Yvonne’s Jamaican Food Truck

I had the jerk chicken from Yvonne’s Jamaican Food Truck. I have to say, based on my expectations from the reviews on Unilocal I was mightily disappointed. The jerk chicken was tepid, the skin was rubbery and unrendered as if the chicken was cooked the night before and put in a chafing dish to heat up for service. It was covered in a web rub which had a good bit of heat to it but was overall bland. The rice and peas were on the dry side as well. I would liken this dish to cafeteria food.

Tried the jerk pork, collard greens and Mac and cheese. The pork is well-​seasoned and tasty. The two sides weren’t impressive. I’d eat this once every two months bc it’s so bad for you. And you can see the sides just sitting in puddles of fat and oil… didn’t look too appealing. but for the money you can’t beat it

I was near NY Presbyterian a few hours after lunchtime and was looking for something to eat. Passed by Yvonne’s and sadly, some things were sold out. I ended up getting the oxtail and spicy jerk chicken with mac and cheese, potato salad, sweet potato, and steamed cabbage (yes, I ordered 2 boxes). The sold out items I really wanted were the empanada, collard greens, and jerk pork.
Everything was really flavorful. Seriously like a burst of flavor in every bite. The jerk chicken had littles pieces of bone, which I hate, but the spice was fantastic so it balanced out. There is nothing bad to say, except that it’s cash only. I will be back here for sure next time I’m in the area.

Went yesterday for my first time — ordered the spicy jerk chicken with sides of collard greens and Mac and cheese as well as a bottle of water, all under $ 10. AND. IT. WAS. AMAZING. I will be back again!

Check your order and count your change before you leave! Unreliable staff and mediocre food at best. Never again!

Oh, I can’t resist the pun — this is Jamaican me hungry! This was a great food truck choice.
Came by on a recommendation of a few other Unilocalers and wasn’t disappointed. For $ 8, got a great size of jerk pork that definitely had a kick to it. Fortunately, the flavors of the mac and cheese and collard greens perfectly balance it. I can’t say I’m a big fan of either of those sides typically, but with this dish, it really hit the spot.
Couldn’t even finish all of it, but highly recommend for those at nearby hospitals needing a quick lunch.
Yum!

This is the place to go for good spicy fare, on the go. They apparently have a restaurant somewhere uptown. The jerk pork is top notch. They usually skimp on the sweet potatoes tho. I can’t speak on oxtails because I don’t eat them, but I’ve heard good things. I’m not a fan of broken chicken bones (bone marrow ewwww), the one time I’ve had it, it was tasty. The desserts are unremarkable. They also have standard Jamaican drinks. Their names fail me tho.

I’ve worked at NewYork-​Presbyterian for 5+ years now, primarily working out of the Cornell campus. I’ve passed this food truck innumerable times since 2009. Yesterday was my first time actually eating here. The shame I feel for not coming sooner is immense.
The portions are plentiful, even if you get a small, and you get a great bang for your buck. With plenty of meats and sides to choose from, the choices are a little overwhelming… as in you want to get EVERYTHING. Though I do appreciate a good ox tail every now and then, I decided to play it safe on my first time out and got a small order of stewed chicken with mac & cheese and candied yams. My decision was not a regrettable one. The chicken was flavorful and fell off of the bone, leaving my fingers sticky, fragrant, and orange with the juices that ran off of it. The mac & cheese was creamy. The candied yams were SWEET. Hot damn!
Yvonne, how could I have not visited you for all of these years? I need to make up for that… many, many, MANY times.

Could not find the truck on a Monday afternoon. I circled the block driving around and this truck is literally no where to be found. I was SO excited about trying it too :(Maybe someone should list it’s EXACT location, then I can try the food, & return and edit this review.

OMG the best Jamaican /​soul food ever. I always get something different and she never lets me down. Cod fish, fried chicken, jerk chicken, jerk pork, and oMG her hot sauce is HOT. Awesome and she has a restaurant I must visit. And her spanish is pretty darn good. Highly recommend.

I’ve been coming to Yvonne’s food truck for a couple of years, it never disappoints.
My favorite is the oxtail. Tender, juicy, paired with her Mac and cheese and collard greens. It’s a perfect meal.
The patties are really great too, the beef is my go to when I’m on the run. It’s spicy and flavorful.
Its always a treat to come here. Yvonne is also a lovely lady, fast, efficient, and friendly.

STOO. PID. GOOOOOOODDD!!!
I’ve been to their flagship spot in Harlem. Not as good as the truck! But I have been stopping by this truck for years now each and e’ry time I am in that area. I have sat and wait to see if the truck would pull up. SOOO GOOOD!!! Love their goat, REALLY love the jerk pork (that pork fat just melts, baby… melts…).
Solid greens, and solid mac. Good desserts, particularly that there Coconut Cake.
Howsomever, I do feel they’re a bit stingy with them sides (I always order the large platter… but that just gets me more meat. They scoop up the same amount of sides, even when you’re paying more. Change that? And this will become a 5-​star review!

