Caribbean (?) Family Reunion Destination with GOOD food...

For my parents 50th wedding anniversary next December, my brother, sister and I have been tasked with planning some kind of trip to celebrate. Everyone but me lives in Florida and we have some time constraints so traveling west (Mexico, etc.) is not an option. There are little ones, teens, adults, seniors, etc. The ONLY thing that all 4 families agree on is the need for good food--otherwise, there are lots of competing interests

LTH travelers, if you have any suggestions for someplace nice, where we will eat and drink well, and have plenty to do, I would love to hear about it! Restaurant suggestions for these locations would also be much appreciated.

thanks!!

Food-wise, my favorite locations in the Caribbean have been St. Barths, Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Lucia, perhaps in that order. I've found many others to be lacking in terms of food, not justified by price, or just not very picturesque and sometimes uncomfortable feelings in terms of safety. Aruba was probably my least favorite in terms of food though.

But we should probably just take St. Barths out of the mix - not a family place . . . incredibly expensive. St. Martin (as opposed to Saint Maarten) offers a lot of very pricey French food of the type seen on St. Barths, but the food doesn't come close in terms of quality and offers little in the way of Caribbean flavor. St. Lucia can be a little tricky because you have to get by many hairpin curves to get to the better places to eat (although it is a great place to visit and scenery is stunning). You're then left with Barbados and St. Kitts and thought I might have preferred some of the food in Barbados (leans a bit more Indian and African than St. Kitts), St. Kitts offers some very good food and offers a lot to do (and very affordable accommodations and meals) and beats every one of the other places in terms of beauty - really magnificent really. Also, it's pretty accessible - you connect in San Juan for a short one hour flight or connect in Miami for a 2.5 hour flight (or direct from Miami if your family is nearby).

Here's my post on St. Kitts. In terms of can't miss meals on St. Kitts, my first would be lunch at Rawlins Plantation, at the base of Mt. Liamuiga volcano (pictured in my post). It is really superb. Sprat Nat is very casual (paper plates, plastic utensils) but has terrific fresh fish, lobster and ribs). There are a few higher end restaurants with more continental cuisine but incorporating local ingredients, including Royal Palm at Ottley's Plantation and the Beach House at Turtle Beach. One of the best things I've eaten at Royal Palm was an amazing almond crusted parrotfish with a passionfruit beurre blanc.

If you were to drive around the entire island, I'd also recommend a lunch at Golden Lemon. There are places to get West Indian filled roti, chicken cooked on drum grills, many beach shacks with fresh seafood and lobster. And I would highly recommend a trip to the Reggae Beach Bar and Grill for their rotis, lobster and shrimp salads and banana bread pudding.

If you want to hear more, just let me know. I love the Caribbean and St. Kitts may be my favorite of the destinations - I've been there 5 times . . . Barbados 3 times . . . others less.

I've been to various islands in the Caribbean. Despite vague references to "Caribbean flavor" in restaurant speak going back to the 80s, this beautiful part of the world doesn't have great food, IMO, once you eliminate the continental options (Mexico, Belize, Colombia, Venezuela). The small, prosperous islands tend to have very expensive (flown in) unremarkable food and often a frustrating lack of fish due to concerns over toxicity of local reef animals. Forget Aruba and the Caymans, for example. I really like the DR as a place to visit, but the food is no great shakes. Presumably Cuba is not an option, and by all accounts, Cuban food in Cuba is uniformly worse than what you get in SoFL.

Anyway, I'm pretty convinced that the best food in the Caribbean (islands) is all in places I have not been, spots that have cultures and economies that are not quite so tiny and dependednt on yanqui tourists: Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Haiti (though the latter might be more of a travel challenge than you want to take on). We've been blessed with great reports from at least Beef on Jamaica and PR, IIRC. And given the presence of these foods in Chicago and Miami, you can go in with some idea of what the cuisine is about. Trini food is especially compelling to me because of its relative "otherness." But that's pretty far away, even from Miami.

Generally speaking, Jeff is correct in that great Caribbean food is mainly found in places where an indigenous population still exists and outnumbers the tourists. However, those places may not be compatible with a family vacation with members who may or may not be adventurous. I think you need to realistically consider how much time your family will want to spend on or off-resort. You could stay in the most wondrous food destination (see Jamaica below) but if your family doesn't want to wander off-resort, then your food experience will be greatly diminished. You also should consider how much trouble it is to go off-resort. If you have a car, it might not be a problem. But sometimes, the trouble it takes to go off-resort may not be compatible with some people's idea of "vacation."

