Make some room for Island Eats on your next Dawson trip

On the last return leg of a trip to Tuktoyaktuk, there’s nothing better than turning off the Dempster Highway, knowing your vehicle has, mostly, survived the endless potholes and washboards.

The next best thing? Knowing a good meal is nearby.

We pulled into Dawson City last summer after seven days on the road, dropped the truck off at the Yukon River campground, and then returned to town to find a place to eat (after campground beers of course). It had been a long trip of camp food, far-too-old vegetables, salt and vinegar chips and poorly cooked hotdogs. It was time for a real meal.

For a town that’s even more remote than Whitehorse, Dawson has a disproportionately high share of very good restaurants. With stalwarts like Bonton & Company, and former pie slinger Joe’s Pizza, it has and does punch above its weight. Every year I visit a new place pops up.

Located at 978 Second Ave. in a former noodle spot, Island Eats was one of those new places that popped up between visits. Unassuming from the outside, with a black checkered floor, and dark red chairs, it almost feels like a steak house. 

Steak is quickly forgotten once you enter. The team running the restaurant were friendly and welcoming, exactly what you wanted after six days on the road cooped up with the same group of friends.

The food is Jamaican, which is a wonder by itself, given how far Dawson is from the Carribean. The menu features Island classics like curried goat, coco bread, plantains and the ubiquitous jerk chicken, a spicy-sweet concoction that includes allspice, pepper, scotch bonnets and sugar, charred to perfection.

Island Eats jerk chicken is not just good. It may be the best chicken anywhere north of the 60th parallel. Juicy, with a sweet and spiced kick, and a thick dark sauce on the outside, it’s a blast of flavour that you won’t forget. The accompaniments are a nice touch, with well-cooked rice and sweet and soft plantains pairing perfectly with the chicken. 

While they don’t have a liquor license, the Royal Jamaican, a ginger beer packing a sneeze-inducing wallop of ginger, will make you forget all about beer. At least until you visit The Pit nearby…

The prices are nothing to sneeze at, with the jerk chicken costing $33, and the curried goat $42, but it’s a small, or let’s say medium, price to pay for access to this type of food in in the North.

A saying in Jamaica is “small up yuhself” — at least, according to Google — which essentially means “make room.” Usually it’s meant for making space in a tight room. But the feeling could equally apply to visiting Island Eats — make room in your schedule, and your stomach, for a visit the next time you’re in town.

Editor’s note — I finished writing this story only to realize I didn’t take any photos. I’ll be sure to grab some on the next trip up there!