Bahamian Food

There are two types of people: those who take pictures of food, and those who don't. Guess which kind I am? I do have my limits, though. I didn't take pictures of dinner at the Ritz in Paris, and I didn't photograph my incredible dinner at The Landing in The Bahamas. The Ritz was too intimidating, and The Landing was too dark. Seriously, they give you a mini flashlight with which to view the menu. The only lighting is a hurricane lantern with a single candle on each table. I don't think the crowd in there would have appreciated my flash going off during dinner, either. That being said, our dinner at The Landing was really special. I had the local lobster. There was more lobster on my plate than I could finish! It was succulent and well prepared, with simple accompaniments of fingerling potatoes and French green beans. And butter :) Boyfriend had mahi mahi, which he also enjoyed. We shared a bottle of good Chianti, and a classic molten chocolate cake for dessert. New York prices, but I don't mind paying if I feel I have gotten something special as I feel we did there. The landing is one of the old colonial buildings on Harbour Island, dating from 1800. Amazing that is has survived- there are hardly any buildings that old in Canada.

My second favourite meal was at a place called Dunmore Deli, also on Harbour Island. We just happened by on the way to the beach, and I had an incredible sandwich called The Islander- medium rare flank steak marinated in jerk sauce, caramelized onions, avocado, and spicy citrus aioli, served on a baguette. So good! Washed it down with 2 Bahamian beers called Kaliks, and watched island life go by. This is how I want to spend all my afternoons.

On Eleuthera, we stayed in an area called Rainbow Bay. The nearest restaurant was a place called the Rainbow Inn, owned by Canadians, as it happens. We both had grouper, which had been out of the water for 6 hours, served with zucchini from the garden. Doesn't get much fresher than that! We ate on the back patio, and watched the sun set over the Caribbean.

Our last Bahamian meal was the most special, in some ways. We had driven past a place called Lee's Cafe, in James Cistern. (You drive past the same places frequently, since there is essentially one road that runs through Eleuthera, the Queen's Highway). It had a rudimentary hand-painted sign, but I had heard good things about their fried chicken. We showed up on our way to the airport, heading home. We were greeted by two very sweet ladies, who seemed concerned that we had been on Eleuthera for a week and they hadn't met us yet! We told them we had come by the previous Sunday, but they were closed, despite the sign saying they were open Sundays. They told us that they close for 2 1/2 hours to go to church! After promising to come back to their island, we got our chicken take-away (mine fried, BFs grilled). They were also cooking beans and rice, macaroni, and some barbecued ribs that smelled fantastic. OK, this chicken was NOT healthy, but it was the best piece of fried chicken I have ever had. I could not stop myself from devouring every bit of the skin. My mouth is watering right now thinking about it. If you're ever on Eleuthera, and you really should go, you must stop by and spend time with the ladies at Lee's Cafe. Then you should probably go jogging and do a juice fast.

I'm just saying.