Aruba's Soul Food - Bon Vivant Travel Magazine - Fall/Winter 2018

ARUBA’S SOUL FOOD Savour the flavour of this eclectic island in the Dutch Caribbean BY MICHELE PETERSON

Eagle Beach

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HERE’S NOTHING QUITE like dining with your feet in the ocean,” I say to my dinner companions as we dangle our toes in the warm Caribbean waters lapping beneath our table.

Just then, a local fisherman casts his line from a nearby rock and hauls a fish the size of a surfboard out of the water. It thrashes its way off the line and, with a few tail flips, escapes in a flash of silver. Suddenly, I’m not so sure about the wisdom of keeping any body parts in the water.

Eating locally doesn’t get more local than this. We’re at Flying Fishbone, a fine-dining restaurant set on the waterfront in Savaneta, Aruba’s oldest town. The village served as the island’s capital when the Dutch resettled here in 1816, and there’s no better place to kick off an odyssey into Aruba’s cuisine.

Not only is Aruba home to a bounty of local ingredients, its mix of inventive chefs and rich cultural heritage make it especially appealing for food fans.

DIVERSE CULINARY MOSAIC

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Top to bottom: Dinner at the Flying Fishbone, Dutch architecture

Aruba Tourism Authority/Barbara Kraft

While Aruba’s cuisine includes an eclectic mix drawn from the historical legacy of immigrants who have settled on the island since the 17th century – more than 90 nationalities to date – its main cultural influences are Dutch and Latin American. Arubans easily switch between many different cultures as most natives speak four languages fluently without missing a beat: Dutch, Papiamento (the unofficial national language that’s a Creole mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, African, Indigenous Arawak and French), English and Spanish. The cuisine often reflects this fluid fusion of cross-influences.

“Our lives are very much connected to the seasons, land and sea,” explains Maureen ‘Mauchi’ Laaf Ras, a local farmer who forages for wild sea parsley to make specialty smoothies to sell at Mauchie Smoothies and Juice Bar in Savaneta.

The smoothies, along with fresh-squeezed juices, feature ingredients from her cunucu (farm house). These traditional homes dotted throughout Aruba’s countryside feature gardens filled with a profusion of vegetables such as the Madam Jeanette hot pepper, a key ingredient in the staple hot sauce found on every local table.

To learn more, I head to one of the island’s most iconic dining institutions: Papiamento Restaurant. Located within an Aruban cunucu dating to 1886, it’s owned by the Ellis family. The house is filled with antiques, but most guests opt for dining alfresco by the night-lit pool surrounded by a lush tropical garden. The cuisine

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features ingredients such as papaya, okra and cactus fruit grown nearby. An atmospheric wine cellar located within a converted cheese factory made of stone, keeps Papiamento’s 1,800 vintages of international wine cool.

Among the must-try dishes is keshi yena, a gooey casserole of raisins, ground meats, cashews, spices and melted Edam cheese that was originally an economical way for frugal households to use up the rind of a round of cheese. Later, as I dine on local rock lobster cooked on sizzling hot stones, bright stars rise in the indigo sky – it’s easy to imagine life in Aruba before modern-day tourism.

RICH FISHING TRADITION

More fish awaits at Benchi Fish Stand in Savaneta where owner Benchi, a fisherman with a face weathered

by Aruba’s sun and wind, plays guitar while waiting for patrons. A hand-written sign shows jampow, pikuda and robeki fish as the day’s catch. Many of the fish are on the menu at Zeerovers, a casual eatery on the fishing collective’s pier.

The menu is in both Papiamento and English, and fish is ordered by the piece or by weight. Sides include tartar sauce, fried plantain or pan bati, a sweet corn bread. I order an extra side of siboyo de vinager, the local deliciously addicting marinated red onion salsa.

We take a seat at a dockside picnic table and dig in.

It’s my first taste of wahoo, a big game fish related to the king mackerel. Flash deep-fried with a moist flaky interior, it’s got a sweet, slightly buttery flavour that pairs perfectly with the tangy siboyo. I wash it down with a local chilled Balashi beer, one of the world’s few beers made with desalinated seawater.

