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A Taste of...Anguilla
What is it? Hungry’s Lunch Truck
Where is it? The Valley
Describe it? Feasting your eyes on Anguilla’s shocking turquoise beaches is free. Feasting anywhere else will cost you an arm and a leg. The small island off St. Maarten (population: 13, 000) has a reputation for fine – but costly – cuisine. To save a few bucks, do as the locals do and visit Hungry’s Lunch Truck in The Valley. Owner Irad Gumbs, a professional chef, serves a host of Anguillian specialty soups like whelk, conch and pea with pig tail. The humble truck also whips up salads, pastas and quesadillas you won’t find at Taco Bell ... lobster in a tortilla, anyone?
How much? $5 US for a bowl of soup, $14 US for a lobster quesadilla.
FROM MY FOOD AND SOUVENIR COLUMN IN
A Taste of...The Dutch Caribbean
What is it? Keshi Yena
Where is it? Aruba
Describe it? There is a very strong Dutch flavour on the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao), and that flavour is gouda. Though they seem a tad incongruous with the steamy Caribbean environment, wheels of this Euro-cheese abound in local grocery stores. But the best way to go Dutch is to sample Keshi Yena at a traditional restaurant. It’s a succulent stew of ground beef, chicken, raisins, prunes, nuts, olives and spices, all stuffed into a gouda and baked.
How much? $16 at Papiamento, a restaurant set in an old colonial manor (Washington 60, Noord)
FROM MY FOOD AND SOUVENIR COLUMN IN
Read on for the recipe from Papiamento.... Read More...
Aruba's Aloe-mentary Therapy
By Reb Stevenson
ORANJESTAD, ARUBA –Alongside tobacco, unprotected sex and high fructose corn syrup, sunburns rank amongst the 21st century’s biggest health no-no’s.
However, just one glance at Aruba’s pristine white beaches reveals that many a sunbather shrugs off the doctor’s orders and persists in baking their epidermis into a deep, throbbing scarlet.
On the bright side, for folks who feel that “colour” yields incomparable bragging rights upon their return to Northern climes, Aruba is quite possibly the world’s best place to burn.
This is because the small Caribbean island, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is the world’s largest exporter of a popular natural remedy for ailing skin: aloe vera.
READ MORE...
Good FOUR You!
This year, I’ve had the opportunity to experience LOTS of fine dining in various countries. And eating rich, cream-smeared, foie-gras injected foods day after day is great - especially if you want to be a contestant on the next Biggest Loser. Seriously...this is one of my major travel pet-peeves. I’m all for indulgence, just not for a week straight.
That’s why I was delighted to discover FOUR - a restaurant in downtown Toronto where all the dishes weigh in at under 650 calories.
Is it called FOUR because they only use lettuce, celery, water and aspartame? I wondered that myself. The answer is...(drumroll) no. Actually, I don’t know the real answer. And lets not ruin the mystery by finding out.
Given FOUR’s slick, modern ambiance, it’s especially popular with the Bay Street lunchtime crowd (types that are eating out 5 days a week), but I think it would be a wise choice for health-conscious travellers as well.
Chef Matt Rosen consults a nutritionist about each and every creation to ensure that meals are balanced and within the calorie limit.
“It’s a challenge to make something that tastes good and is under the 650 calories,” he says.
“The key is to use things that have really intense flavours, like a tapenade.”
Instead of going all funky and serving things you’d have to look up in the Dictionary of Rare Hippie Health Foods, FOUR is decidedly traditional. Think Beef Tenderloin, Greek Lamb Salad and Chicken Meatballs. Sure, elements like bran fusilli and flax seed crisps sneak in there, but they don’t overwhelm the dishes.
I really enjoyed my meal at FOUR...in fact, I could hardly discern that I was eating at a “healthy alternative.” I especially loved the fresh-squeezed blueberry lemonade, the brie, almond and apple burger ($9) and the cute little shot glass desserts ($2). Of course, if you shoot more than one you’re also shooting your calorie count in the foot.
FOUR VITALS:
Address: 187 Bay Street
Hours: 11:30am to 11pm, Monday to Friday
Phone: 416-368-1444
Price Range: $9 to $25 for a main.
Also, note that FOUR is participating in Toronto’s Winterlicious Event. Check out their menu here:
FOUR Winterlicious Menu 2010
Five Feasts in Vancouver
By Reb Stevenson
Finding a restaurant while travelling is a lot like lookin’ for love.
a) You want something you can brag about.
b) You don’t want to think that too many people have been there before you.
Vancouver boasts schools of fancy fish restaurants, where fillets are stacked just so atop rare root vegetables and drizzled with some sort of reduction or foam. And while these high maintenance lovelies are nice to look at, they’re not the charming down-home locals that you could be meeting.
Here are five independent Vancouver restaurants that are delicious, unusual and off the beaten path.