Some examples:

Jamaica. I greatly enjoyed my time in Jamaica (Negril), and have no reservations recommending that your family would be happy staying at a more upscale resort in the Cliffs. I personally recommend Moondance Cliffs. I would also tell you that you can have some wonderful food at some of the shacks nestled along the Cliffs. BUT -- this is a consideration when you're with family who may be sensitive -- the native islanders even more so than the tourists will be smoking weed around you. Some of these shacks make food to order depending upon what they have available. As in, you show up early in the day to order your meal for that night or the next day. They'll either go out and fish for it, or they tell you they have goat or chicken, and if you look behind the shack, you'll see a goat and a chicken, and when you return, either the goat or the chicken will be missing. The restaurants won't be well-appointed, and most of the time, you'll be eating outside at picnic tables. There are some exceptions, more traditional restaurants such as Rockhouse, but the food is sanitized for Americans, Brits and Germans. The other thing is that you'll have to deal with people approaching you to peddle goods, some of which are drugs. I definitely wouldn't suggest staying on the Beach in Negril, where the constant peddling is likely to rankle older members of your family. (It bothered me.) But even if you are satisfied spending most of your time at the resort, if you need cash, the ATM in Negril is a hold-your-breath and hope you're not robbed experience. My cab driver insisted that he accompany me every time I hit it. (I'm pretty well-traveled and not easily scared off, but when a guy is standing at the bar across from the ATM with a machete, yeah, I think it's not the safest place.) (BTW, you'll need to have either a car (they drive on the left) or a regular driver to ferry you up and down the cliffs.) Having said that, the natural beauty is stunning, the music is great (get used to hearing Bob Marley), and the food's good especially if you eat at the roadside shacks, but there's a bit of risk there that you might not be willing to take. Oh, the 1.5 hour drive from the airport in Montego Bay takes you past a lot of impoverished towns, goat-filled hills, and stray, starving dogs. Not for the sensitive.

Grand Cayman. On the other end of the spectrum is Cayman. All foodstuffs are flown in (mostly from Jamaica, I'm told). Food's bland, uninspired for the most part. And it's expensive given it's position as a toilet for offshore money. But, it's safe. It's easy to get around. It's clean. I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, I would go again just for the comforts of that resort even if it meant sacrificing great food. The beach is incredible. Very sandy, clear, blue-green water.

Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico might be your happy medium. I didn't stay in San Juan (wouldn't want to, it's too urban), but there are other areas that are more secluded, prettier and less congested. There is plenty of good food if you go off-resort. (See this post.) If you rent a car, you'll get around easy. I stayed in Fajardo at El Conquistador, which was located near my scuba diving shop. The resort didn't have great food, but my scuba diving leader, a native Puerto Rican, offered to act as guide to local food. Most people speak English, and I never felt unsafe there. In terms of natural beauty, it's not up there with other Caribbean destinations but it's also nothing to sneeze at. You could also consider the less congested western half of the island, or Vieques, a small island off its eastern coast. You can take a direct flight to San Juan from Chicago; that's a plus.

Great contributions everyone--it's much appreciated. Aschie30--your assessment was spot-on--and, as of now, the group seems to be leaning towards resorts in the upper Florida Keys (Islamorada/Duck Key) or possibly Puerto Rico. We will certainly have a car in the keys and probably would in PR so off-resort suggestions for either would still be welcomed. THANKS!

JeffB wrote:I've been to various islands in the Caribbean. Despite vague references to "Caribbean flavor" in restaurant speak going back to the 80s, this beautiful part of the world doesn't have great food, IMO, once you eliminate the continental options (Mexico, Belize, Colombia, Venezuela). The small, prosperous islands tend to have very expensive (flown in) unremarkable food and often a frustrating lack of fish due to concerns over toxicity of local reef animals. Forget Aruba and the Caymans, for example. I really like the DR as a place to visit, but the food is no great shakes. Presumably Cuba is not an option, and by all accounts, Cuban food in Cuba is uniformly worse than what you get in SoFL.

Anyway, I'm pretty convinced that the best food in the Caribbean (islands) is all in places I have not been, spots that have cultures and economies that are not quite so tiny and dependednt on yanqui tourists: Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Haiti (though the latter might be more of a travel challenge than you want to take on). We've been blessed with great reports from at least Beef on Jamaica and PR, IIRC. And given the presence of these foods in Chicago and Miami, you can go in with some idea of what the cuisine is about. Trini food is especially compelling to me because of its relative "otherness." But that's pretty far away, even from Miami.

Jeff, I hope you're ready to get away to the Caribbean some more, because I'll tell you that you are missing out on a lot of great food based upon the places you've chosen to visit. If you limit yourself to the various Virgin Islands, Aruba, Bahamas (not Caribbean however), Caymans, and locales that are overly "all inclusive" in nature, you'll be depriving yourself of some terrific food. I'll leave St. Barths out of the discussion - fantastic restaurants, but most is French food that has been fused with tropical flavors, and I don't believe the island was affected by the slave trade.

