Big D’s Old Harbor Restaurant
231-32 Merrick Boulevard,
Springfield Gardens, 527-3399

Cuisine: Jamaican

Hours: 7 days, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.  

Reggae music fills the air at this small, quaint Jamaican Restaurant, while the aroma of Jamaican food fills the air. 

Portraits of Rastafari Haile Selassie and legendary reggae artists are visible on the walls, while a sign on the counter about the goodness of coconut water brings you close to the shore of the island’s coast.

Jerk chicken was my craving since I could smell the delicacy as it cooked from a block away. 

At most restaurants, the jerk seasoning is so hot and spicy that water could not be added for a cure. 

Big D’s Old Harbor’s jerk sauce is not too hot or too spicy, nor is it bland. 

As the days grow cooler, I will flock to Big D’s for their delicious oxtails, made in a rich gravy, perfect for the generous amount of white rice or choice rice and peas. 

The meal also comes with vegetables, usually a small salad or steamed cabbage and thinly sliced plantain banana.

On a more healthy approach, this restaurant’s made-to-order steamed fish surrounded in vegetables can be served alone or on a platter embedded in rice. 

If you have room for more, Big D’s offers cookies and cake, as well as loafs of baked bread.

Choose from the menu filled with variety. 

While I attended, the menu was pigeon pea soup, stew beef, chicken chop suey, jerk chicken, and stew chicken, curry goat and oxtails.

Size does matter at Big D’s and you have a choice of three meal sizes to suit your appetite. 

The lunch special costs $4 and is good for a tasty bite for an older child or a not so hungry adult. 

The small is $6 and will accommodate two people, while the large costs $7.50 and can easily fill a party of two and a small child.

Various specialty drinks are served, such as carrot juice, Irish moss for improved stamina and ginger beer, a non- alcoholic beverage that is said to be good for colds.     

Sit down or take your food home to eat from Big D’s Old Harbor Restaurant. 

It’s a taste from Jamaica you will not regret or forget.

— Michelle Sellers