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By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton
A tent, a grill and a menu on a blackboard.
Sometimes the most delicious places to eat in the Caribbean are smoke-filled shacks set on the side of the road.
And when you’re in St Maarten, local spots like these are an art form.
St Maarten has long been one of the Caribbean’s culinary capitals — and while the honor is well deserved, it’s as much thanks to local eateries as it is to its fine-dining establishments.
And thanks to the Dutch Caribbean hotspot’s place as one of the hubs of the Caribbean, immigrants from all over the region and the Americas have helped cultivate a rich, diverse tapestry of cuisine from Dominican food to Trinidadian food to the spicy flavors of Suriname.
That means a broad offering of local dining destinations, from roadside shacks to classic Creole eateries and everything in between.
In other words, if you want to eat like a local in St Maarten, you can. And this is how to do it.
Mark’s Place This full-fledged St Maarten institution in Little Bay serves up a range of Creole and St Maarten specialties. But everybody comes for the ribs, particularly the $24 all-you-can-eat rib dinner.
Semple’s This Guyanese barbecue joint has been here for more than a decade, and locals will argue whether the roti or the ribs are the signature dish. Our money’s on the roti, but you can’t go wrong with either.
The Jerk and Roti Hut Roti is something of an art form in St Maarten, and while roti shops abound on the Dutch side, this Jamaican outpost gives you the best of two worlds: scintillating jerk chicken and terrific roti (oh, and delicious patties and other Jamaican specialties, too).
Oasis Food and Drink Locals come here all day long, but Oasis truly comes alive in the late-night hours when everyone descends on the Simpson Bay eatery for stew oxtail, garlic conch and shrimp.
You come here for the chicken.
St Maarten Pica Pollo The Dominican community brought Pica Pollo, a form of chopped and fried chicken, to St Maarten, and now it’s become a local delicacy at restaurants like this in the heart of Simpson Bay. Because you come here for one thing: the chicken.
Caribbean Jerkie Is this the best barbecue chicken in St Maarten? It’s certainly right near the top, the sort of eatery where when you arrive you’re told “you come to the right place.” Come here for the chicken, the ribs and, on weekends, the pork. It’s open all day and all night.
The Original Fat Boy Jimmy’s Another local institution, you can’t miss the sign (or the name) as you arrive in Philipsburg. While the barbecue is top notch, Fat Boy’s is also home to some of St Maarten’s best fried fish.
How you can go wrong with a name like that?
Lick Da Plate This beloved eatery in Philipsburg is a mix of Chinese and classic St Maarten cuisine, with a buffet concept that means you eat by the pound — choose your food, bring it to the scale, weight it and then try and avoid scales for the next few weeks.
Shieka’s If you’re here on a cruise or strolling the historic streets of Philipsburg, this Back Street signature is your spot. Shieka’s is a who’s who of St Maarten, drawing a unique cross-section of patrons thanks to its delightful French and Dutch cuisine. If it’s on the menu, make sure you get the stir-fry christophine (it’s the best local spot for vegetarians, too).
La Bomba Cole Bay’s go-to is La Bomba, home to as good a selection of St Maarten’s classic dishes as you’ll find anywhere on the island. There’s everything from chicken satay to fried chicken to stew goat and some seriously good boiled yucca.
Captain’s Rib Shack One of the most popular places to eat in Simpson Bay, this roadside shack is, unsurprisingly, famous for its ribs, which, if you notice a trend, is arguably the most popular local dish in St Maarten. But at Captain’s, they take things to another level entirely.
The Rooster Buffet and Lounge Another celebrated local buffet, this Simpson Bay standout is one of the most beloved places to eat in all of St Maarten – but you may not be able to find a seat, so get your goods to go.
Want to plan your meal? Check out our map of all of St Maarten’s local food destinations.
