Serina J.
Yelp
Can we all attest to the fact that Jamaican Flavors has 5 star patties. Raise your emoji hands if you agree, c'mon now! Years ago and I mean about 10 plus years, a friend told me about this place, asking me if I have ever heard about it. Sadly, at the time I wasn't much of a foodie so I knew nothing about it. She was in awe to find out I hadn't and told me that I needed to try it asap. I ignored her suggestion and just stuck to my usual fast food options and kept it moving. Call me crazy, stubborn or just plain oblivious, but who knew years down the line I would be writing this review to let people know don't be like me and have your taste buds miss out on these amazing patties...just don't okay. Thank you Sheldeen
Jamaican Flavors has many locations all throughout Queens and one in Baldwin, N.Y. Yeah, they are spreading the flavors across town for all to try. However, please note that this review is particularly for the Jamaican Flavors at 164-17 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, N.Y. 11432. So, after being in space about this place for over ten years I came back to reality and landed myself on one of their super delicious patties. They have a very small store front, one of the smallest I have seen other than a food cart actually. There is no walk-in, seating, or tables available, you just basically walk up to one of two windows and place your order (loudly if you can cause Jamaica Avenue can get pretty busy). Alongside the storefront is a list of all the patties and specials if any are still available at the time you go. I say that because anyone who is very familiar with Jamaican Flavors knows that after a certain time of day (mainly close to closing time) the patties are sold out. They sell quickly and you have to act fast to get your favorites. The various selection of patties are as follows:
Beef
Hot Beef
Chicken
Curry Chicken
Jerk Chicken
Barbecue Chicken
Vegetable
Calaloo & Saltfish
Pumpkin (NEW)
Impossible Patty (NEW)
Coco Bread
You can also add cheese to your Patty for an extra charge. Available cheeses are American ($.25), Mozzarella ($1.00) and Jamaican Cheese ($2.00). Another bonus are their patties by the dozen (fresh or frozen) which come in Beef and Chicken only (mix & match if you like) for $27.50. Oh and lastly, they do sell their famous Original Boneless Jerk Chicken sandwich served on freshly baked coco bread in addition to the patties. You can add cheese to it as well.
As you are probably wondering, so, which one is the best? Honestly, I can't say for sure but most people love the Beef and Jerk chicken patties. I personally had the Curry, Hot Beef, Jerk chicken, Chicken and Barbecue chicken patties. Of all of those I tried, my top favorite was the Jerk Chicken and my second favorite is the Curry chicken flavors. My least favorite was the Barbecue chicken. The Jerk chicken patty has a nice spice kick to it and mimics their jerk boneless chicken to a T. I got mines plain with no cheese because I just prefer it without. The Curry chicken has a mild spice and goes well with American cheese. The Chicken patty is a light spice but seasoned very well with slight chunks of chicken more prominent than the curry. The hot Beef is very spicy to me, but not hot and it can go well with or without cheese. The crust is more golden on the beef patties than the chicken but all are baked to absolute perfection giving a great flaky crunchy crust. The barbecue chicken patty comes with shredded chicken and what tasted like sweet barbecue sauce which I did not really like. The sweetness from the barbecue sauce did not compliment the texture of the chicken at all. The crust however did somewhat save it. One out five ain't bad as far as what I disliked being that there are still four I have not yet tried.
I recommend trying Jamaican Flavors other locations across Queens, especially if you want to get a more broad selection of their other Caribbean dishes. I will be posting another review of the food at their location on Farmers Boulevard, so look out for that soon. Until then, if you want New York's #1 voted patties you know where to go!