Posts Tagged ‘exotic’

Steve
Steve

Taste of the Caribbean: Monkey’s on the Menu in St. Kitts & Nevis?

monkey2

I don’t know that too many people actually visit St. Kitts & Nevis expressly to check out the monkeys, but believe me, once you’re there, they are impossible to ignore. Whether taking a stroll across a golf course, frantically raiding a mango tree, as we witnessed at The Golden Rock Inn last year, or boozing it up with hilarious consequences, the Vervet Monkeys in this twin-island nation put on quite a show.
For visitors, the show is all in fun; an exotic attraction worthy of some serious post-vacation bragging around the watercolor back at the office.
For residents, especially local farmers, it’s quite the opposite.

continue…
Oct. 4th, 2011 | Tags: , | 4 Comments »
Steve
Steve

On-Site Grand Cayman: Eating Turtle is Good… For The Turtles?

Turtle Stew with rice & beans/SBPR

I didn’t need much prodding to try a plate of Turtle Stew during my first trip to Grand Cayman this past weekend. I’d known for some time that the cute, majestic and perpetually endangered creatures were a delicacy here, so in keeping with our uncommon travel tendencies, I was anxious to get a taste. I’d read before I arrived that all turtle meat served legally on the island emanated from the Cayman Turtle Farm, so I figured I’d start my culinary quest there. You know, where the meat is the freshest.
Now, bear in mind, the Cayman Turtle Farm is not your typical uncommon attraction.

continue…
Mar. 8th, 2011 | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments »
Steve
Steve

Taste of the Caribbean: Mom Always Said, Eat Your Fish Eyes…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

No matter who you are, or where you come from, we all grow up eating certain things that others might find a bit eccentric, strange, or downright gross. Sure, I poked fun at my Dad’s Trini taste for iguana in a post about LLB’s a couple weeks ago, but really, who among us is any different when it comes to the weird food department?
I’m certainly not. The proof is in the eyes… not of the beholder, but in the actual eyes of fried fish, which I love to eat.
I’m not really sure why I love fish eyes. It’s not like they have any real distinctive or savory flavor.

continue…
Oct. 4th, 2010 | Tags: , , | 1 Comment »
Steve
Steve

Deal of the Week: Free Flights to Kanantik Reef & Jungle Resort

courtesy Madigan Pratt & Associates, Inc.

There are getaways, nice little trips to tropical destinations, and then there are ESCAPES, full-on retreats to completely secluded and exotic “fall off the face of the earth” hideaways. If you’re interested in the latter, then the Kanantik Reef & Jungle Resort in Belize should be on your short list of places to check out.
Located along 1,300 feet of private beach on Belize’s Caribbean coast, Kanantik is a vacation dream come true for nature lovers, adventure seekers, or just about anyone who wants to really get away from it all.
I mean, you talk about remote, just check out the aerial photo at left.

continue…
Jul. 14th, 2010 | Tags: , , | 2 Comments »
Steve
Steve

Taste of the Caribbean: Souse

Steve Bennett

To some, pigs are cute. To others, they’re kinda’ gross. Throughout the Caribbean, though, it seems most everyone agrees on one thing about pigs: they’re just plain tasty.
Throughout our travels, we’ve found pork to be a staple meat used in a wide range of West Indian cooking traditions, be they English, French, Dutch or Spanish. The many dishes featuring “the other white meat” vary about as much as the destinations where they’re served. On this particular Monday, we’re hungry for some souse.
A soupy broth consisting primarily of pickled meat culled from Porky’s more exotic anatomic regions — the head, feet, tail, etc.

continue…
Apr. 5th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments »
Patrick
Patrick

Taste of the Caribbean: Cow Heel and Chicken Soup, With Pigtail

Cow heel and chicken soup, with pigtail by Patrick Bennett

While in Barbados last week, we had the pleasure of swinging by The Village Bar for lunch. Of course, you would never find the place if you asked a local for directions using its official name because everyone knows the establishment simply by its neighborhood: Lemon Arbor.
Lemon Arbor began as just another one of the many rum shops that can be found all over Barbados, but as its reputation for spectacular local dishes grew, so did the actual shop. Now, Lemon Arbor has become the place to go on Saturdays for an extended lunch of souse, fried pork, and other pork dishes, plus cheap Banks beers and rum.

continue…
Mar. 29th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments »
Steve
Steve

Taste of the Caribbean: Iguana Stew

Iguanan "Leave Me Alone"

Ingredients

1 live Iguana
1 large Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
3 Tomatoes
2 Green Peppers
4 teaspoon Achiote Oil
1 pinch Pepper
Salt — To Taste

The handsome devil pictured above may not look like much of a meal to you or me, but in Guyana, Trinidad, and other parts of the Caribbean he’s a delicacy. No really, I’m serious.
One of our Guyanese friends living in South Florida was going to cook one up for us to prove it, but she claims that all the iguanas near her house died during our unusually cold winter. Of course, she said this while fighting back a wry smile and wistfully rubbing her belly, so you be the judge of what really happened to all the SoFla iguanas.

continue…
Mar. 22nd, 2010 | Tags: , , , | 8 Comments »