By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor
You don’t have to spend a fortune to eat well in the Caribbean. Sample some authentic local flavor – and get back change from a $10 bill – when you try these island street-food favorites.
Barbados: Bread and Two
The “bread” is salt bread (which tastes, curiously, slightly sweet) and the “two” is two deep-fried flying fish balls, which are sandwiched between the doughy slices. Add a little hot sauce or ketchup and a slice of cheese and you’ll get why food trucks and gas stations do a roaring trade in this Bajan breakfast favorite.
Guadeloupe: Bokit
What’s better than a pita sandwich? A deep-fried pita sandwich, AKA bokit. Sold by food trucks all over the archipelago (but we love those in the Grande-Terre village of Sainte Anne), these fish, chicken, or lobster pockets are stuffed with scrambled egg and shredded cheese, and deliver unique French-Caribbean flavor with every magnifique bite.
Jamaica: Patties
The patty is to Jamaica what the burger is the to United States, so trying (at least) one of these beef, veggie or chicken-filled flaky pastry pockets is a must. You can’t walk 10 feet without stumbling over a patty shop (Tastee or JuiciPatties are the most popular), so make sure you nyam before you scram!
Mexico: Guacamole
I’ve written before about the gastronomic pleasures of the avocado appetizer at Isla Mujeres Mango Café. But you can find fresh guacamole all over Mexico’s Riviera Maya and I recommend you try it anywhere you see it. One of my favorite guac spots on the mainland: La Cueva del Chango in Playa Del Carmen.
Puerto Rico: Mofongo
Take fried plantains, mash them with garlic, olive oil and spices; shape the mixture into a bowl; fill it with seafood, meat or chicken; and you have mofongo, the Puerto Rican specialty served by humble cafeterias and high-end eateries alike. Que bueno!
St Lucia: Cassava Cakes
If you’re driving from one end of St Lucia to the other make a stop at Plas Kassav, a tiny lean-to hillside bakery in the village of Canaries. They’re rightfully famous for their organic cassava bread rounds, available in both savory flavors (try the saltfish) and sweet.
Trinidad: Doubles
Made with two (hence the name) rounds of fried dough called barra, this meatless Trini snack is a spicy roti/wrap/sandwich hybrid, filled with curried chickpeas or channa. Cucumber slaw, mango chutney and the coolantro-based sauce shado beni are essential embellishments, but every doubles vendor offers their own particular variation.
Turks and Caicos Islands: Conch Salad
It’s all about conch on Providenciales, home to the world’s only conch farm and a mecca for conch salad seekers. The ceviche-style preparation of raw conch with chopped green peppers, tomatoes onions and citrus juices is common all over the TCI but Da Conch Shack, where they keep them live in an ocean pen just steps from the kitchen, is a great place to start.
Bahamas: Conch Fritters
Conch salad is the traditional Bahamian preparation of the meaty local mollusk but crispy conch fritters are just as popular. Because who doesn’t love deep-fried seafood? Head to any of the restaurants at Nassau’s Arawak Cay (aka the Fish Fry) for your fix.
St Thomas: Pates
Similar to the Jamaican patty (and pronounced the same way), these pastry pockets are stuffed with meat, fish or veggies and deep-fried. You can score the street snack in any of the U.S. Virgin Islands but I’m partial to those at this waterfront counter in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas where I sampled them for the first time.