Category Archives: Wine & Food

April 29, 2020 · 5:35 am

Rarotonga, Cook Islands — Dining Al Fresco at the Muri Night Market


Dining al fresco at the Muri Night Market

Yes, you can eat cheaply on Rarotonga. And well. And with lots of choices.

Baby Pancakes

Four times a week, weather permitting, in the heart of Muri Beach Village on Rarotonga’s east coast is the famous Muri Night Market.

Smoothies

Here you’ll find island food, desserts, Chinese and Indian inspired vendors, and even American favorites such as . . .

There’s even pizza!

Here is a sampling of some of the menus you’ll find here:

Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu

My favorite place was the Noodle Tent.

My favorite — the Noodle Tent

Interesting story here the first night we went — the charming lady you see above took orders and plated the food. Her husband is in the background doing the cooking. Neither had change for my order. Even so, she gave my order of noodles to me and told me to come back later. Which I did, as soon as I got change at another tent selling desserts. Here’s my scrumptious noodle order being prepared:

Great Noodles!

This is a really great place to get some of the local flavor (pun intended) and mingle with the locals as well as the tourists staying near Muri Beach. Indeed, our bungalow was within about a ten-minute walk of the Night Market.

Smoothies

The cooks really know their way around a hotplate, or a grill:

Cooking at the Muri Night Market

But get to the Muri Night Market early, because the vendors start selling out of their most popular items fairly quickly. Once something on the menu is gone, it’s gone!

Lots of choices at the Muri Night Market

The Muri Night Market is open from 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday. But, again, get their early or your choices will be limited.

Local Charm

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April 1, 2020 · 5:35 am

Post Cruise — Lunch at Crabby’s Bar & Grill in Clearwater


Crabby’s Dockside

Time for a late lunch along Causeway Boulevard at Crabby’s Dockside. That 37 Causeway Blvd. address is actually a bit misleading. The restaurant is more easily approached from Coronado Drive.

One look at the menu sold us:

Crabby's Dockside lunch 10-21-2019 4-29-16 PM

Crabby’s menu

Alas, the air conditioned spaces had a wait, so we went up to the open air third floor deck:

Crabby’s open-air dining on the upper deck

Despite the warmth of the day, and the touch of humidity, we enjoyed both the meal and the views:

View from Crabby’s upper deck

Ursula opted for one of her favorites, the stuffed flounder:

Ursula about to dive in to her stuffed flounder

It was rather tasty, and came with a choice of two sides. For this Ursula chose the coleslaw and the mashed potatoes:

Ursula’s stuffed flounder — Yummy!

I went with the fried grouper and shrimp, and I paired those with slaw and fries:

Grouper and shrimp for me

Let’s take a last look at Crabby’s from the Coronado Drive approach:

Crabby’s Dockside as approached from Coronado Drive

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January 22, 2020 · 5:35 am

Fall Foliage Cruise — Lunch at Paddy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, Bar Harbor


Where lobster rolls come from

It was time for lunch, so I took Ursula over to Paddy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant (click here for menu)for the best lobster roll we experienced over the course of this entire cruise. Yes, it was a bit pricey at about $25, but the amount of lobster meat piled onto the roll made it a bargain.

Paddy’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, corner of Main and West

A good Irish pub has good Irish beers, and Paddy’s had my favorite. I’m not talking Guinness here, but rather Smithwick’s (pronounced Smitt-icks) Irish red ale:

My favorite Irish brew — Smithwick’s Irish Red Ale

Inside, Paddy’s has one main bar area and two restaurant areas:

Paddy’s Irish Pub and Restaurant

Paddy’s Irish Pub and Restaurant

So, let’s take a look at one of those delectable lobster rolls:

Paddy’s lobster roll (Ursula’s)

No pictured, because it disappeared too quickly, is a must-try dessert — Paddy’s wild Maine blueberry pie, a smallish tart featuring a flaky crust, a nicely tart lemon curd, and Maine blueberries, served with a side of vanilla ice cream.

 

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