Cocktails – Waterfront Cafe

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Planter's punch Waterfront Cafe

Planter’s Punch. Old Brigand rum, grapefruit, lime and orange juices with a dash of Angostura bitters. Garnished with an orange slice and maraschino cherry. A longer punch! $14 (Barbados dollar)

Waterfront connection cocktail

Waterfront connection. Old Brigand rum, pina colada, Galliano, white creme de cacao, orange juice. Garnished with a pineapple slice and maraschino cherry. $16 (Barbados dollar)
Waterfront Cafe, Bridgetown, BARBADOS

Another yummy set of beautiful cocktails. The service at Waterfront Cafe was very friendly and perfectly situated along the inlet near the Chamberlain Bridge.

Highland Adventure Weather Station elephant
Random elephant ride at the Highland Adventure Weather Station in the middle of the island. It was probably defunct, but I like the weathered look of it. We had taken a taxi tour around the island with a hilariously outspoken driver named Angela. We learned that she doesn’t eat rabbit because a skinned rabbit looks like a human baby, and she doesn’t eat shark because she had recently witnessed a butchered shark with a human hand in its belly. Lol!

Jamaican beef patty – Patty Shack

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Jamaican beef Patty Shack
Deep fried pocket filled with seasoned ground beef. $4.90 (East Caribbean dollar)
Patty Shack, Roseau, DOMINICA

Jamaican beef Patty Shack
I’ll admit that this was actually very good! I guess it’s customary to order a Jamaican patty at the Patty Shack, right? I’m not sure what makes it Jamaican, perhaps the seasoning. The filling was super hot, but very flavorful. And I love how they have “JUICI” stamped onto the crust.

Our Lady of Fair Haven Cathedral candles

Candles at Our Lady of Fair Haven Cathedral. This small church is one of the few tourist sites within downtown Roseau. I always find myself at churches where ever I go. I think they’re calming, beautiful, and they can really tell you a lot about the particular city.

Popcorn shrimp combo – Patty Shack

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Popcorn shrimp combo Patty Shack

Breaded and deep fried shrimp served with a side of French fries and sweet and sour sauce. $9.50 (East Caribbean dollar)
Patty Shack, Roseau, DOMINICA

So Patty Shack is a fast food chain on Dominica, and I wasn’t too impressed. I guess I’m used to the speed of American fast food chains, and this place was slower than I’m used to. It took a good 15 minutes for me to receive my order. The shrimp were hard and dry and the fries were limp and soggy.

Roseau Dominica
View of downtown Roseau. This was not my favorite island of the trip. We were verbally harassed by a group of locals and generally felt uneasy thereafter. While there aren’t too many tourist attractions in downtown Roseau, I would definitely suggest walking in groups.

The Sizzler – BB’s Crabback

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Conch 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

Conch BB's Crabback
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.

St. Georges, Grenada
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

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BB's Crabback signature dish
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

BB's Crabback signature dish
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
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

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Rum punch 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 BB's Crabback

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
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

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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

Side salad Restaurante Raices
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.

Stray cat Old San Juan

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

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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 Restaurante Raices
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 Fountain
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

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Mojito Enamora'o Restaurante Raices
Mojito Enamora’o. A Puertorican classic prepared with Bacardi rum, mint, lemon, sugar, and Bacardi Limon. $8

Sangria Nostalgia Boricua Restaurante Raices
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.

Puerto Rico mural

This mural painted on a garage door in the middle of Old San Juan caught my eye.

Chocolate souffle cake – Tartine Bakery

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Chocolate souffle cake Tartine BakeryValrhona 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.

Chocolate souffle cake Tartine Bakery
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!

Chocolate souffle cake Tartine Bakery
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.”