A Caribbean restaurant in Cedar Hill is turning heads with its jerk chicken: Called The Jerk Caribbean, it's at 242 S. Hwy. 67, on S. J. Elmer Freeway, where it opened in a former salon space in February.

The Jerk Caribbean is from husband-and-wife Orlando and Tab Simon, who are using recipes from Orlando's mother including her signature jerk chicken and other island foods such as roti and patties.

“When I met Orlando, he took me to one of his family parties and I tasted the chicken and fell in love with the taste,” Tab says. “I started cooking it and having friends and family over, and they loved it. So we started setting up as a vendor at food festivals and events."

First, they take the skin off and season the chicken with spices such as all spice, ginger, garlic, and habanero. After the chicken marinates overnight from one to two days, they bake it rather than grill it to keep from losing the marinade over charcoal. Then they jerk, or poke, the chicken once it’s done. According to Orlando, baking it enhances flavor and locks in the seasoning.

Tab says they incorporate both of their cultures into the dishes as she’s American and Orlando is Trinidadian. According to Orlando, they cater to all the islands, not just Trinidad.

Beyond jerk chicken, priced at $17, they have an $11 baked potato topped with shredded jerk chicken and jerk sauce and $5 beef patties, which are yellow puff pastries made from scratch, are filled with ground beef, chopped vegetables, and Caribbean seasoning.

Other menu items include curry chicken, oxtails, red beans and rice, green beans with chunks of potato, and potato salad with lots of hard-boiled egg.

The couple originally considered a food truck, but went for a brick-and-mortar after determining what Cedar Hill might need.

“It’s a spot with more working class people and we had to do our research on the demographics and see what kind of competition we had and compare it to our restaurant,” Tab says. “That’s the reason we picked Cedar Hill.”