Three for the Weekend, January 17

Where to get the city's best burger right now

This weekly column will appear every Friday, in which I’ll suggest fun dining spots, worth devoting to your leisure time on the weekend. Places recently opened get special emphasis, as do long-forgotten chestnuts that are still superb. Many places feature corollary attractions, such as hikes, museums, eminent architecture, and neighborhoods distinguished by their unique feel.

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Niki Gordon presides over a line of six smokers at Irie Jerk.

Wonderful jerk chicken in Flatbush

Founded on Flatbush Avenue in 1995, Peppa’s Jerk Chicken, formerly Danny and Pepper’s, formed the standard for jerk chicken for nearly three decades, spinning off branches like frisbees. The chicken was washed in white vinegar before being coated in spices, then cooked in an indoor gas brazier. It was tender and nicely blackened. But jerk chicken always tastes better when cooked outdoors in a 60-gallon drum fed with fast-burning lump charcoal.

And that is just what Irie Jerk does at 1182 Nostrand Avenue, near Midwood Street, in Flatbush. It’s an inspiring site to come within view of the colorful storefront, emblazoned “Real Spanish Town Flavor,” referring to a municipality west of Kingston. The jerk chicken at Irie — which evolved from a fresh-juice establishment last year that still squeezes carrots, beets, and cashews — is smoky, moist, and char-crusted, tasting slightly of Worcestershire and allspice, and delivering a slight burn on the lips. It’s currently the best jerk chicken in town. And at $15 for a large serving with a choice of nine sauces (pick the “jerk hot sauce”) — it’s a steal. Weekends only, the linear doughnut called festival is available, said to cut the spiciness of the chicken.

That’s a lot of poultry for $15!

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The best burger in town is found at a diner