But St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados (St. Lucia very good food-wise but the worst of the three in my opinion) - these are a few of the islands I've visited with large local populations where you can experience quite a bit of excellent Indian and African flavors, as well as some excellent seafood that you can watch being brought in on boats, and also some excellent upscale food that incorporates many of the Indian and African flavors, as well as local produce. And yet these islands are like most in the Caribbean in that they are largely (if not totally) dependant upon tourism (with many upscale accommodations and restaurants). And in addition to the Indian and African flavors, you also will typically find these flavors fused with more western flavors and ingredients, a result of the change in island inhabitants during different times in history and the influx of tourists. Sure, you'll find burgers, pizza and other crap the more these islands cater to American tourists, but that doesn't mean you can't go to one of the locales I mention and eat very good, non-Americanized food for a week. You'll certainly find that beef and lamb and some other items may be imported, and prices will often tell you what is and is not imported, but there is a lot of excellent local food to be found on these islands and I've definitely had some terrific, fresh seafood (lobster, grouper, parrotfish, etc.).

Now I may be different from some tourists - food is a huge part of most of my vacations. So I do venture away from my hotel, away from my the beach, and seek out good food, head to the grocery stores, etc. And I'm sure many people travel to these islands but are put off by the significant and obvious poverty (a sad result of slavery that has dramatically affected the lives of these islands' residents) so they hover near their resorts and waste good money on expensive, imported beef that's simply grilled and served with frozen green beans. That's too bad because I've always been treated with great warmth on these islands and I have been rewarded with great experiences and wonderful food when I venture out a bit.

aschie30 made me remember the best bachelorette party ever was a week in Jamaica in Montego Bay, but here's what we did, we had a villa with a driver, a maid, and, jackpot a cook!

We let them know we wanted real food and so she sat down with paper and pencil and a few of us and planned menus filled with seafood, ackee & saltfish, plantains, peas & rice + vegetables including calaloo, goat, chicken etc. Yeah, I went to the real market with her. A market with mud roads and tiny stalls to buy sugar, flour, rice in huge sacks, bread fruit, fresh mangoes, soursop,etc. She went to the supermarket to buy our coke, snickers, and chips.

This food was very, very good. This could be the best way to deal with those that want adventure but feel safe.

We did this a long time ago, 1998 if I recall correctly.

All due respect to my predecessors on this thread but let's get real. To expect to have anything top-o'-the-line culinary from an island with an anglophone heritage is to engage in magical thinking. Heritage, tradition, background counts here. "The apple never falls far from the tree" is a truism precisely because it remains true in most epochs, in most contexts.

I've been to some of these anglophone islands, working, not touristing, and I can gar-un-tee you that there's just not much more than pious efforts and legitimate (but unrealized) hopes involved.

You want good food, you go French heritage. End of discussion. Martinique and Guadeloupe combine the very best of French, African and Caribbean
influences. Go there, get some good food. They're not accepted as official, integral parts of France for nothing.


Geo

Anyone who's glanced at my posts over the years knows I'm not ordering roomservice. The precious lovely little islands are not dining destinations in my book but I will keep an open mind. And I wasn't advocating Anglophone over Francophone anything (note my Haiti suggestion). But with both Trinidad and Jamaica being English-speaking, I'm not sure that one can make such a bold claim as Geo does. I'll grant that the food of the British isles probably has little to do with either cuisine (well, except Jamaica's greatly improved take on Welsh pasties).

The best food in the Caribbean is found in Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth, Jamaica. (http://treasurebeach.net) This southern coast community has worked hard to create a sustainable tourism culture and when you visit, you are welcomed into the community. The best hotel - not a resort, in fact an anti-resort as it were - is Jake's (http://www.jakeshotel.com/cms/index.php?page=home-map) where the Henzell family initiated the community approach to tourism. (Perry Henzell was the screenwriter of The Harder They Come and he brought his British family to live in TB years ago). Jake's has a great restaurant - lovely tables outside with locally grown foods - "eat what you grow, grow what you eat" and the amazing soil and conditions in St Bess leads to flavors that soar. Even a simple sliced tomato tastes better than any you've had elsewhere (and no, I did not smoke while there so that's not the reason ) Jakes also runs a little casual spot, Jack Sprat's, where the town gathers for pizza as well as local favorites ... more amazing still ... and has a bar (again, outside) where you sip red stripes and rum punch with new friends from the town and talk the night away. TB is a fishing community so plan on great fresh seafood and if you feel bored, you can always head out to Pelican Bar (http://www.jakeshotel.com/play_tours_pelican_bar.php).

In Jamaica, it really is more sensible to arrange a driver - the roads are awful and the best drivers connect you to the community. Look at Jamaicans.com for the latest news and a very good tourism section of the forum - it's a great place to ask for contacts for good drivers.

And now I feel homesick for TB.

I've also done Negril - stayed at Rockhouse which was a great hotel but lousy restaurant imho - as mentioned above, too dumbed down - but after a week in TB, Negril felt too frantic to me. Still, I'd go in a heartbeat.