Seafood is also a highlight at my next stop, Gilligan’s Seafood Shack at the Hilton Aruba Resort & Casino where Executive Chef Matt Boland takes casual fare and ramps up the decadence of the ingredients, giving each dish an upscale feel.

We tuck into the Millionaire’s Lobster Roll, a toasted brioche filled with chunks of sweet lobster meat topped with crispy onion rings, and Miss Molly’s Coconut Shrimp dipped in sweet mango sauce, then rinse off in the warm waters of Palm Beach. Nirvana.

Aruba Tourism Authority/Barbara Kraft

DUTCH TREATS

Aruba was a former Dutch colony until it gained “Status Aparte” in 1986, so Dutch food, including an intense love for Indonesian cuisine (think chicken satay and peanut sauce), is well entrenched into the culinary cornucopia.

One of the most beloved Dutch traditions awaits the next morning at Linda’s, a casual eatery where breakfast is guaranteed to be the highlight of your day.

Pannenkoeken are larger and thinner than their North American counterparts and here they come in sweet or savoury versions. My companion and I order one of each to enjoy the best of both worlds. They arrive in a spectacular fashion. Mine is topped with mango,

Top to bottom: Pannenkoeken, Charlie’s Bar

papaya and pineapple dusted with icing sugar while my companion’s crispy bacon and apple is a winning salty-sweet combination.

Fueled by strong Dutch pressed coffee, we head to San Nicolas on the southern shores of the island to check out the once-booming oil refinery town. It’s impossible to miss the refinery. It operated until 1985 and still stands, an imposing structure that symbolizes a bygone era of prosperity. Most of those workers hung out at Charlie’s Bar, a 77-year-old continuously running institution now helmed by the third “Charlie,” grandson of the original owner. It still draws the crowds for its surprisingly upscale lunches of fresh shrimp, potent Boozer colada cocktails and quirky décor.

San Nicolas itself is going through a cultural renaissance, largely due to the new Art Walk, a cool collection of street murals, 3D installations and tromp-d’oeil works adorning the alleys and buildings in bright, bold colours – all left behind each year by the international artists who participate in the annual San Nicolas Art Fair, now in its third year.

Clockwise: Yachts at the Pier in Oranjestad, fine dining at Quinta Del Carmen, Gilligans seafood shack

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INNOVATIVE CHEFS

Inventive upscale cuisine is also a highlight of a visit to Aruba. From home cooks to celebrity chefs, a fresh crop of culinary ambassadors in Aruba is shaping a food scene that’s both diverse and fascinating.

One such creator is award-winning local Aruban Chef Urvin Croes, who almost single-handedly introduced molecular gastronomy to the island. Top experiences at his White Modern Cuisine restaurant cresting the Tierra de Sol golf course include the multi-sensory Chef’s Tasting Menu of three or five courses paired with wine. Highlights of our dining experience include the yakitori tuna with ginger mayo and scallops creole with a sweet-smooth pumpkin crème.

Sometimes going back in time rather than looking to the future inspires a chef. Such was the case with restauranteur Luc Beerpoot when he opened Quinta del Carmen in a gorgeously restored 100-year-old colonial mansion. Along with Chef Dennis Hoekstra, they recreate the taste of his Netherlands’ childhood with a collection of “Grandma’s Favourites” featuring homestyle Dutch dishes like “Sucade Laapen” a hearty rich beef stew in red wine, or “Stroopwaffle Parfait,” the famous Dutch waffle treat served with ice cream and caramel sauce for dessert.

We wrap up our Aruba food journey with a memorable dinner at Amuse Sunset Restaurant near the Queen Beatrix airport. We opt for the chef ’s surprise menu of French classics and Aruban dishes paired with wine. Our tables draped in twinkling lights are perched so near the water there’s a feeding frenzy of fish when a morsel of food accidently drops into the sea.

Although dining in Aruba is always an adventure, noting the huge dark shapes darting in the illuminated waters below, I’m grateful to have my feet out of the water tonight. CT •

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Along the walk, the food of choice is O’Niel Caribbean Kitchen, a family-style restaurant with Jamaican flavour in jerk chicken wings or Stamp and Go, saltfish fritters dipped in sticky sweet chili sauce, or balchi pisca, traditional Aruban fish balls.

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