On a homemade whole wheat crust.
Elle C.
San Mateo, CA
Potluck: Cheese pizza
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Monthly Archives: May 2012
The Sizzler – BB’s Crabback
(Lambi) Conch meat with BB’s own seasoning, served sizzling with a freshly-made bake (roll) and sliced cucumber, tomato, and citrus. $36 (East Caribbean dollar)
BB’s Crabback, St. Georges, GRENADA
I definitely wanted to try conch during this trip to the Caribbean. I really liked this dish, but I’m not sure that I could really appreciate the conch. The seasonings were tasty, but I couldn’t taste the true conch flavor. Since I’ve never had it and don’t know much about how it’s supposed to be cooked, perhaps conch is one of those proteins that’s best suited for aggressive preparations. If that’s the case, BB’s Crabback certainly succeeded. It was noms, regardless.
View of St. Georges, Grenada and towards the north. The morning started out cloudy and overcast, but as the day progressed the sun came out and warmth permeated throughout.
Signature dish – BB’s Crabback
This dish is called the BB’s Crabback. The restaurant takes it’s name from this dish, fresh crabmeat baked with exotic herbs, wine and cheese sauce and served in a crab shell with warm bake (roll). Served with a side salad and slices of cucumber, tomato, and citrus. $36 (East Caribbean dollar)
BB’s Crabback, St. Georges, GRENADA
I really like how this was plated considering the super casual feel of this restaurant. And of course, we wouldn’t be in the Spice Islands without a garnish of ground spices. The crabback was very rich, but very flavorful and the side salad and sliced vegetables helped to cut the richness. Although the portion wasn’t overly large, it was definitely filling.
Sendall Tunnel. After eating at the restaurant, we had to walk through this tunnel to get back to the cruise ship terminal. As you can see, it’s a tight fit. The locals seem to have no fear walking through, but I definitely clung to the walls. Lol!
Cocktails – BB’s Crabback
Rum punch. A classic mix of rum, fruit juice, sugar syrup and bitters, garnished with watermelon, citrus, and freshly ground nutmeg. $17 (East Caribbean dollar)
Pina colada. Malibu, coconut ice cream and pineapple juice, garnished with dried coconut shavings. $17 (East Caribbean dollar)
BB’s Crabback, St. Georges, GRENADA
These drinks were absolutely delicious and exemplified a true vacation. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy yummy girly drinks on a warm tropical island?!
The Crenage, St. Georges. Looking out toward St. George’s Inner Harbour from The Crenage, which is the road that runs along the harbour. BB’s Crabback is located at the southwestern end of The Crenage, past the last ship in the picture. There’s not much to do along this road besides dodge spice traders, but it makes for a beautiful stroll.
Baked chicken – Restaurante Raices
Baked chicken served with rice and beans and carrots. $8.95
Restaurante Raices, Old San Juan, PUERTO RICO
This chicken must have been marinating in a vat of soy sauce overnight because it was SO salty! And baked to the texture of a chew toy. This was part of our first meal in Puerto Rico so we were nervous that
Complimentary side salad with lettuce, 1 tomato slice, a sprinkle of carrot gratings, and Thousand Island dressing. This salad is a perfect indicator of the quality of this restaurant. It’s sad.
Walking through Old San Juan, we found that there are stray cats EVERYWHERE! They even leave out food, water, and crates for them along the street and in the parks. We figured they must be sanctioned by the city for pest control.
Mofongo relleno de churrasco – Restaurante Raices
Mashed green plantains stuffed with skirt steak. $18.95
Restaurante Raices, Old San Juan, PUERTO RICO
Mofongo is a local dish of Puerto Rico that has been featured in many food shows including “No Reservations”. So of course I had to try it! I’m so disappointed that I tried it at this super sucky restaurant. The mashed plantains were ok, but I couldn’t get past the super hard and dry pieces of skirt steak. For $19 during lunch, you’d expect better quality.
Chimichurri sauce for the steak. Even though the menu clearly states that this sauce is to accompany the mofongo, it never arrived so I had to wait another 15 minutes after requesting it. Totally lame!
