Cookies & Milk

I just returned from my annual cookies & milk-athon. I'm quite tired now, but before I go to bed I just want to wish the LTH Forum a Merry Christmas. Can anyone recommend a good restuarant in Aruba? I'll be going there for a much needed vacation soon. Just me and the Missus.


Santa Claus

P.S. I see you when you're sleeping!

Hey Santa,

Thanks for stopping by last night and thanks for all the swell gifts.

Glad you liked the stuffed calamari and cookies. But do you drink like that at every house you stop at?


A

He always drank like that when he visited my house as a child ... alternated Martinis and Manhattans (whichever my dad left out), and he left an awful mess of ashes for my poor mother to clean up ... but his notes were always colorful.

Santa Claus wrote:Can anyone recommend a good restuarant in Aruba?

Where did you end up dining in Aruba? Mrs Sweet Willie and I are taking a much needed pre-holiday trip to Aruba and are looking for suggestions?

Sweet Willie wrote:

Santa Claus wrote:Can anyone recommend a good restuarant in Aruba?

Where did you end up dining in Aruba? Mrs Sweet Willie and I are taking a much needed pre-holiday trip to Aruba and are looking for suggestions?

S-W:

I see Santa hasn't responded yet (he's very busy this time of year) but I'm in regular contact with his Dutch uncle, Sinter Klaas, for both personal and professional reasons; I took the liberty of posing your question to him and he sent me an email with a link to a page on dining in Aruba. He added, though, that he doesn't like it there too much: too hot and too much English.

Sinter Klaas wrote:
Beste Toon,

Kijk eens, Aruba zegt mij niet veel -- veel te warm en al die verrekte touristen, die alleen Engels spreken en hamburgers willen vreten. God zij dank die kreng Nancy Grace is eindelijk terug naar de States -- die kon ik gewoon niet uitstaan.

Ach ja, hier is een link voor die man, hoe heet-ie weer? Zoete Wimpie?:

http://dutch.aruba.com/aga/index.html

Verder weet ik er niks van.

Met de meeste hoogachting ( ),
SK

P.S. Piet zegt "dag!" Groetjes ook aan Lukske.

Sinter Klaas is also very busy this time of year but he works a civilised European work-schedule and has lots of days off while producing toys and chocolates of superior quality.

Anyway, as you can see, I'm well connected.

Bon voyage,
Antonius

I was in Aruba a few years back and can highly recommend the second restaurant on Sinta Klaas' list, Tango Argentine Grill. It's a steak house serving very high quality Argentine beef. Get the churrasco steak. Also Le Dome (also on the list) was a great place for a romantic French themed dinner. Their service there was impeccable and very accommodating. For example, my wife left her reading glasses at the hotel and was using her water glass as a magnifier to read the menu. Upon seeing this, the Matre 'd took off his own glasses and lent them to her so she could see the menu clearly. Little touches like this made this restaurant memorable. We also ate at The Driftwood and had some well prepared local fish.

stevez wrote:I was in Aruba a few years back and can highly recommend the second restaurant on Sinta Klaas' list, Tango Argentine Grill... .

Steve:

I'm very glad to see that Sinter Klaas' note was of some help here. You mention the Driftwood and I see in the linked page that the write-up claims they make things with an 'authentic Aruban accent'. Did you get a sense of what features are typical of the local cuisine? Do you know anything about the two places listed as specialising in Aruban cuisine, Gasparito and Old Cunucu House?

I would imagine the quality of the seafood must be great. Too bad it's so hot down there...

Antonius

I've been to Aruba, and I can't say I'm very enthusiastic about the place from a cultural or cuisine aspect. Just not much "there" there compared to the rest of the Caribbean. I think that is actually a reason it is so popular with tourists from the US and Northern Europe.

The popularity of Aruba is all the more remarkable given the fact that the little island is on the far side of the Caribbean from the US, making for a very long flight. It's also Chicago-flat and Phoenix-dry/dusty with hotels packed ass-to-elbow on the beach. The weather and water are very safe bets, though. I went to SteveZ's Argentine place and thought it was good. As for "local cuisine," it usually involves melted cheese from the Motherland -- I'm not kidding. Unlike Spanish, Portuguese, and African, Dutch food does not seem to have translated really well to the tropics.

But Antonius might really enjoy listening to the language, Papiamento, which is an amalgam of Dutch, Portuguese, English, Spanish, African languages and other stuff. Young Dutch ladies by the KLM-load are also a draw, as I understand it.

