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!