Raices (Roots) Fountain along the Paseo de la Princesa. This beautiful fountain marks the start of the waterfront portion of the Paseo de la Princesa. Bring plenty of water if you plan on walking this path on a hot day because it dead ends, so you’ll have to walk the same way back.
Cocktails – Restaurante Raices
Mojito Enamora’o. A Puertorican classic prepared with Bacardi rum, mint, lemon, sugar, and Bacardi Limon. $8
Sangria Nostalgia Boricua. Red wine cocktail. $6
Restaurante Raices, Old San Juan, PUERTO RICO
These were sad excuses for cocktails, which makes it even more sad because this was the first meal of our Caribbean vacation. The cheap, sheet metal cups were the size of thimbles. I want to say that that is a good thing because you don’t have to force down much of these sugar-water abominations, but because it takes forever to order and even longer to receive them, I wanted more volume to tide me over before we could order replacements. If you’re ever in Old San Juan, DO NOT go to this restaurant unless you want horrible drinks and even worse food. I left feeling like a sucker.
This mural painted on a garage door in the middle of Old San Juan caught my eye.
Chocolate souffle cake – Tartine Bakery
Valrhona flourless chocolate mousse cake on a thin layer of chocolate cake base. 10 inch round, $62
Tartine Bakery, San Francisco
I had some co-workers over shortly after my birthday and served this wonderfully delicious cake from Tartine Bakery. This is one of those cakes that a slice is more than enough. The cake was so rich and dense. I tried forcing people to take slices home because I didn’t want it in the house to tempt me. Suffice it to say I had more than my fair share.
You can see that the chocolate cake base is, indeed, very thin. The rest of the cake eats like a block of soft chocolate. Noms!
I love that the bakery provides a sheet on serving and keeping this cake. It reads, “Chocolate Souffle Cake, Opera Cake: Both of these cakes may be served cool or at room temperature. If served cool they are sliceable with a hot knife (run knife under very hot water and dry off to slice). The cakes may be served at room temperature, although they fillings will be considerably softer and more difficult to handle. The Opera will still be sliceable, however the Souffle Cake will have a soft, mousse-like consistency which some people prefer. These cakes keep well for several days in the refrigerator.”
Black adaba date crostata – Locanda
Earl grey, almond, vanilla gelato. $9
Locanda, San Francisco
This was the best part of the meal! But I guess since it was one of my birthday dinners, dessert is always the best part. Seriously though, this crostata was beautiful and delicious. I’ve never had a date crostata before, but the black adaba dates tasted amazing with the almond. And vanilla gelato can’t disappoint. I’m not sure where the Earl grey was, but I think it was incorporated into the glaze?
Grilled snapper collar – Locanda
Cavolo nero, olives, white beans. $22
Locanda, San Francisco
This was SO good! The fish was perfectly grilled and the flavor combination was new to me. I loved the cavolo nero with the olives and white beans. A very hearty dish and beautifully executed. Cavolo nero is also known as black cabbage, Tuscan cabbage, Tuscan kale, lacinato, and dinosaur kale. I’m guessing that they used it to make the green broth.
Heritage porchetta – Locanda
Arugula, fingerling potato, onion. $24
Locanda, San Francisco
Again, this dish was definitely on the salty side. But the pork was SO tender and flavorful that I almostforgave the saltiness of it. I surely couldn’t eat the entire thing without a few gallons of water. The pork was also VERY fatty. I love fatty cuts, but this was over the top. As a general theme, my meal at Locanda was salty.
Little gem salad – Locanda
Grilled persimmon, crescenza cheese, pistachio, aperol. $11
Locanda, San Francisco
This was a very nice salad. The ingredients tasted great together, and you can never go wrong with crescenza cheese. The persimmon added a delicious flavor and the pistachio added crunch. Simple and delicious!
Focaccia bread. Complimentary
Omg, this bread was SO frickin’ buttery and delicious! Even though it was also very salty, I still say “Yes, please!”
Vittle Monster 