local eats – My Travel Stamps

Who doesn’t like to enjoy a good meal? We all do. In fact, the foodie experience is even more pleasurable when your taste buds are awakened with unexpected combinations of seasonings and spices, and when your senses of sight, sound and smell are dazzled by new surroundings. That’s why I always try local foods when I travel. You should too.

Epicureans, gastromes, gourmands and foodies of the world you can unite and thank me now because I’ve rounded up some of my favorite Caribbean meals for your sampling pleasure. They are listed in no particular order.

Name of Dish: Goat water soup

Oh, this puts the "heart" in hearty — Oh, this puts the “heart” in hearty.

Country: Nevis, the sister island to St. Kitts

My consumption spot: Bananas Bistro, Upper Hamilton Estate

Description: Their version of goat water is a thick, full-bodied soup filled with carrots, small dumplings and root vegetables. Naturally, the main protein is goat meat. In other places, the soup has a more broth-like consistency and it is consumed as an appetizer; not the main course.

Name of dish: Conch salad

Nothing beats the taste of conch freshly harvested from the sea. — Nothing beats the taste of conch, freshly harvested from the sea.

Country: The Bahamas

My consumption spot: A gorgeous picnic laid out on an elusive sandbar known as Tahiti Beach in Andros, a part of the Bahamas Out Islands.

Description: Conch is a popular menu item in many islands and you can have it prepared in several ways. In this salad, the conch was caught right near our boat, taken from its shell, cleaned and cut into small pieces. Our boat captain turned impromptu chef added diced peppers, onions and tomatoes then poured lemon juice over the mixture to cure the uncooked meat, like in a ceviche.

Name of Dish: Ackee and Corned Pork

Ackee and corned por with boiled bananas and yellow yam — Ackee and corned pork with boiled bananas and yellow yam

Country: Jamaica

My consumption spot: M-10 Bar and Grill in Vineyard Town, Kingston

Description: Ackee is a fruit that is one half of the national dish of my home country, Jamaica. Usually it is served with sautéed salt fish (cod) but on occasion it is paired with other proteins like sausages and corned pork. When cooked, at a glance it looks like scrambled eggs but it has a much creamier texture. Incidentally, ackee with its favored partner, salt fish, recently earned the number two spot on National Geographic’s list of top national dishes around the world.

Name of dish: Oxtail with peas and rice

Oxtail has been one of my favorite dishes since childhood

Country: Cayman Islands

My consumption spot: Welly’s Cool Spot, Georgetown

Description: Yes, you read that right. The main ingredient in this dish is the tail of a cow! The meat is first tenderized in a pressure cooker and then slow-cooked to gelatinous perfection with fresh thyme, onions and other spices. Most places add butter beans to the mixture and serve it with kidney beans and rice, cooked with coconut milk for additional flavor.

Name of dish: Bake and Shark

Country: Trinidad and Tobago

My consumption spot: Richard’s Bake and Shark, Maracas Bay

Description: Quite arguably the most famous beach food in Trinidad, this fish sandwich starts out as a simple combination of fried pieces of shark meat served within a bun. It ramps up to noteworthy finger-licking proportions once you add the choose-as-you-go accompaniments. Food patrons have a choice of toppings and sauces that range from the mundane mustard and ketchup regulars to the more exotic tongue pleasers like mango chutney, tamarind and Shado Beni (similar to cilantro).

ARE YOU HUNGRY YET? I am.

If you’re like me and think of REAL vacations as jetting off to places far from home, it’s easy to rack up expenses to get to exotic new locations. After the big ticket items like airfare, accommodations and tours are taken care of, you have to think about money for meals, ground transportation and incidentals.

Stretching your dollars and cents — Dollar notes and cents from Argentina, China and Jamaica

To avoid shattering my budget, I am always on the lookout for ways to stretch my dollars and cents. Below, I’ve shared four easy ways that have helped me to save money on previous trips.

Stay local

I think the best way to experience a destination is to forego booking a traditional hotel so you can stay in a local home or bed and breakfast. Naturally, having friends or family who live in the places you plan to visit is always convenient and that should be your number one option. But if you’re not that lucky, you can get a close enough experience renting homes and apartments from locals. There are several websites that offer this service at a greatly reduced price.

I can’t speak for them all but I’ll tell you this: I booked a farmhouse stay through Holidaylettings.co.uk for one trip to Italy and my friends and I had a marvelous time. Think panoramic views from atop a hill in Tuscany, vine-ripened grapes ready for picking in surrounding vineyards, home-made ricotta cheese from the landlord, fresh herbs in the garden and bedrooms decorated with simple flair and style.

Vie of the gorgeous Tuscany countryside from out patio — View of the gorgeous Tuscany countryside from our patio

Buy and eat local

Local eats are such a huge part of a vacation! By ‘local’ I mean food truck fare or Mom and Pop delights, not the fine-dining versions served in more established restaurants. There is just something extra special about ordering from a chalkboard menu and savoring meals street side or chowing down on local favorites while you are comfortably seated on a rustic stool in a shack on a beach.

Da Conch Shack (Turks and Caicos) — Da Conch Shack, Turks and Caicos

I am convinced the lack of fancy lighting, elaborate décor and sometimes stuffy setting leaves the staff with more time to pour extra love and effort into preparing and serving my meal.

If you are staying in a place with kitchen facilities and want to save money by cooking, it’s also a good idea to buy your fruit and vegetables at a farmer’s market instead of in a grocery store. The produce will be cheaper and fresher.

Vendor showing off his giant pumpkin at the local market in Charelestown, Nevis.

I also suggest scouting out the meal options in the deli section of nearby supermarkets if you don’t have access to a kitchen. There are some that serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at very reasonable rates.

Hot food bar in Kirk supermarket , Grand Cayman

Ride local

Renting a car on vacation can be quite costly because it’s not just the daily rate that must be considered; you have to factor in petrol, insurance and daily surcharges too. On top of that, it may be a bit challenging to navigate strange roads, understand foreign traffic laws and read signs that are not in your native language. I have done the latter and believe me, it was not easy. So never rule out public transportation. Depending on where you are, do your research on the best way to get around a city or town. Be it bus, boat, a friend’s car, Uber diver or train – your pocket will thank you.

www.mytravelstamps.com — The Tri-rail in South Florida runs between West Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.

Talk local

To avoid ridiculously expensive roaming charges, I always put my phone in airplane mode before my flight takes off and I don’t remove that setting until I’m back home and taxiing down the runway. I usually get by on WhatsApp and Skype via free Wi-Fi. Of course, there is FaceTime and tons of other options available too.

But in the frustrating instances when Wi-fi isn’t available and you need to talk, not text, to someone; what can you do? I suggest buying a cheap travel phone and getting a local SIM card at your destination so you can use pre-paid cards or phone credit top-ups for calls during your trip. For example, in the Caribbean, two of the biggest telecommunications providers in the region are Digicel and LIME so their phones are usable in multiple locations. I bought a Digicel SIM card on my most recent trip to Cayman and paid only CI$10 for it. That’s equivalent to approximately US$12.