Restaurants

On his trip to the West Indies in 1859, Anthony Trollope, the British novelist, was not impressed with the food his plantation-owning hosts served him. Ignoring the rich bounty of their islands, including local fruits and vegetables, they fed him canned potatoes, "tinned meats," and cheeses imported from England. At the time, British expats felt that if a food item didn't come from their homeland, it wasn't worth putting on the table.

Regrettably, Trollope did not visit the Cayman Islands as part of his sojourn. Had he paid a call, he would have found that the enterprising Caymanians were eating what they raised. Or, more accurately, what they caught. There was little reliance on imported goods. Today, Caymanian cuisine continues to take advantage of the islands' natural provisions and local fish is easily found on menus throughout the Caymans.

Many of today's chefs in the Cayman Islands rely on international recipes for their restaurant offerings, and some Caymanians claim that you have to be invited to a local home for real island cuisine. That is not true. Many restaurants still feature West Indian cooks who prepare food as their grandmothers did, and we've recommended several of them. Unless a restaurant is devoted to a foreign cuisine, many Cayman dishes still appear regularly on menus.

Although Grand Cayman hotels quote their rates in U.S. dollars, nearly all restaurants present menus in both Cayman and U.S. dollars. This is based on the assumption that islanders patronize their local restaurants, but have little need for hotel rooms. Most restaurants add a 10% to 15% charge in lieu of tipping, so check your bill carefully.

Following are some menu items and descriptions of main dishes at Cayman restaurants:

Sea Turtle -- Turtle meat that appears on menus in the Cayman Islands is from a local turtle farm that raises turtles specifically for commercial purposes.

Queen Conch -- The national food of the Cayman Islands is conch. The firm white meat of this mollusk -- called the "snail of the sea" -- tastes somewhat bland until local chefs work their magic. Conch has a chewy consistency, which means that it has to be tenderized. It's often served at happy hour in taverns and bars, as a main dish, in salads, and as hors d'oeuvres.

Every cook has a different recipe for making conch chowder, but a popular version includes tomatoes, potatoes, sweet peppers, onions, carrots, salt or pork bacon, bay leaves, thyme, and (of course) salt and pepper. Conch fritters are served with hot sauce and are made with finely minced peppers, onions, and tomato paste, among other ingredients. They are deep-fried in oil.

Cracked conch (or "fried conch," as the old-timers used to call it) is prepared like a breaded veal cutlet. Tenderized and dipped in batter, it is then sautéed. Conch is also served steamed, in Creole sauce, curried, "scorched," creamed on toast, and stewed. You'll even see "conch burgers" listed on menus.

Marinated conch is frequently enjoyed right on the water, courtesy of the numerous Caymanian sea captains who operate North Sound excursions that include lunch. They will scoop a conch right out of the sea, remove it from its shell (an art unto itself), slice it up, and serve it with lime juice and onions -- as fresh as it can possibly be.

The Main Event -- Red snapper, mahimahi (which is also called dorado or dolphin), swordfish, yellowfin tuna, and grouper are the most commonly available fish.

The most elegant item you'll see on nearly any menu is the local spiny lobster. This tropical cousin of the Maine lobster is also called crayfish or rock lobster. Only the tail is eaten. You get fresh lobster when it is in season, from the beginning of April until the end of August. Otherwise it's frozen.

Chicken and pork, the meats that are most often prepared island-style, are frequently roasted, grilled, curried, or "jerked" -- that is, rubbed with spices and slow-smoked for hours over a low fire, preferably made with pimento wood. Each cook has his or her own spice blend, but jerk spices usually include allspice, hot Scotch bonnet pepper, thyme, nutmeg, salt, garlic, onion, and green onion. Other popular meat dishes that are easily found at restaurants serving island cuisine include braised beef liver, curried goat, oxtail, and salt beef and beans.

The most frequent companion for main dishes is "rice and peas," a dish that's also popular in Jamaica, which is actually composed of rice and red beans cooked in coconut milk. Along with rice and peas, ripe plantains (larger, less sweet relatives of the banana) are fried or baked with brown sugar and served alongside main dishes.

Which Dollar? Yours or Mine?

Make sure you know the currency in which the menu prices are quoted. If the currency is not written on the menu, ask the waiter if the prices are in U.S. or Cayman Island dollars.

The High Price of Imported Ingredients -- Because many ingredients must be shipped in to the Cayman Islands, restaurants here are among the most expensive in the Caribbean. Even so-called moderate restaurants can become expensive if you order steak or lobster. For the best value, opt for West Indian fare at local restaurants.

A Master Plan Community Blossoming into Life

Set on 500 acres between Seven Mile Beach and the North Sound, Camana Bay is a new town in the making. Shops, offices, cafes, restaurants, a six-screen cinema, along with new residences, are either nearing completion or are on the drawing boards. One of the focal points is the Cayman International School with more than 300 students. The eco-friendly community is geared toward the pedestrian, not the automobile. When it opens in 2010, the focal point will be "The Crescent," a waterfront plaza lined with restaurants and a venue for festivals, concerts, or whatever. The whole village is filled with Caribbean architecture and lush, indigenous landscaping.

Local Fare

Antica Gelateria -- After spending several sunny hours on Seven Mile Beach or exploring Grand Cayman's reefs, who doesn't want ice cream? Better yet, how about a near-authentic Italian gelato? Antica Gelateria, in the Marquee Shopping Center, Harquail Bypass near West Bay Road (tel. 345/946-1400), near the previously recommended Cimboco Caribbean Cafe, has the perfect scoop to cool the effects of the noontime sun. Stop here after dinner and you'll experience one of the more unexpected nightlife spots on Grand Cayman.

A Caymanian Dinner, Please -- If you're staying at one of the many condos and villas that pepper Grand Cayman, you can call a private caterer and order an island dinner to be delivered. One of the best is Burton Ebanks (tel. 345/926-8294).

Kill-Devil, the Drink of Choice -- Since the late-16th century, rum has been associated with slavery. Slaves were imported to such places as Jamaica to do the backbreaking work of harvesting the sugar cane that would be distilled into rum at various distilleries on-island.

From Jamaica, barrels of rum were imported over to the Cayman Islands, where it became the drink of choice among islanders. Yankee traders, pirates, and bootleggers ruled the waters between Jamaica and the Caymans, islands that lay to Jamaica's immediate northwest.

Although the Caymans today have all the imported beer and liquors you could wish for, rum-laced tropical punches are still the most popular drinks. The average bar on all three islands offers a bewildering array of rum punches.

A word of caution: Be alert to your limits, especially if you're driving. The pastel-colored drinks can make visitors very drunk on very short notice because of their elevated sugar content, as well as the hot climate.