Home is where the food is

To find a decent to superb food “place,” one may not have to look too hard here in Trinidad. I mean, you could throw your hat in any direction and smack a real bess doubles maker, a homemade ice cream vendor, a fantastic roti shop, AND an elegant sit down affair with a charming restaurant front. The food, more often than not, is really good. The quality, more often than not, is quite pleasing and the service (which always takes a hit when speaking of Trini dining) tends to be friendly, just in a way that requires getting a little used to.

But if you’re really looking a good evening out on the town, then you should head down to Ariapita Avenue on the outskirts of Port of Spain, which is fast becoming one of the hottest entertainment strips in the country. The avenue offers a fine selection of elegant restaurants including Sweet Lime, Ristorante Garibaldi, La’gniappe and More Vino. If you’re looking for a more liquid diet for the evening, Coco Lounge, Studio and Sky Bar offer a choice set of drinks to keep you hydrated all evening long. Even if you’re in a gaming mood, there’s MaPau Members Club, the most established casino on the strip. All in all, if you’re looking for it, it can be found on Ariapita Avenue any day in the week.

The sweetest thing...

When going out for the Friday night lime, it’s always a challenge to coordinate taste buds among friends. Some of us like Caribbean Creole food and others Indo-Trinidadian cuisine, while a sizeable number in our party prefer to depart the region altogether. Therefore, finding a restaurant to cater to all preferences is a considerable feat, considerable but not impossible. Meet Sweet Lime Restaurant, corner French St. and Ariapita Avenue, a Caribbean and international fusion cuisine restaurant nestled in the entertainment district of Trinidad’s capital, Port of Spain.

At Sweet Lime Restaurant, our party of six were seated in a pleasant open air dining area facing the bustling Friday night traffic on the Avenue. We promptly ordered a savoury Crab back appetizer, Golden Onion Rings made from generous slices of a sweet Paramin onion and Buffalo Wings done with a local Sweet Lime twist.

Our waitress was friendly, and atmosphere was subtly romantic with warm coloured tiles on the floor, colourful Caribbean paintings on the walls and muted lighting to seduce the restaurant guests. I tried the Yara Bay King Fish on the advice of my server and was surprised, even by Caribbean standards, by the crisp way the fish flaked away from its filet and understated lemon and butter flavourings brought out the best in the natural flavour of the fish. It was quite heavenly! Some of my friends dined on the Shrimp Creole—fat, seasoned shrimp sautéed in garlic butter before it is simmered in savoury homemade creole sauce and served on a steaming bed of linguine. The Curry Lovers’ meal did not disappoint local curry tastes when a hefty plate of flavourful chicken arrived at our table. Lucky enough for us there is another Sweet Lime location in La Romaine (San Fernando) Trinidad. Sweet Lime is truly the embodiment of the Caribbean Paradise!

Tasting....tasting

Hi there! To the probably one reader, reading this right now (mummy). I have high hopes that this number will grow......eventually. In the meantime, here we are West Indians, blogging.....ooooohh..... about food in the Caribbean. So we have our computer plugged into our tree trunk (actual question I’ve heard once) and am ready to go!

I started this blog to give people an idea of the vast number of culinary options our talented regional chefs are capable of. If you don’t know it as yet, Caribbean people loooveee to eat, and eat well we do because heaven forbid food not have any distinguishable seasoning and flavour. It’s the kiss of death for any meal leaving a West Indian kitchen.

When many people not from the region think of dining on a sunny tropical island in the Caribbean, the idea of coconuts and bananas and various properties of Carmen Miranda's hat come to mind a lot faster than necessarily required. Often times, those who are not familiar with the region forget to account for the fact that the Caribbean’s mish-mashed history has produced rich culinary traditions. The Caribbean derives influences from Africa, India, Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East to create a variety of cuisines unique on each island.

This blog was born out of the idea to guide visitors and locals to some of the best eating spots in the Caribbean, by island, and offer the perspective of a local eye (and tongue). I’m also dedicated to highlighting special events or interesting restaurants which have that certain “je ne sais quoi” and are special for more than just their food. And so we are going....up, up and away!