Attention all persons of Causcasian descent: Â you are missing out one of the best kept secrets in the Fort Lauderdale area. Â Jerk Machine is awesome! Â The jerk chicken is the bomb and the chicken curry is mighty fine. Â And what do these entrees come with you ask? Â Rice and beans and a choice of a few sides, of course. Â Even with a Groupon, they give you a lot of food and I left full and very happy. Â The folks on the other side of the counter are so nice and friendly. Â Apparently, some Floridians say that the location in Lauderhill has tastier grub than this one; however, that really doesn't seem possible and it's probably just that they went to the Lauderhill one first and are loyal to that location. Â I'm telling ya'll that this place rocks hard! Â It's off the beaten path and they don't really advertise except for the Groupon. Â You can also purchase vouchers on Yelp which I stongly suggest you do. Â I just purchased two myself and I can't wait to try some of the other entrees. Â
Calling all white folk: Â descend upon the Jerk Machine. Â You'll thank me later.
What an amazing place to please your Jerk palate. Â Every visit here guarantees another visit here!
I had the two meat (chicken and pork) with rice and beans and sweet plantains. Â It was bursting with flavor...the plaintains the perfect compliment as I save those for the end...not to mention the generous portions which is like having seconds! Â It will be difficult returning to Houston knowing that I'll be leaving the Jerk Machine behind.
The name says it all! I go to Jerk Machine simply for the jerk, especially the Jerk Pork. In South Florida, you can probably find a Jamaican spot on every corner, and although you can find decent brown stew, curry, etc at most of them, it is very difficult to find some good flavored jerk in this town. Jerk Machine's spicy, smokey jerk is among the most authentic tasting in South Florida and I really enjoy it.
Like most take out style restaurants, it can be a hit or miss depending on the time of day you go, so your best bet would be going around lunchtime versus later on in the day. Regardless, you will still get good food in a large portions at a decent price.
If you have ever been to a Jamaican restaurant, you would probably think that providing good service is not apart of the job, but everyone at Jerk Machine is actually really nice, helpful and willing to put on a smiling face.
In addition to grabbing a bit to eat, you have to try the Rum Pound Cake; it's really good!!!
forgot I had to use a groupon here before it expired... 2 small entrees = curry chicken and jerk chicken with rice and peas, cabbage and plantains as sides, they didn't have soup that was supposed to come with the deal but the very nice lady behind the counter gave me 2 big pieces of rum pound cake instead. curry chicken was tasty and spicy just the way I like it, cabbage also was satisfying. I left the jerk chicken for sister for lucnh tomorrow, but it did taste a lil dry like toast compared to mine which was very saucy and semi greasy. I'd return since the lady was so nice and I dug the curry chicken. curry goat or brown stew is next to try!
Review Source:Ok. Â Maybe I'm harsh because I'm Jamaican and can discern between good jerk chicken and a shabby attempt, but Jerk Machine (here and in Miami) is not popular among the Jamaican community for their jerk chicken. Â It's lousy at best, and is notorious for that. Their other food is mediocre, but I vowed never to go there again after giving them a second chance (6 years later). Â The people are friendly, but the food is lackluster.
Review Source:Food is good for "South florida" standards in regards to Jamaican food. I have only had the jerk chicken, with banana, dumplin , and yellow yam, the food was good. The only problem is the two times I went there, later on in the day and night I had many visits  to the " White House",about 6 times after I ate.So I do not know what the issue is, because I like the food, it tastes good. But I do not think I am going back because I do not like  going to the "White House" at 2 AM.
Review Source:I thought I would offer the way-out-towner point of view: we were staying at a hotel like 2 blocks from this place and were looking for something we can't get back home. So Jamaican food seemed perfect, as I have never tried it anywhere. As a newcomer to the style, I have to say I LOVED it. If it gets better than this place, that's exciting. It was spiced just right, the meat was very tender (I had the dark meat chicken), the ginger beer complimented the sauce perfectly, and the rice and beans were delicious. Everyone in my party ordered the smaller portion size and we were all stuffed.
We definitely felt a little conspicuous with our sunburns and vacation clothes, but found the women behind the counter to be extremely helpful and nice. I can't comment on the parking because we walked - in fact, we walked all around that neighborhood well into the night for shopping and drinks and further food. And although there some slightly sketchy folks hanging around in front of the city hall, I don't the neighborhood is anything to be worried about.
I read the reviews; I liked it but they mainly get the extra star for being super friendly. Personally, for me the lady was perky/chipper and "Oh you have a Groupon!" In a good tone. She then proceeded to explain to me what they serve, which is very appreciated yet in the back of my head I couldn't help but think she's explaining the food to me because she thinks I've never ate Jamaican food before. LOL I can forgive that since yes, I am not Jamaican and what she thought/assumed when she saw my yellow butt in there especially during rush hour lunch.
Commenting on what others said, I consider the area semi-ghetto because personally, I've seen/driven through worse and I think people make it out to be worse than it is because of the proximity and comparisons to Downtown and highrises across the street. It's like parking a Mercedes next to a Maserati; the Mercedes will look like a Kia. I am also a minority after all so I can only imagine the ones that feel the most uncomfortable would be non Hispanic whites.
As for the food, it was good despite being a food court type scoop and pack! I've definitely had worse Jamaican take-out but I wondered if this was in part due to the rush hour lunch and because they were busy and filled with mostly Jamaicans and some Hispanics. It speaks volumes if you find the same ethnicity in an ethnic restaurant. That or one entire family happened to accidentally stumble into a random restaurant and I also happened to be there thinking, "Oh it speaks volumes..." I am so joking by the way.
