i s l a nd h o p p i ng I lo c a l f l av o r

and Indian chef Remy Azavedo puts his
Norma Jean’s like what I’m cooking tonight, then
signature on dishes like the tea-cured-
tuna tataki roll and grouper cooked in
a banana leaf with Thai spices. Lobster-
and-shrimp gnocchi, classic lasagna
and chicken parmigiana pay homage
to the Italian side of the equation. For
dessert: beignets for two, sprinkled
with Vietnamese sugar and served
with white-chocolate-truffle mousse
and strawberry coulis. 345-947-2047;
lighthouse.ky; average dinner entrée: $30
Vivine’s Kitchen
Native Caymanian Vivine Watler holds
court in the kitchen at this seaside
restaurant beside her East End home.
fresh catch
Take a seat on the terrace overlooking
Dining alfresco
at Calypso Café Gun Bay and order off the blackboard
on specialties menu, which offers a rotating variety of
such as wahoo traditional dishes, including conch and
ceviche. Below:
whelk stews, fish ’n’ fritters, and curried
Night falls on the
Cracked Conch. goat. To wash it down, there’s fresh
mango juice or sorrel. 345-947-7435;
average lunch/dinner entrée: $10
No visit to Grand Cayman is complete
without a stop at one of the island’s
roadside stands. Each Thursday and
Friday, starting around 5 p.m. and
ending when the food is gone, Norma
Jean Obando serves serious chicken and
ribs with tangy, sweet barbecue sauce
from her spot alongside a parking lot
overlooking the north end of Seven
Mile Beach, with coleslaw, macaroni
and cheese, and peas ’n’ rice on the side.
Most folks do take-away, but there are
a few tables, so you can enjoy your ’cue
with a view. North West Point Road and
Town Hall Road, West End; no phone or
website; average dinner entrée: $10
Roland’s Garden
There’s no written menu. A yellow
mutt named Sir Alex wanders freely
among the tables. If you want wine or
beer, you have to brown-bag it. And
irascible-yet-lovable chef/owner Roland
Schoefer tells his guests: “If you don’t
you don’t eat.” Nevertheless, there’s a
pretty good chance you’ll not only like
but also be overwhelmed by Schoefer’s
copious culinary offerings, starting
with appetizers of gravlax, cheeses and
homemade sausage; followed by quiche,
sauerbraten, pork chops, fresh fruit,
scallops in bacon and homemade bread;
and finishing with tiramisu, chocolate
mousse and coconut rum cake.
Trained in Germany, Schoefer opens
the gardens outside his home to guests
each Thursday through Sunday night.
There’s room for only five or six tables,
so reservations are essential. And there’s
no bill at the end of the evening; simply
leave the amount you think the meal
was worth. Think generously. Breakers,
345-926-7670; chefroland.com; typical
contribution per person for a multicourse
meal is $45 to $50. — Bob Morris
The 2010 Cayman Cookout happens January 14-18;
visit caymanislands.ky/cayman_cookout for details.

Star Chefs and Homegrown Heroes

Good eatin’ on Grand Cayman

W
ith its first Cayman Cookout food festival, hosted early this year by über-chef Eric Ripert of The Acclaimed St. Lucian Experience
Blue at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, and of Manhattan’s le Bernardin, the island served
notice: Once best known for its diving, the isle now deserves equal acclaim for its dining. “I wonder what the people back on Earth are doing.”
In recent years, a profusion of foreign-trained chefs has touched down, creating Caribbean-
fusion menus that make for surprising and memorable meals. The island’s local talent shines too at several
“Best Hotel in the Caribbean” & “Best of the Best Overall” - Condé Nast Readers Choice Awards
popular restaurants and casual roadside eateries that specialize in traditional Caymanian cuisine. “Number Two Hotel in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Bahamas” - Travel & Leisure

Calypso Grill puts a fresh spin on the standards,

If you judged it solely by its name
and location — overlooking the
sport-fishing docks at Morgan’s
Harbour — you might expect this
to be one of those typical island fry
houses that focuses more on its rum
drinks than its menu. But chef George
Fowler takes advantage of all that
fresh fish in his backyard to turn out
tuna spring rolls and wahoo ceviche
appetizers, and entrées such as grilled
ginger tuna, and grouper filled with
crabmeat and spinach. Nab a table on
the deck and linger over the sticky
toffee pudding, which justly deserves
The Cracked Conch
This venerable island institution,
perched above the sea at West End,
has renewed its 25-year-old reputation
serving up conch chowder with bacon,
leeks and coconut milk, and jerk-glazed
pork belly on sweet-potato purée.
Entrées include seared snapper with
chorizo potatoes, and green sea turtle
(ethically farm-raised on the island),
braised with wilted lettuce, onions,
mushrooms and coconut rum. For reservations at Ladera call 1.866.290.0978 or locally at 758.459.7323
345-945-5217; crackedconch.com.ky; For reservations at Dasheene Restaurant call 758.459.6612
average dinner entrée: $28
A c c o m m o d a t i o n , s e r v i c e , c u i s i n e , a n d s p a a s s p e c t a c u l a r a s t h e v i e w.
The Lighthouse
Restaurant
Ready for Italian-Asian-Caribbean
fusion? That’s the mash-up at this www. .com
Zach Stovall

its island-wide raves. 345-949-3948; for fine dining with the arrival of chef Grand Cayman landmark, where owner/
calypsogrillcayman.com; average Gilbert Cavallaro, formerly with the maitre d’ Giuseppe Gatta presides over a
dinner entrée: $32 Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. Cavallaro small battalion of ultra-attentive waiters,

22 Caribbean Travel + Life  o ct o b e r 2009