​"Nights on Kingston" is what we called it.

We were a small group of friends freshly minted from high school, and in an effort to keep in touch, we joined a recreational softball league in Scarborough. Every week after a game, we would take a drive down to Kingston Road to get some Caribbean food.

In retrospect, I think we all looked forward to the food more than playing softball. We would drive up and down the stretch of road in a crammed car looking for a new jerk chicken or pepper shrimp spot.

When we talk about food neighbourhoods in the city, Kingston Road gets very little credit for the sheer number of Caribbean restaurants tucked into the various plazas and low-rise buildings. All on one street, you'll find an incredible array of West Indian food: from Guyanese to Trinidadian, and, of course, Jamaican.

Watch how chef Wayne Simpson makes his signature jerk chicken. 1:04

When I moved downtown years later, I began using Kingston Road as an alternate arterial connection to get to Scarborough and further east. It was then that I realized this sprinkling of Caribbean mom-and-pop shops thrived well beyond the Toronto city limits, as Kingston Road continued to Port Union and into Durham Region.

As I was making the drive to Prince Edward County five years ago, I found myself coasting along Kingston Road when the highway was jammed. That's when the hunger set in. I stumbled upon Patois Jamaican Restaurant and Catering by accident.

Knowing very little, I walked in and ordered a plate of jerk chicken to go. I remember the woman at the counter asking me something I've never been asked before.

"How hot do you want it?"

How hot? I've been ordering jerk-type dishes for decades, and the only thing I concern myself with is how much oxtail gravy I can beg to get on my meat, rice and peas.

According to food columnist Suresh Doss, jerk chicken can be incredible on its own or with the right hot sauce. (Suresh Doss)

Moments later, I was sitting in the parking lot, unable to resist the smell of scotch bonnet peppers and all-spice. I opened the container and dug in. That lunch firmly established my belief that while jerk chicken can be incredible on its own, with the right hot sauce, it can be superlative.

There was also something else special about the jerk chicken: smoky flavours gave way to a deep marinade on flesh and bone. We have great Jamaican food in Toronto, but often places will take shortcuts by using shelf marinades, sugar and soy sauce.

When the flavours are one-note, they spike in heat and salt. It tastes like a quick dunk in dipping sauce.

Chef Wayne Simpson committed himself to cooking from scratch. (Suresh Doss)

Wayne Simpson takes a slower approach with his cooking at Patois Jamaican. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised by his grandmother, who he cites as his main source of culinary inspiration. Simpson joined his mother in Canada for "a better life."

Patois Jamaican opened in 2012 with a modest menu of Jamaican classics: jerk chicken, jerk pork, pepper shrimp, oxtail, and curry goat. The menu has since expanded with Simpson applying his experience in chemistry to marinades and sauces. His wife, Maxine, runs the front-of-house operations.

Unlike other Jamaican spots you'll see in the GTA, Simpson is adamant that he wanted to forego a strictly take-out spot in favour of creating the "restaurant experience." Inspired by his upbringing, he committed himself to cooking from scratch.

'Pickering loves hot sauce, so we decided to kick it up a few notches,' Simpson says. (Suresh Doss)

"I wanted to avoid anything processed," he said. "I mainly wanted to make my own marinades and sauces because I can then control the heat and salt."

For his jerk dishes, Simpson soaks the protein with his signature marinade and lets it sit a minimum of 24 hours. The meat is then baked and finished off on the grill with a slathering of hot sauce.

Right — back to the hot sauce. Every guest at Patois Jamaican is asked how hot they'd like their jerk lunch or dinner.

This is the pepper shrimp dish at Patois Jamaican Restaurant. (Suresh Doss)

"There are two camps of people when it comes to jerk: people who love jerk on its own, and people who love jerk with hot sauce," Simpson said. "Pickering loves hot sauce, so we decided to kick it up a few notches."

I suggest you start in the medium range when it comes to heat to appreciate Simpson's deftness in making a tender jerk product. The second time around you can go as hot as you want — and try to leave with a bottle of hot sauce.