Stay with me here.  There is fried fish, which is sometimes called fry fish.  And then there is fry fish.  The two are not the same. Fried fish, or lets say fry fish with a capital F, refers to the large, tasty, whole fried fish, for which Jamaica is well  known.  Fried fish is served at restaurants and larger street-side cook shops.  It’s the perfect partner to festival or to steamed or fried bammy.Now fry fish, lowercase f. is the less well-known variety.

It might break your heart to hear it, but jerk is no longer street food in Jamaica.  Oh no.  Jerk has long since shed its humble origins and gone upscale and indoors.  Jerk`s on the menu of every Caribbean restaurant with ratings from 1 to 5 stars:  It`s in the home of every Jamaican, handily packaged in a range of seasonings.  On the streets, jerk`s been replaced by its close cousin, pan chicken.  Does it matter?  Ask the purists.