Ja's Jerk Chicken in Chicago: A Wing That Has the Thang
Whoever coined the phrase, “Ain’t no thang, but a chicken wang” was clearly a careless philosopher. Because, after a lunch of jerk wings at Ja’s Jerk Chicken in Chicago’s Garfield Park neighborhood, I’ve found some wings that are quite clearly the thang. In fact, two hours after supping on them, my lips are still delighted, if not a touch inflamed, by the chili burn from their jerk sauce.
Anyone considering collagen injections should just consider a weekly order of these instead.
Ja’s has no tables or even the stainless steel chest-high counter—a Chicago staple found at beef stands and rib shacks everywhere. I had to dine with the styrofoam clamshell while holding the wings precariously perched on the console of my vintage scooter—by vintage I mean 1994 Honda Elite—underneath the Lake St. Green Line elevated train. Still, even with the train spitting the occasional drop of El juice as it roared by, I was hardly bothered. I was too busy sucking my way to the chicken bone.
