Staying Fit
For a small country, the Bahamas has a lively culinary scene — from humble traditional dishes like “steam fish with peas 'n' rice” sold at casual beach shacks to sophisticated international fare at five-star resorts.
It’s anchored by ocean-fresh seafood, which is always on the menu, typically snapper, grouper, lobster and the reigning star, conch (pronounced “konk”). Synonymous with Bahamian comfort food, this marine mollusk is eaten steamed, grilled, “scorched” (chopped into bite-size pieces), “cracked” or frittered (battered and deep-fried), raw in a ceviche salad, swimming in a tomato-based chowder and even as a burger. Playing second fiddle is the Caribbean, or spiny, lobster, not to be confused with the Maine lobster. Unlike that cold-water cousin, it doesn’t have large edible claws or meat as soft and sweet. Still, at the start of lobster season, Aug. 1, many restaurants create special menus, most notably the three-course crustacean-based Lobster Fest at Ristorante Luciano’s of Chicago.
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Family Fun in Nassau
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National specialties, as ubiquitous as beach sand, also include pan-cooked Johnnycake, a beloved Bahamian shortbread; souse, a meat-based stew; Bahamian stew fish, partially pan-fried catch of the day smothered in spicy red sauce; and for dessert, guava duff, spongy guava jam-spiraled pastry drizzled with butter rum sauce.
Speaking of rum, the national drink shows up in such classic cocktails as Goombay Smash (with pineapple juice and coconut water) and the fruity Bahama Mama, while classic Sky Juice is made with gin, coconut water andcondensed milk, of all things.
Apart from the Out Islands, where Bahamian soul food is a mainstay, you can try it at such non-touristy Nassau eateries as Nesbit’s or Bahama Grill. Saturday brunch is a treat at Le Petit Gourmet Cafe, especially if you have the guava cream cheese-stuffed French toast, or at the Doongalik Farmers Market.
Transforming traditional ingredients with an international twist, new chefs and restaurants may be turning Nassau/Paradise Island into the Caribbean’s next culinary hotspot. At Baha Mar, for example, conch shows up in master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi’s first Caribbean outpost. At the SLS’s Cleo, Bahamian ingredients make their way into one of Nassau’s first Mediterranean-inspired restaurants (think Israeli flavors and Syrian spices). James Beard Award-winner Michael Schwartz’s latest venture is the rustic Italian eatery Fi’lia.
One of the most popular restaurants in town is the Italian Cafe Matisse, with a charming garden patio. Overlooking the harbor in downtown, Lukka Kairi serves creative Bahamian dishes tapas style, such as cracked conch sliders and lobster mac and cheese. Wild Thymeoffers Bahamian fine dining in a recently renovated, historic Bahamian home.
