Mr. Pimento Makes Sweet, Hot, “Fiyah” Jamaican Food
Homestyle mac & cheese and jerk chicken made with love
Reviewed by A. Richmond, Fri., April 28, 2023
When asked why he named his food truck Mr. Pimento, owner/chef Clay Spence says, "You know allspice berries? And you know how woodsmoke is an important part of Texas barbecue? Allspice berries come from the pimento tree, and both the spice and the wood are important elements of Jamaican cooking."
Mr. Pimento isn't the only food truck stationed at the Buzz Mill off East Riverside, but it has an aromatic edge: The smoky allure of jerk chicken drifts throughout the coffee shop and bar, giving it a significant competitive advantage.
Spence was born in Jamaica, moved with his family to New York City, then wanted a change and came to Austin. As a sideline, he started cooking at the Granary in Jarrell, a gorgeous bar/barbecue/food truck site. His silent partner (Mike Armstrong) visited the Granary one day, found his favorite spot closed, tried Spence's food just once, and offered to back him in business for just a 5% return on his investment.
While Spence's idea for a hot sauce line has been percolating for 12 years, the food truck business is a recent detour, having just opened in December 2022. Spence plans to finally launch his Mr. Pimento hot sauce line in May 2023.
Until then, the offerings on Mr. Pimento's small but mighty menu will have to suffice as a vehicle for his fiery sauces. When I visited, I ordered jerk chicken wings, jerk jackfruit and island rice, and life-affirming Mac N' Please. I inhaled two of the jumbo jerk chicken wings on their own, enjoying the sweet heat that doesn't overwhelm but gently warms as the spice builds. The Mr. Pimento sauce is gorgeous: glossy, red, and innocent-looking, like ketchup. I dunked a wing into it and spread it all over the jackfruit and perfectly cooked island rice for more of that sweet heat, and my lips were tingling in no time. (I did not try the other sauce, the presumably spicier Xtra Fiyah.)
Eating mac & cheese from Mr. Pimento is an experience much like falling in love. There's excitement, elation, then the world magically disappears to contain just two elements: me and the mac & cheese. There's a creamy cheese sauce, Gouda, cheddar, a liberal sprinkle of Parmesan, and a small, perfect topping of crispy fried onion pieces. The cheddar provides long, languid cheese pulls and the crispy onion pieces provide not only texture but umami. There are many mac & cheeses, but this one is special, and I can't wait to have it again and forget the rest of the world exists.
The entire menu is mouthwatering, and small enough not to overwhelm. And as is the nature of small-batch cooking, some menu items may be unavailable (like the jerk chicken legs and plantains when I visited). If this means that you have to come back another day to try the mac & cheese, so be it.
Mr. Pimento
1505 Town Creek, 518/744-8939Sun.-Mon., closed; Tue.-Thu., 5-10:30pm; Fri., 1-5:30pm; Sat., 7:30pm-12mid
mrpimento.square.site