BONAIRE -- WHAT TO EAT

Image by Susan Swygert for Bonaire Tourism

BONAIRE – WHAT TO EAT AND WHERE

Bonaire visitors are fortunate in that there are many restaurants, bars, grills, mom and pops and swanky dining options at every turn. Actually, the fact that there are more than 74 eateries on one very small island that raises virtually no food products of its own is an amazing feat. But surprisingly, there is so much variety you might have a harder time deciding where to eat than where to dive! Not! Food here represents a blend of many cultures and includes influences from Sephardic Jewish dishes to cuisine from Spain and Portugal, northern European fare taken from old-world Holland, Indonesian-accented dishes and African-inspired culinary traditions. Since so few products are produced in Bonaire, many of the recipes rely on staples such as conch, cactus, goat meat, iguana and of course, seafood. There are way too many dining establishments to name here, so we've mentioned just a few below.

For more on where to eat, check out the restaurant guides for Bonaire at geographica.com or infobonaire.com.

DINING GUIDE:

• Pasa Bon Pizza and Bar
  599-780-1111
• Cactus Blue
  Contemporary Caribbean
  599-717-4564
  
• Capriccio
  Northern Italian
  599-717-7230
• Casablanca Argentinian Restaurant and Grill
  Steak House
  599-717-4433
  
• City Café
  Caribbean/International
  599-717-8286
  
• It Rains Fishes
  Seafood
  599-717-8780
  
• La Guernica Tapas
  599-717-5022
  
• Warung Louise
  Indonesian
  599-786-6694
  599-717-4601
  Note: Reservations highly recommended

BONAIRE MENU TERMS:

To help understand some of your menu items, this list gives a primer in local menu terms:

• Kabritu=Goat
• Galiña=Chicken
• Baka=Beef
• Kabes ku
• Higra=Goat Brains and Liver
• Stoba=Stew
• Sanger=Blood (fried)
• Komkomber= Cucumber
• Funchi=Polenta (corn meal)
• Kesio=Flan / Quesillo
  

LOCAL RECIPES:

Sòpi di Yuwana, or Iguana Soup
(Serves 6-8)

• Choose a fresh, plump one for this delicacy, which tastes a bit like rabbit and a little like chicken.
• Clean, skin, and cut into serving pieces one iguana
• Place in a heavy kettle 1 & 1/2 quarts water
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 leek
• 1 tomato (coarsely chopped)
• 1 onion (studded with 3 cloves)
• 1 green pepper (quartered)
• 1/4 of a small cabbage

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for thirty minutes. Ad the iguana, and simmer an additional half hour, or until the meat is tender. Remove from the fire. Strain the broth, discarding the vegetables. Bone the iguana and set the meat aside. Return the broth to the fire and add 1 teaspoon cumin (or to taste), a dash of nutmeg, salt and pepper, and a few ounces of vermicelli. Simmer for about five minutes until the vermicelli is tender. Add the iguana and heat thoroughly. Serve piping hot with funchi. This and other recipes are available on geographica.com.