Jerkin hearty Caribbean and Continental food at reasonable prices
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 10/5/2006
Rating: 9
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Thanks to Phuc and Mike for suggesting Back A Yard. It had been sitting on our wish list plate for months and with another positive review on the jatboard, we had to make a visit.
We ordered quite a bit of food so let's get down to business.
Jamaican Soda - (picture #4) tastes like soda to me, I ordered the pineapple flavor in the spirit of our cuisine.
Coco bread - (picture #6) Hmmm..this one was ok, it tasted like a thicker version of hawaiian bread with a coconut taste. Not really my thing.
Corn Festivals - (picture #5) tasted like a donut with 1/10 of the sugar. Had a corn meal/doughy texture on the inside. I love the stuff. Hmm..just think if they added a light banana glaze and served with ice cream...haha.
Jerk Chicken - (picture #11) I ate a drumstick and the meat was practically falling off the bone. It was so tender and the flavoring added so much depth to the taste. It wasn't screaming hot but had enough spice to leave a tingling sensation. Definite repeat order.
Dark Cake - (picture #10) I wasn't too fond of this dish. To quote Terry, it taste like those package cakes you get for Christmas...haha.
Snapper - (picture #7) The jerk chicken and oxtail are the known stars but the snapper comes off as the surprise of the menu. The fish and chips is up towards the ranks of Jonathans. Cooked as a southern style fish n chips, this corn meal batter was similar to Jonathans Fish and Chips but with more salt and lacked 'sticking' ability to the fish. One bite and it crumbled off. The overall taste was excellent. I had Jonathans a day before and have to say Back A Yard can hold its own against the powerhouse across the freeway.
Oxtail - (picture #8 and 9). Just order the thing. Having tried a couple of things on the menu, I think it's the best menu item. It's so gawwww damm tender falling off the bone dangerously good. Don't be afraid of the word oxtail, it's just beef. Don't be afraid of the little fat, it's just the flavor. The red beans and rice looked dry but were moist and beans had firm texture. The rice had a hint of coconut flavoring. The plantains were amazingly sweet and came out steaming. The salad needs a little work. For a dish that bursting with exciting flavors, why would they use iceberg lettuce for salad? As my co-worker Ethan pointed out, if you're going to have giant beautiful pictures of a mixed green salad served with the meals, the dishes need to be served with nice greens. If the chefs at Back A Yard are reading, serve the real greens :)
Back A Yard hits a home run with the mad flavor and portion size. The prices are very reasonable considering the amount of tasty food you receive. I can't wait to make a return visit. Back A Yard is open 6 days a week, closed sunday, open until 8pm everyday except Friday 9PM.
RETURN VISIT for Jason!6/25/2008 - 9 Rating: Ordered the jerk chicken and pork with a side of collard greens. Just like my previous visits, jerk seasoning was exciting and full of flavor. I can't get enough of this place. Back A Yard gets busy during the lunch rush and seating is limited. Try to get there around 1140.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 10/7/2006
Rating: 9
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It was a tough call for me. 8.5 vs 9.0. I finally gave the benefit of the doubt and went 9.0. This place is solid. It isn't exactly the best lunch bargain out there, but the quality for the price is up there. The service fast and friendly. The selection is good. Even vegetarians will have something they can enjoy. Kudos to Back A Yard for that.
The place has a distinct taqueria feel to it, with VERY limited seating. If you go during peak lunch hours, you best have an alternate eating plan. If its raining like it was for us today, you might be eating in your car. Luckily for us, a table just opened up after we gave our orders so we were saved.
Food arrived quickly and my dish (snapper and shrimp) looked great. Reminded me a lot of what I get at Jonathans down the street. I had to do the seafood shoot out. Jason ordered the Corn Festivals and I also sampled that.
