Sassy’s Jamaican Kitchen is a no-frills homage to Jamrock in an old North Fitzroy shopfront. One long communal table for 30 runs through a slim room with a Cool Runnings colour scheme, charming family photos and a whole bunch of reggae paraphernalia. Face the bamboo tiki bar and pretend you’re on an island holiday.
What should I order?
It's all about the jerk chicken. Here, the whole bird is marinated overnight in a rub of allspice and tongue-tingling scotch bonnet chillies (registering a thermonuclear 100,000-300,000 Scoville units on the pepper pain scale, though this mix isn't that hot - ask for a side of chilli sauce if you really want the burn) before being blackened on the barbecue, and hacked up into smoky, aromatic and sweet pieces o’ bird.
Any drinks?
Stash as much booze as you like in the communal Esky near the kitchen, from a six pack of Red Stripe to a bottle of rum (there’s no liquor license yet so it’s full BYO). If you’re after a softie, order the hibiscus tea on ice with a fun cocktail umbrella ($6).
What else should I order?
Start off with deliciously crisp, salty, shallow fried slices of plantain (kind of like giant, unripe bananas) with just a hint of sweetness, then move onto your chicken or perhaps curried goat on the bone, all served with the staple side dishes of Jamaica - rice and black beans, and a pumpkin, capsicum and carrot stew, slow cooked until it's almost mush ($25). Don’t even think about leaving without a serve of pumpkin pie - a thin biscuit base holding velvety gingerbread-flavoured pumpkin filling.