It's not all bad, as much of the street food seems to be borrowed from nearby Trinidad.

The local delicacy as described by a tourist site:

Keshi Yena: a baked concoction of Gouda cheese, spices, and meat or seafood in a rich brown sauce.

Antonius wrote:Steve:

I'm very glad to see that Sinter Klaas' note was of some help here. You mention the Driftwood and I see in the linked page that the write-up claims they make things with an 'authentic Aruban accent'. Did you get a sense of what features are typical of the local cuisine? Do you know anything about the two places listed as specializing in Aruban cuisine, Gasparito and Old Cunucu House?

The Old Cunucu House is widely promoted on the Island. For that reason, we did not go there so I can't comment. In terms of The Driftwood, I would call the preparation typical Caribbean style. Pristinely fresh fish direct from the docks prepared simply; sometimes with a topping of sautéed peppers and/or onions. The place is somewhat rustic, compared to the other restaurants, which aim for a higher scale of ambiance. My sense is that there really isn't much of a local cuisine with most things being borrowed either from the other Islands in the vicinity, Argentina (which is only 35 miles away) or Europe. As you can see, most of the restaurants on Sinta's list feature cuisine from somewhere else.

Steve, I believe that Venezuela is only 35 miles away. But the steakhouse owners of Argentina do get around Latin America and the Caribbean, with Argentine steak places often among the best restaurants in any given town (in my experience at least).

By the way, your description of the Driftwood jogged my memory, and I now recall that I also had an excellent meal there. A whole fish very simply prepared and some kind of conch stew. The place reminded me somewhat of an "Old Florida" type seafood place, much different from the slick, themed spots.

By the way, I did not mean to completely write off Aruba. The sun, sand and water are almost a sure thing, which is not always the case. If someone's idea of a great vacation involves a book and an umbrella (and some blackjack in the evenings), it's a good option. But don't go expecting to find the type of local food/cultural scene available just behind the tourist curtain in Mexico, Jamaica, the DR, etc., etc.

As for "local cuisine," it usually involves melted cheese from the Motherland -- I'm not kidding. Unlike Spanish, Portuguese, and African, Dutch food does not seem to have translated really well to the tropics.

Hence the enthusiastic acceptance and adaptation of Indonesian cuisine...

But Antonius might really enjoy listening to the language, Papiamento, which is an amalgam of Dutch, Portuguese, English, Spanish, African languages and other stuff. Young Dutch ladies by the KLM-load are also a draw, as I understand it.

I suppose I wouldn't mind that much doing some research on Papiamento and perhaps also interviewing those young Dutch ladies to ascertain to what degree they are still familiar with the old local dialects of Dutch...

On the other hand, I agree with Sinter Klaas: it's too hot. I'd rather just go to the Netherlands and enjoy the short days and cold mist.

Steve mentions influence from (I assume he meant) Venezuela. Is Venezuelan cuisine very distinct from Columbian?

Antonius

JeffB wrote:Steve, I believe that Venezuela is only 35 miles away. But the steakhouse owners of Argentina do get around Latin America and the Caribbean, with Argentine steak places often among the best restaurants in any given town (in my experience at least).

By the way, your description of the Driftwood jogged my memory, and I now recall that I also had an excellent meal there. A whole fish very simply prepared and some kind of conch stew. The place reminded me somewhat of an "Old Florida" type seafood place, much different from the slick, themed spots.

My bad. I meant Venezuela. Your description of The Driftwood as an Old Florida type place hit the nail right on the head. It very much reminded me of a place one might encounter in the Keys.

One interesting fact about Aruba is that its location in the southern Caribbean puts it below the hurricane belt. They seldom are threatened by these storms, in fact their weather is quite boring, being approx 76 - 80 degrees all year round with not very much rain. The steady trade winds keep it from getting too hot in the summer. If you're planning a getaway vacation and don't want to put up with any weather worries, Aruba is a good destination even though, as Jeff pointed out, there's not much there in terms of culture.

seems the link Sinter Klaas listed no longer works, bummer.

We didn't end up going when I had posted awhile ago, but just today booked for December, after all, I have to maintain my mantra of happy wife/happy life.

I'm surprised to not see any mention of rijstaffel for Aruba, something that I get every time I am in Amsterdam, St Martin.