The post 12 Places to Eat Like a Local in St Maarten appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
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By Nigel Spence
CJ Contributor
It is quite a challenge to make the move from being a carnivore all of one’s life to suddenly needing to be vegan or vegetarian for health reasons. This usually means that the change is out of necessity and not by choice. The reality of that need to eat more healthy usually begins after a trip to the doctor’s office and the requisite counseling about any one of the myriad of ailments you may have succumbed to, and the guilt of that extra 25 pounds you accumulated since your last visit that speaks directly to the prescriptions you are about to fill.
Whenever I encounter someone struggling with the concept of maintaining a plant-based diet, the first thing I try to get them to understand is that they don’t have to be so hard on themselves.
If you were eating meat for the last 39 years, its ok to slowly incorporate a more plant-based approach to your dishes over time, rather than punish yourself with a cold turkey (pardon the pun) approach that almost always fails.
That’s the moment when I introduce them to what I now like to call my “transitional cuisine”.
This approach to preparing meals is very appealing to those who want to eat more plant-based food but who presume that eating this way is bland and boring. They also feel deprived if there isn’t a hunk of meat on the plate with all those greens.
I then try to dispel the myth that a plant-based diet means eating salads for breakfast, lunch and dinner, by showing how ingredients such as beans, mushrooms, cauliflower and ancient grains can easily take center stage on a plate and put animal protein instead as one of the supporting cast.
A great illustration of the concept that I tend to go to first is this bean dish that starts in the pressure cooker with vegetable stock.
The beans in this recipe are called vaquero or cow beans because of the color of the bean, but almost any type of bean works also.
They go from dry to fully cooked in a pressure cooker in 40 minutes. I like to use these particular beans for this type of transitional stew as they hold their shape well and cooks up hearty and savory which makes them good on their own or great with just a few supporting ingredients.
To quickly thicken the stew after cooking, I remove about half a cup of the cooked beans along with some cooking liquid, pulse them a few times in a blender and pour it back in with the rest of the beans.
Unlike a regular stew, I add the supporting ingredients at the end of the cooking process to allow their contributing flavors to shine brightly, rather than meld together and get somewhat lost in the overall flavor of the stew such as when it is cooked for an extended period of time. This transitional type of cooking relies heavily on this technique to elevate the simplest dishes to higher levels of complexity and palate satisfaction with minimal use of meat protein or flavor enhancers common to conventional cooking.
Adding an extremely flavorful meat protein in a small amount goes to great lengths to achieve that savory taste a carnivore is used to without the heavy meat protein content in the finished dish. In other words you get a great bang of flavor for the buck!
For 3 cups of cooked beans, I used 1 oz of finely chopped uncured smoked bratwurst sausage made with Mangalitsa pork, which has a high fat to meat ratio and extremely tasty. I will admit this is an extreme example as it’s hard to find as much flavor in 1 oz of anything else except maybe codfish (another favorite for this type of cooking).
I also use lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, dill, cilantro, fresh sliced green onions, fresh picked tomatoes, a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil and chipotle chili hot pepper flakes with a sprinkle of rosemary infused salt. The result is an extremely flavorful bean stew with all the savory flavors to satisfy a carnivore’s senses, along with the brightness of the additional ingredients added at the end of the cooking time, without the guilt of an animal protein heavy plate of food.
I firmly believe this approach is healthier than meat substitutes for carnivores looking for a fix, as the ingredient list on most vegan meat substitutes are scarier than meat itself and might do more damage to your system than a mere sprinkling of meat.
I do understand that many don’t eat meat for ethical reasons, but that’s beyond the scope of this particular approach, although the ultimate goal is still reducing and eventually eliminating the craving for meat.
So for those looking to get over the hump of letting go of meat and living with a more plant focused diet, this concept has helped many to do just that.