The first thing I dug into was the roll that came with my dish. It was warm and soft, and very fresh tasting. Cold slaw was also solid tasting. I finished all of this. Very heavy on the mayo flavoring and very good. I first went with the shrimp. The breading wasn't as connected to the shrimps as they are at Jonathons so I had a lot of it falling off as I held it or bit into them. But these shrimp were thick and juicy. No complaints. Just had to eat them faster before they fell apart on me. After the shrimp I went for the snapper. It also was very moist and crumbling. It was saltier than I had at Jonathans, but in its own way it tasted every bit as good. Only complaint was the falling apart of the breading again. I would not hesitate for a second to order this again. The fries were your standard, nothing special at all.
The corn plantains were an unexpected hit with me. I will order these on my next visit for sure. They are sweet, but not super sweet. Reminds me of a funnel cake without any of the toppings on it. Really really good stuff to finish off the meal. They give you 4 on the dish, I ate 1. I could have eaten another. So an order between 2 people would probably be ideal.
I have no doubt I will be back. Its so close to Jonathans it will be a toss up as they are both top-rated places. Guess that just means I'll be down in this area more often. :)
Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 148
Reviewed: 7/28/2008
Rating: 9
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This place has been on my personal wish list for literally years. I've heard the raves, the recommendations, and all of my friend's urges and for whatever reason I've resorted to Mango Caribbean for my jerked meats, red beans and rice, and deep fried bananas/plantains.
Just getting to Back-A-Yard is an experience in itself, it's an uphill battle from the get go. I arrived in the vicinity around 12:10pm this afternoon only to find myself at a loss for parking. The small lot behind the strip mall was full, then I had to work my way down a little further then mid block on willow st to find a parking spot and backtrack to the restaurant. Once inside, there were 6 tables, only 3 occupied so I thought this was going to be a cakewalk - newp, facebook and a couple other groups strolled on thru and sent a strategic pawn to occupy each of those open tables. I ended up sharing a table with a total stranger.
My jerked chicken plate finally arrived. There's no need to re-iterate how delicious the food is, there's review after review after review about how it has that perfect balance of heat without losing complexity. If you've had the jerked chicken at Mango Caribbean here's where it differs, unlike the chicken at Mango Caribbean where the flesh literally falls off the bone and the more you eat the hotter the dish becomes - but you won't stop because it's SO good. B.A.Y.'s chicken takes a small bit of work to get off, but once you do it is quite delicious. The jerk rub really stands out on its slightly crisp skin. The flesh is tender, juicy and above all delicious. The heat never builds up, rather it remains constant on the back palette.
The side of fried plantains were my favorite, unlike the usual bananas foster style of battered and deep fried musaceae blossoms, these were only lightly coated and fried 'ad dente' if that makes any sense. They don't melt on your tongue, but makes you put just enough effort into breaking them down to appreciate them.
I enjoyed Back-A-Yard as much as I did Mango Caribbean, the latter being a true restaurant and the former somewhat of a hole in the wall. Both very similar, yet drastically different tastes at the same time. I usually leave Mango Caribbean with a smile, and a glass of water - however I left Back-A-Yard satisfied, a muted smirk, and with a bottle of Pepsi.
“and we had the pumpkin soup. It had a spicy edge that was fantastic. Amazingly delicious jerk in chunks not shreds. The corn festivals are 4 doughnuts that are sweet and salty. Saw a vegetarian getting a great looking plate of fresh cooked veggies.”
12/20/2008 8:45:57 PM
shankai ate...
jerk chicken
“First visit - 9.0. Jerk chicken is amazing. Try the corn festivals too!”
7/6/2008 12:04:24 PM
foodswami ate...
jerk chicken plate and mac&cheese
“awesome food, 9/10 rating for sure, huge portions, and had some ginger beer (kinda sweet), go check it out, solid.”
6/22/2008 12:02:08 PM
RenoRed ate...
The best for cheap (sorta) eats
“ The pork and chicken are to die for. Not to spicy..but spicy enough. Try the oxtails! Meat falls off the bone. Even like the collard greens. Good with the jerk seasoning”
