When an American named Jerry decided to set up a restaurant in the desolate Jalan Kayu area in 1994, little did he know how popular it would become. Obviously Jerry’s BBQ & Grill was named after him. In the early 1990s, a new dish called Buffalo Wings was gaining popularity in USA and many believed that Jerry was the first one to introduce it into Singapore.
Buffalo Wings are typically chicken wings sections or drumettes that are deep fried and then coated in a vinegar based cayenne hot pepper sauce and melted butter prior to serving. It is traditionally accompanied by celery sticks & carrot sticks and a blue cheese dressing.
The Buffalo Wings were born in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. There are two version of how it was birthed. One version claimed that co-owner Teressa Bellissimo had nothing to cook when her son, Dominic, showed up for a surprise visit to their restaurant with some of his friends from college. So she decided to make something quick and easy. She deep fried chicken wings, melted butter into cayenne pepper sauce, mixed both together, and the buffalo wing was born.
The guys liked them so much that the Bellissimos put them on the menu the next day. Served with celery & carrot sticks plus blue cheese sauce, the Buffalo Wings were an instant hit. Another version of the story was that a delivery mistake of chicken parts resulted in Anchor Bar receiving too many chicken wings. And to deal with these wings, Teresa had the brilliant idea to coat deep fried wings with her special sauce and created the buffalo wings.
Back to Jerry’s, barely two years after the restaurant was set up, Jerry & his wife retired back to USA. They sold the business to an American named Al who was also a Singapore permanent resident. Al kept the restaurant’s name & put in much effort to grow the place. In 2003, in addition to the original restaurant in Jalan Kayu, a branch of Jerry’s was set up at the quaint 92 Club Street.
Over the years, Al also work on diversifying his menu. In 2007, after a trip to Memphis, he shipped back smokers and introduced American smoker barbecue in both the restaurants. Baby Back Pork Ribs, Chicken, Beef Brisket and Pork Shoulder are slow-cooked in the smoker-oven for many hours with low temperature over hickory wood. The result is a wonderful unique wood flavor and amazing tenderness for the meat. In 2014, Jerry’s hired a chef who had a strong Tex-Mex cuisine background and the menu saw the introduction of Fajita and Quesadilla.
It has been a long while since I last ate at Jerry’s. So when I had the chance to visit recently, (pre-Covid Phase 2 Restrictions May 2021) we ordered their famous buffalo wings and opted for the lowest spiciness level. The half-dozen buffalo wings arrived looking really hot and zesty. The size of the wings were ample & each one coated in a hot sauce that made the chicken tasted really delicious..
The deep fried mushroom we had is also another popular appetiser. The button mushrooms are dipped in a special batter.& lightly fried to a glorious golden brown. They are served piping hot with tartar sauce.. When you bite into the mushroom, the juices spurt out. Overall a really awesome appetiser.
We also shared a full slab of babyback pork ribs. For Jerry’s ribs, you can see a thick layer of tender meat on the bones and it oozes flavour with every bite. The slow cooking of the ribs over the special controlled hickory smoker ovens helps get rid of the fats, breaks down the tougher tissues, resulting in meat that falls off the bone easily. The ribs are also smothered in a thick, savoury tomato-based barbecue sauce that complements the dish.
Overall a most satisfying visit to an old friend that brings back many good memories.
a. 277 Jalan Kayu, Singapore 799505
a. 92 Club Street, Singapore 069460
w. jerrybbq.com