The jerk chicken was good but my bf thinks they need a sharper knife because he kept biting into small bone shards. I didn't have that problem with my curry goat. It was tasty. My fried dumpling was a piece of fried dough which ha, wasn't what I was expecting since I'm Chinese but it wasn't stale and it was decent/good even though I'm a firm believer in frying almost (almost) anything makes it taste that much better. =p I highly enjoy Jamaican cabbage which is not really doing it word justice but know that I am not a vegetable eater. There's was good. I like their beef stew sauce in the rice too; mm BBQ flavoring! Rice with beans was good. I honestly don't know if it was because I was starving but damn, I'd pay $1.70 again for a Jamaican beef patty! How many calories are in these? =( SMH
My bf also thought the portion was kind of small, but I thought it was reasonable. I did have a Groupon so I guess when you think about it, the portion was decent but not exactly a steal which I was inclined to agree to at first until further analysis. The portions are not "steals" considering jerk chicken (white meat) is $8 and the goat was like $8.50ish. I've had Japanese, Chinese and pitas for less during lunch so that is my conclusion for that.
Bottom line, if you work in/by downtown like me and you're not afraid to take Brickell street (by McDonalds) north into this area (bc I got lost trying to find it!), then I would recommend trying it for lunch. It's good and reasonably priced. I would definitely order a beef patty! The parking does suck though.
I have to mostly agree with Roger K's review. Â Except... I don't know anything about Jamaican food. Â I just know what we had, the jerk chicken with rice, beans and gravy, and it tasted pretty darn good. Â
The portion was really big, one box fed me, the wifey, and our son. Â Our 3 year old loved the food and was gobbling it up so fast.
The place was just outside of downtown Fort Lauderdale and isn't that nice, but I wouldn't call it "hood" 'cause the 'Hood in Los Angeles is a much scarier place. Â We weren't concerned about our safety at all in this neighborhood.
Parking was difficult though.
Yes, the decor was lacking, but what can I expect from the food to price ratio.
Oh, MAIN GRIPE, the service was pretty slow and the restroom was busted.
Place was UNGODLY difficult to find in the maze of downtown Broward Blvd. Little obscure building but the inside of the restaraunt was decently spread and expansive.
The portions are large and good for the cost; there is a lunch special selection for 7$ with 1 protein, 1 side, and plenty of rice/beans.
Good food and price, but the locale really detracts from any desire to return.
Jerk Machine seems to be written up as a single restaurant, but in fact this particular location is one in chain of approximately 10 Jerk Machine locations.
As far as this location goes, it might not be the best of neighborhood locations situated practically next to the bus terminal.
The interior and the décor are definitely "roadside" Jamaican, which is to politely indicate to the reader that any sense of décor is entirely lacking, but of course that may be in keeping with the authenticity of any true Jamaican restaurant; that is with the possible exception of The Real Jerk in Toronto, Canada, and the delicious smell of Miss Lilly's earth baked tarragon chicken.
Anyway, though lacking in décor or ambiance, I found the food to be authentic Jamaican in every detail and, like most Jamaican restaurants, offered a very reasonable price. Indeed you can get a good helping of jerked chicken, oxtail, jerked pork, curried goat and a ton of cheap rice for around $7 to $8 dollars.
One sort of line up for the food and though there are tables, a lot of their business is take out, probably because few care to sit and look at the surroundings, particularly the less than cleanly floor.
It's meant to be a Jamaican restaurant and it does come through as in fact being a true, authentic Jamaican with an authentic Jamaican dinning experience to it; which may be good or bad depending upon how you look at it.
Authentic Jamaican food offered right at the edge of downtown Fort Lauderdale. This is a great little spot.
You get a ton of food for a cheap price. For I think it was $6.95, you got a protein (usually available is jerk chicken, jerk pork, curried goat, oxtail, or brown stew), peas and rice, and a side or two.
Make sure you ask for gravy on the peas and rice. The gravy is when they ladle the oxtail stew sauce onto the rice and peas. It adds a lot and you will look like you know what you ate doing if you are not experienced with Jamaican food.
If you had to choose on jerk, go with the chicken. It generally is moister than the pork. And make sure to go with the dark meat.
In terms of sides, this is really a personal preference. Â Some of these can be real heavy, dry, and chewy. Â You have to like those kinds of textures so be ready. If you do, try the boiled dumpling versus the fried.
Enjoy the huge portions and filling food with a Ting (the Jamaican equivalent of Fresca) or a ginger beer.
I am Jamaican so I know a thing a too about  food. This place is pretty close to being authentic. They have a great lunch special and they serve a lot of food. They are fast and the food is really good. My favorite part about this place is that they randomly do a non-typical jamaican dish that I have not had in years.
The down side is that this place is in the hood and it is not very pleasant to eat in. The food is really good, but it is not that spicy, which most Jamaican food should be. The parking situation is awful here as well.
I go here all the time, so I am a fan with all things considered. You should check this place out.
Back in the day Jerk Machine was the spot to go to, but a lot has changed. The area has run down since then and the food is not as authentic as it used to be. When I think of Jerk Machine, I think of quality jamaican food... Spicy and nice! Â However, my last two visits were quite the opposite... Â mild and disgusting!
Maybe it's under new ownership or maybe the cook is so old they need two hands to season the food... I don't know!
I hope things change soon because I miss the original value Jerk Machine used to offer customers.
Right across from the bus station and barely a block from where I work, I discovered the Jerk Machine when a coworker brought in some amazing smelling curry chicken.
So far, that's the only thing I've had, but so far, it's been amazing. Â
The also have oxtail, jerk chicken (obviously) and a host of other West Indian dishes. Â Really, like a whole cafeteria style counter. Â Oh the cabbage is real good too.
The decor ain't much but that's true of most great carribean places.
Alright, anyway, I plan on going fairly often, so I'll let you all know if anything changes.
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