All the choices are very good! Plenty of food for your money! Usually get the fried chicken meal which comes with your choice of sides: rice & peas, plantain, collard greens, mac & cheese or potato salad. The fried chicken is 4 pcs. of dark meat, crispy fried and pretty good. Both the rice & peas and collard greens are flavorful. For $ 8 it’s cheap for this area (UES) and I usually have ½ of it leftover for dinner. The fried fish sandwich is 2 large pcs. of whiting sandwiched between white bread, lettuce & tomato) for $ 5. It only takes about 5 mins. when I order the fried choices. Supposedly, her oxtail stew, jerk chicken is pretty good, but never had them yet. Yes, I know it’s a Jamaican food truck, and I’ve yet to sample what she does best… soon! She has assorted soft drinks from Jamaica, and also has cake slices for sale at $ 3−4/slice and has a boombox playing music while you wait and for those that choose to eat lunch nearby.

I really was in the mood for some good/​warm Caribbean food (peas and rice, collard greens, macaroni salad, soy curry chunks, etc) so I decided to try out Yvonne’s.
Sadly my food sucked. I really wanted to love this place, especially with all the hype about it. Anyway, I got the fried fish, collards, and beans and rice. The fish smelled awfully. I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of it. Granted, my choosing to eat fish from a food truck was nonetheless dubious. The beans and rice were okay, nothing special, and the collard greens were cold and flavorless. I did manage to eat them all though!
I believe Yvonne was the one serving me herself and she seemed somewhat curt with me but I understand that it was windy and cold, and the Christmas music playing on her red Sony radio outside the truck in March does not manifest happiness.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be coming back again… :(

What the hell? This food is amazing! Really delicious and so interestingly spiced. I had the oxtail with rice and candied yam and a chicken patty. This was served up with a healthy side of banter from the inimitable Yvonne! I topped it off with a bottle of homemade ginger beer. What a treat.

Totally forgot I didn’t write a review for this.
This food truck is the bomb. When I used to work in the UES, one of the girls got me this for lunch and I was hooked. I got the Jerk chicken with yellow rice and sweet potatoes. Foodgasm is the word.
It’s too bad I rarely frequent the area nowadays, and I’m usually in the lower half of Manhattan. But if I’m ever around Yorkville, I’ll definitely come back.

Okay, so I woke up this morning thinking about what to have for lunch. Yes, you read that right lunch on my mind in the morning. So with that being said I went on
and typed in «cheap food Near UES» and what pops up? My new favorite Food Truck — Yvonnes Jamacian Food.
Yvonne is one bad (shut your mouth Erro) lady! Today’s specials were whititng and large fried shrimp with cabbage, corn muffin and your choice of mac N cheese or rice N peas.
I didn’t order either but I didn’t get a wiff and look at the shrimp and dammnnnn Gina — it looked delicous. All crispy and light just waiting to be eaten. The gentleman that ordered at it looked as if he was about to make love to the shrimp.
I ordered the Jerk Chicken with a side of cabbage and rice & peas. One word «SLAMMING». God Bless Yvonne and all hands that go into preparing these delicous meals. My order came out to $ 7.00 and I easily would have paid $ 10.00. I hope Yvonne doesn’t read that line and hike up the prices, LOL.
WARNING: There was a line and I do understand it is summer but please just stand and have patience. It is all worth it!

Went for the jerk chiken but they only serve it on wensdays so i went with jerk pork.
The pork was very DRY. And not packed with much flavor. However the Pork fat melted in my mouth and was very good. Plantains and cabage and rice were good.
The amount of meat in the serving size was kind of pathetic.

Just lead yourself toward the doowop music. It puts me in a better mood immediately. I don’t mind waiting on a long line in the middle of my workday because I’m too busy humming along and tapping my foot. It is essential to get there before 12:30 if you want the daily special.
I’m partial to the curry chicken patties, mac and cheese and candied yams (which they never run out of). Instant food coma. Good luck trying to have a productive afternoon at work after lunch here.

My friend and I did a lunch swap last Thursday. She brought me food from Yvonne’s and in return i got her food from the NYC Cravings truck. To be honest, I was looking forward to Yvonne’s. My friend was raving about their jamaican jerk dishes. I wanted her to get me something, but lo and behold they had no jerk dishes on Thursday. Instead, I had to get a stewed chicken. The amount was great and the chicken was great. It was tender and juicy and flavorful. The rice and beans were cooked perfectly.
The mac&cheese was a bit sour for my taste. It tasted a bit vinegary, which kind of turned me off.
Overall this place is good, but I wish they served a jerk dish every day instead of certain days. I will definitely update my review again once I try one of their jerk dishes.