REVIEW: THE VERANDAH, TROY
The Verandah
6 Franklin Place, on the corner of Fourth and Liberty streets, in Troy theverandahtroycom/
REVIEW: The corner restaurant in Troy’s Little Italy that has been consecutively home to the Little Rice Ball (onigiri,) The Daisy (tacos,) Frankie Bird (fried chicken,) and most recently Rosie’s On The Go (Jamaican) is now The Verandah, a Jamaican restaurant with a twist: Italy meets Jamaica. Stylist Chanel Pearson, who owns Coco P’z Salontique in Colonie, is known among friends and family for her signature mac and cheese made with Cheddar and smoked gouda, evaporated milk, butter and cavatappi pasta, while her Jamaican fiancé, Andrew Hendricks, is the chef behind the rich oxtail, curried chicken or brown stew chicken served over top of the mac and cheese in The Verandah’s Likkle Italy Mac and Cheese Box. This is the most outrageous bite I’ve had in a while. It’s the Italian-Jamaican fusion you didn’t know you needed. ** (To avoid conflict, I added some history on mac n’ cheese at the bottom.)
Pearson and Hendricks had been looking for “just the right size place” with low overhead and small enough size that they could manage together, if they had no other staff. Pearson is keenly aware of the impact of COVID on the hospitality scene having bartended at Legends and DeJohn’s Restaurant on Lark Street and managed the OTB on Central Ave. When her friend Rosie, of Rosie’s On The Go, left the area, she gave Pearson first dibs and the space was just right.
Hendricks, a carpenter for the last two decades, learned to cook from his father in Portland, Jamaica, where he and Pearson own a home. His menu is a strategic shortlist of flavorful Jamaican classics from the quarter, half or whole jerk chicken stained by jerk seasoning carrying a perfect amount of heat to his Verandah oxtail slow braised with beans, the island-style steamed snapper—available bone-in or filet—served in a savory broth with okra carrots, pumpkin, peppers, and onions, plus the daily soups, yard-style or Top Fort jerk wings, and sea moss shots.
The space has had only a light makeover from its original days as The Little Rice Ball, with the white tiled bar counter and wall-mounted light installation still in place. And from the outside, the white-painted building—opposite the new DeFazio’s 216—still has the original glass bricks surrounding the angled doorway. Pearson says they will put in a liquor license application in the next few weeks to serve wine and cocktails at the bar.
Hours: Open noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays.
The vibe: Small, casual, dine-in or take out spot with a few tables for eating in and several seats at the bar.
We like it for: Lunch, dinner, dine-in or take out.
Must try: Although, their jerk chicken may be an area best, the Likkle Italy Mac and Cheese Box is the break out star. The mac n cheese, topped with your choice of oxtail, brown stew chicken, curry chicken, or island-style snapper, is served with additional sauce. The flavor from the smoked gouda layers an unexpected flavor and the choice of grooved cavatappi over smooth elbow pasta is the ideal vehicle for holding the sauce. Right behind it, are the handcut Yard Fries topped with your choice of stews. No cheese, but still comes close to a Jamaican poutine.
Dishes: The menu is centered around the Likkle Italy Mac and Cheese Box topped with oxtail, brown stew chicken, curry chicken, island-style snapper or Island Boxes with oxtail, brown stew chicken, curry chicken, island-style snapper or jerk wings served over rice and peas, cabbage and golden plantains. The portions are large making the sometimes high prices seem fair. At the top end, The Verandah Oxtail Island Box or Snapper Island Box are both over $30 but could feed two. The quarter jerk chicken is a $9 deal and the à la carte Build A Box let’s you mix-and-match anything on the menu.
Good to know: Whether taking out or dining in, meals are currently served in takeout cardboard boxes although Pearson does provides sharing plates and cutlery. *She is planning to switch to plated service in the next few weeks.
Drinks: Skip the cooler of soft drinks and sodas, and go for the housemade sorrel. Or a cold bottle of Ting.
Style: This cool little space has had a fresh coat of dark turquoise paint which creates more of an cozy, intimate vibe and compliments the copper pipe art on one wall that was designed (during the era of The Little Rice Ball) to map out downtown Troy with each tiny bulb for the bars. The central curved bar still has the coolest seats in the house.
Sound: Jamaican reggae and dancehall playlist spanning “Big It Up” by Buju Banton, “Trying to Get to You” by Richie Stephens and Ding Dong’s “Dweet (Genna Bounce)” feat. Bravo Ravers.
Inside/outside? Pearson is applying for sidewalk patio seating for summer!
Parking: Street.
Nearby: All of downtown Troy is within walking distance, but The Verandah’s closest neighbors include:
1. DeFazio’s 216 across the street 2. Red Front Pizza 3. Collar City Cold Pressed 4. Alias Coffee
**[Before anyone says mac n’ cheese is Anglo-American, not Italian, it has early roots in a 13th-century Italian pasta and cheese casserole called de lesanis with layered pasta and cheese. Of course, it’s also part of American history given Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved chef, who trained in France, came up with his own recipe after Jefferson encountered similar pasta dishes in Italy and France in the eighteenth century.]