Not too long ago I had a borderline miserable job that gave me a crummy 45-minute lunch. It was the kind of lunch where the moment I clocked out I would have to run to my lunch locale, push over anyone in my way (sorry granny), try to cut the line, and then scarf down my meal as I ran back to work, only to clock in 5 minutes late. Being such a food lover, this way of lunch was dreadful–almost disrespectful. While I had great coworkers, the negatives of the gig outweighed the positive and I had to leave. Luckily, I found my now amazing job with great coworkers and (drumroll please) a one-hour lunch break! It’s insane how many grandmas I don’t knock over thanks to an extra fifteen minutes.
For my lunch this week, I clocked out and strolled over Home Restaurant in Los Feliz. I’ve had their dishes during catering events and liked it so much that decided to go to their restaurant to sit down and enjoy the food. When you walk into the restaurant you’re greeted by a giant sign that makes you feel like, well, you’re home. After being welcomed, I was seated at a table in their outdoor area, near the water fountain. The section is full of light, surrounded by trees, and open to the bustling atmosphere of the Los Feliz city life. It’s beautiful! Once I looked over the menu, I ordered the Jerk Chicken Wrap ($10.95) with fries and a HOMEmade Lemonade ($3.50). The wrap comess stuffed with jerk chicken, HOMEmade black beans, ripe tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar and jack cheese, and salsa all in a tomato basil tortilla. So it was really a Jamaican/Mexican wrap, which makes it quite unique.
Seeing as I’m Jamaican-American (Jamerican if you like), I wanted to find out if this wrap would taste like home—the island, not the restaurant. With the first bite, I could tell it wasn’t as jerked as it would be in traditional Jamaican restaurants. Usually, jerk chicken is fiery and spicy. Think of it this way: if other seasonings walk into a room saying, “Hello, I’m your friendly Oregano”, jerk seasoning busts down the door shouting “I’m here!” Knowing that, it was clear that this wrap was made with a calmer jerk or jerk-like seasoning. That’s probably a good thing as true jerk seasoning (like a hot Walkerswood or Grace) might be to spicy for some. With that aside, I liked the wrap. It was full of pleasing additions, and the chicken against the black beans was delicious! The only not-so-positive comment about the wrap was that it had so much salsa that it overflowed out of the tortilla and dripped down my arm. Not so excited about that, but it may have been a fluke. I’ll survive. And of course, the fries were perfectly crispy—just the way they should be.
The meal is a good lunch choice when you think of it as a Jamaican-inspired, Mexican infused wrap. It’s the nice parts of both worlds. Plus the service is quick so if you only have an hour break, you can definitely fit it in. All around, it’s a great restaurant. I think once you try it you’ll agree with the saying, there’s no place like Home.
Ha! That was corny.
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Address: 1760 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: (323) 669-0211
Hours: Sunday to Thursday – 9:00am to 10:00pm, Friday and Saturday – 9:00am to 11:00pm
Social: Website and Facebook.
