TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: DINING Dining is a true pleasure in either Trinidad or Tobago. On both islands you'll find tasty treats like the roti, a burrito-like fast food that traces its roots to India. Look for "buss up shot" at most diners; this is a roti that's torn up like a "busted up shirt" and is eaten with a fork rather than by hand. Curried dishes are the star of just about every menu. You'll also find an excellent selection of Chinese food, especially in Port of Spain. TRINIDAD Rafters This elegant eatery is the perfect spot for a quiet evening out in bustling Port of Spain. Attentive service, white table linens, and a decor that highlights the brick walls of this former warehouse, make a special night out. Start with Caribbean crabback, chicken scallopini, or smoked seafood paté and then move on to the house specialties: chicken teriyaki, flame-broiled tenderloin served with jumbo shrimp, seafood au gratin, and garlic shrimp. For beef lovers there's porterhouse steak and rib-eye, and seafood fans can select Tobago lobster tail, curried shrimp, or crab and lobster on a bed of spinch and mushrooms. Monsoon When you dine at Monsoon, the two of you may well be the only vacationers in the restaurant. Have a look around, though, and you'll see faces from around the globe. This purple and green decored diner is a lunchtime favorite with downtown businesspeople, many of whom have relocated to this island from other lands. Rotis are the favorite dish here, and you can take your pick from many fillings: chicken, duck, beef, goat, pork, lamb, shrimp, conch, fish, and vegetable. Rotis are served with vegetables including potato, pumpkin, and bodi, a curried vegetable much like green beans. TOBAGO Blue Crab This charming outdoor eatery offers local cuisine such as kingfish with pumpkin, pigeon peas, breadfruit salad, and oildown, a breadfruit dish that tastes somewhat like potato salad made with callaloo, coconut milk, and herbs. Blue Crab is a favorite with locals for lunch and dinner and a delightful place to sit out the heat of the day and enjoy a refreshing lime punch. Kariwak Village This small inn is a favorite with diners who are looking for all natural ingredients. The Dali Lama recently dined here and conducted a seminar in the open air restaurant that's perched beneath thatched palapa roofs. On Friday and Saturday nights, stop by for the all you can eat buffet with favorites such as lamb chops, grilled fish, curried plantains, rice, and eggplant casserole, followed up, if you're lucky, by Guiness ice cream. Lalls Roti Shop There's nothing fancy about this roti shop. Wild chickens run for their lives just outside the door. There's no air conditioning. Orders are taken at the counter. Drinks are kept in a self-serve refrigerator that also serves as a TV stand. But the product here is the real thing: rotis and buss up shot made by islanders, for islanders. If you're looking for a real taste of Tobago off the tourist trail, here it is. Jemma's Located on the island's north tip, this restaurant is perched up in the trees, a full story about ground. It offers a bird's eye view of the sea, although for many diners it's tough to tear their eyes away from the restaurant's offerings including a top-notch callaloo soup. Cocrico Inn This simple diner, located in front of a charming guesthouse, serves some of the island's best dishes: creole stew, Indian style curried chicken, saucy shrimp, and marinated flying fish. Every dish is as fresh as can be, prepared with breadfruit, okra, callaloo, and lettuce from the owner's garden and lobster caught by fishermen at the water's edge. The mood here is friendly and unassuming and as delightful as going to enjoy Sunday dinner at your favorite grandmother's house. Black Rock Cafe Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this open-air restaurant is casual and fun. Breakfast consists of exotic dishes such as grilled flying fish or black pudding with buljol or smoked herring, or traditional American eggs and toast. Lunch entrees including grilled flying fish and cheeseburgers; dinner includes crabback, lobster creole, Tobago river lobster (crayfish), and shrimp kebab, all served with creole rice, roasted potatoes, or french fries. Don't miss the Englishman's Bay Sunset, a potent cocktail made of pineapple juice, rum, triple sec, lime juice, and grenadine syrup that's as colorful as a sunset itself. Rouselles Island cuisine with a chef's touch is the mark of Rouselles, an elegant restaurant that specializes in lobster, seafood in creole sauce, pork chops, and grouper. Dining by candlelight on the restaurant's open air porch is a romantic treat for any couple.
|
|
|
Lovetripper.com Romantic Travel Guide
