Queen Conch

Last year, while hunting for shells, I inadvertently pulled a live baby conch from its briny home in the Caribbean sea off Eleuthera, Bahamas, and tossed it in a plastic bag. As we drove away, Peter noticed the sound of it trying to escape its plastic prison- fairly creepy, I must say. Apparently it is illegal to harvest baby conchs, so at our next stop we tossed my little friend back into the ocean. I hope he had the chance to grow up and become a delicious salad.

At Queen Conch, on Harbour Island, we met a lovely couple who have been making impossibly fresh conch salads for, as the chef said, "12 or 15 years, I can't remember. Started with just a piece of plywood."

The restaurant isn't fancy, and it isn't a restaurant. It's a stand, with a few seats in the front, in the shade, where you can watch the salads being prepared, and a nice deck out back with several tables overlooking the sea.

Fun Lori Fact: As usual, I had to go to the bathroom, and since QC is more akin to a hot dog stand than a restaurant, I wasn't sure what my next move would be. I asked the lady making salad, and she said "go to the liquor store across the street and ask if you can use the bathroom". When I gotta go, I gotta go, so I did just that. They were very accommodating, and led me to the staff bathroom, complete with a sign on the door, inside, that said "We Watchin' You, Sucka!". Totally didn't care. There was no soap or towels, but I had Kleenex and Purell, so everything was fine.

Peter also made a trip to the liquor store, but to get us drinks to go with our salad. You can't drink on public streets in the Bahamas, except you can, if your beer is in a paper bag. Peter goes in and comes back with 3 beers in little bags. "Um, are we having company?" I asked. "I asked for two, but they said they were 3 for $4.99, and didn't tell me how much two cost". I don't think this development annoyed him one bit!

You wait a while for your salad, unless you're smart and come by early. To order, you write your name, what you want, and when you want it on the legal pad on the counter. A perfectly acceptable system!

We watched as the ingredients for 6 servings were prepared- onions, red and green peppers, tomatoes, garlic all chopped by hand. And, of course, conch so fresh the pile of huge shells sits in shallow water just behind the stand. Limes are sliced and squeezed over all. Home made hot sauce was sprinkled in, according to your order. We went with Medium. Mild is for wimps, but something told me that Hot would kill me. Then, he adds whatever else people want. When regulars came by, the chef shouted out "Tim, you want hot peppers?" or "How about some sweet orange today?" and the extra ingredients would be added.

The salad was heaven. Not a thing in there that's bad for you, as fresh as can be, and made completely by hand, outside, under a plywood roof, about 10 feet from the sea.

What more could anyone want, but to go back for more some day?