Almost Vegan Bean Stew
1-pound dry Beans
1 oz smoked Bratwurst Sausage (or any smoked sausage)
1 cup Tomatoes, fresh, medium dice
½ cup Parsley, roughly chopped
½ cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
½ cup Green Onions, finely sliced
¼ cup fresh Dill, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh Garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Coconut oil
1 teaspoon Lemon zest, fresh
2 tablespoons Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon Chipotle pepper flakes (can substitute hot Paprika)
1 tablespoon Rosemary infused salt (can use regular salt)
METHOD:
Add six cups of water to pressure cooker. Add the beans and pressure cook on high for 40 minutes. Quick release the pressure. Allow the beans to cool for 10 minutes, then add ½ cup of the beans with some of the cooking liquid to a blender. Blend for 10 seconds and pour that mixture back into the stew and stir to thicken.
Add all additional ingredients into the stew and cook for 5 minutes more over medium heat, stirring to incorporate. Remove from heat and serve.
Nigel Spence, a Culinary Institute of America alumnus, was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Nigel freelanced at the Television Food Network for 3 years where he worked with culinary luminaries such as Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse. Chef Spence has appeared twice on Throwdown with Bobby Flay where he emerged the victor in cook offs against the Food Network star and was featured on CBS when he appeared on Tony’s Table as well as ABC’s Neighborhood Eats, NBC’s The Today Show , Sirius’ Everyday Living with Martha Stewart and TVFN’s Chopped. The acclaimed and New York Times-reviewed Ripe Kitchen and Bar is Mr Spence’s first entrepreneurial endeavor.
The post Nigel Spence: A Caribbean Recipe for Bean Stew appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
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… -style bankruptcy.
July 22, 2019
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello and U … Puerto Ricans fled the island for the US mainland. Earlier that year, Puerto Rico … of Puerto RIco’s debt.
This situation, he said, is leading many Puerto Ricans …
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By Alexander Britell
The most anticipated hotel opening of 2019 in the Caribbean is set for October.
Luxury hotel brand Kempinski has announced that its new hotel in Dominica will officially open its doors on Oct. 14 of this year.
The ultra-luxe Cabrits Resort and Spa Kempinski Dominica will be Kempinski’s second hotel in the Caribbean along with the existing Gran Manzana in Havana, Cuba — and its first-ever resort in the Caribbean.
“Bringing this project to fruition is another remarkable milestone for Kempinski Hotels,” said Michael Schoonewagen, General Manager, Cabrits Resort & Spa Kempinski Dominica. “We are especially proud of this property because it will give travelers the chance to experience Dominica like never before by bringing together the timeless opulence of Kempinski with the destination’s pristine, untouched landscape to create a transcendent experience where luxury meets nature.”
A rendering of a room.
The hotel will have a total of 151 rooms and suites, from mountain or ocean view rooms to large two-bedroom duplexes and a collection of villas.
The latter will be topped by the 4,585-square-foot Presidential Villa, which will feature butler service, two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a private spa room and a private pool, among other amenities.
Dining concepts at the hotel will include three eateries, highlighted by Cabrits Market, the hotel’s signature restaurant with a Creole-themed dinner and international fare during the daytime hours.
What a bathroom will look like at the new hotel.
That’s along with the Kweyol Beach Cafe, a traditional Creole beach bar, and the pan-Asian Bonsai restaurant, which will serve up sushi, sashimi, Thai curries and wok-sauteed dishes.
The hotel will also feature the Rumfire Bar, a rum and cigar bar led by a mix of cocktails featuring local rums and other spirits.
And yes, there will be a major spa, the 18,000-square-foot Kempinski Spa, with a range of indoor and outdoor wellness experiences.
A look at the new spa.
The Kempinski will additionally feature 8,000 square feet of event space.
The property, set on Douglas Bay Beach, is a major injection of luxury to what has long been one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets.
It adds to what is a collection of largely boutique hotels in Dominica, led by the renowned Secret Bay, also in the north of the country.
The new Kempinski is the latest project by Range Developments in the Caribbean, best known for the Park Hyatt St Kitts.
For more, visit the Kempinski Dominica.
— CJ
The post Kempinski’s First Caribbean Resort Is Opening in October appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
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