The best bites from Barbados
Specialties reflect varied influences
If your trip doesn’t coincide with the Food & Rum Festival, you can still eat well and sample Barbadian specialties rooted in African, Indian and British influences. Here are eight treats for your itinerary.
1
Chicken and potato roti at Chefette, 15 locations
Fresh off the morning plane from Toronto, we stopped at Chefette for our first fix of local fare. Most of us ordered the fast-food purveyor’s famous pressure-fried chicken. I had a great, fresh roti wrap filled with mellow curried potato and moist chicken. Fun fact: the Chefette at Grantley Adams International Airport sells frozen rotis to take home, but you must order 24 hours ahead by calling 246-418-8770.
2
Fishcakes at The Top Deck by Jason Howard, Alleynes Bay, Mount Standfast
You could spend a whole vacation on a quest for Barbados’ best fishcakes. The addictive fritters made with seasoned, herbed dough and bits of salt cod are ubiquitous, sold by street vendors, rum shops and fine restaurants alike and eaten with or without Bajan hot sauce or other dips. I had my faves during lunch at the upscale beachside restaurant of star chef Jason Howard, where the stunning view and excellent fries didn’t hurt either. Also recommended: laudable fishcakes at Braddies Bar and Hot Legendary Fishcakes.
3
Marlin Cutter at Cuz’s Fish Shack, Pebbles Beach, Bridgetown In Bajan parlance, a cutter is a sandwich made with a fresh, fluffy roll. The island’s most esteemed examples might be the fish cutters from the humble yet renowned Cuz’s Fish Shack. My grilled marlin was full-flavoured and moist, and that pillowy roll? Perfect.
4
Flying Fish and Coucou at Mustor’s Restaurant, McGregor Street, Bridgetown
A boat ride around Barbados will surely treat you to the sight of foot-long flying fish leaping out of the Caribbean Sea. The large-finned marvels also grace the island’s one-dollar coin. Best of all, eat mild, fried filets of flying fish at Mustor’s Restaurant, a no-frills upstairs haunt. Indeed, flying fish with coucou — a smooth, mellow mash of cornmeal and veg — is the national dish of Barbados.
5
Spiny Lobster at Pat’s Place, Oistins Main Road, Oistins
The famous fish fry at Oistins teems with vendors offering cheap but delicious meals of fried or grilled seafood. Grilled spiny lobster at Pat’s Place was loaded with sweet tail meat and came with more than sufficient butter. The spicily seasoned grilled mahi mahi was also fantastic.
6
Pepper Pot at Waterfront Cafe, The Careenage, Bridgetown
In Guyana, due south of Barbados, Pepperpot — a dark brown, richly gravied, spicy-sweet stew brimming with fall-apart meat — is a Christmas tradition. It was a must-order during our midOctober patio lunch at the Waterfront Cafe, a cosy 35-yearold eatery on the marina in Bridgetown. As good as other dishes were, the pepperpot was tops.
7
Chocolate from Agapey Chocolate Factory,
Hincks Road, Bridgetown Canadian expat Derrick Hastick moved to Barbados several years ago, thinking it would be an ideal place to launch a high-end chocolate business. His dark chocolate bars, made on site with single-origin beans from the Caribbean and South America and with Barbadian Plantation Reserve gold cane sugar, bear out his vision. Agapey’s Rum Caramel chocolate bar, made with Mount Gay rum, is a killer.
8
Ice Cream at Iska Dessert, Prince Alfred Street, Bridgetown After rum punch, made-toorder ice cream at Iska Dessert might be the best way to beat the island’s heat and humidity. The southeast Asian craze of rolled ice cream, made by pouring and then manipulating sweet cream and mix-ins on a super-cold steel plate, recently came to Barbados and Iska’s tropical flavours — from coconut to sugarcane mango to soursop rose to papaya honeydew — are as tantalizing as they are refreshing.