campus MC sits. Temple has had up upswing of dining establishments popping up throughout the years to feed the hungry student base, but MC has been here long before that trend started.
MC is strictly a take-out location. No chairs, no stools, but lots of thick glass to protect its workers from the harm of the outside world and signs posted to leave your weapons outside. The staff at MC was so friendly and helpful it is such a shame they are located in a part of town where a sit down restaurant is challenge just for safety reason alone. With my weapons left outside, I ordered a medium sized Jerk Chicken platter.
The chicken was a little more stuck to the bone than I enjoy for my jerk chicken. One of the benefits of jerk chicken usually is the luxury of a slow cooked meat that has the meat falling apart right off the bone. It was not under-cooked, but it just made it a tad bit more work than usual. The spice of the day was SPICY and I mean SPICY. The overall flavor had the signs of jerk chicken, but without any visible smoke taste applied to meat. I would have to say the MC only bakes the chicken. The plantains were cooked nicely, but I could have gone for a larger portion and the cabbage mix was nice, but again just a very small portion of it. Plenty of rice was provided, but it was not seasoned in any way.
I really enjoyed the staff at MC and hope that they are not given a hard time too frequently by the locals loitering across the street who seemed like they could get unruly at any moment and enjoyed what I can only hope was medical marijuana from New Jersey since Pennsylvania is not one of the states that offer it. They have been in business for quite sometime at their current location so they must be doing something right. My meal was good, but not great. With that being said it is hard for me to recommend an out of the way ride to get their offerings, but if you happen to be in the area or are a Temple student living around campus looking for a change of pace from fast food, food trucks, cafeteria food, and pizza joints, MC could be the spot you have just been looking for.
BlueJeanFood 