A Taste of Aruban Cuisine

Greetings from Aruba! You didn't think I'd go an entire week without posting did you? Well, while all you New Yorkers are freezing in today's 25 degree brisk weather, I'm here sunning myself in a nice warm 96 degrees. Jealous are you? Well you should be because Aruba in December is just glorious. But my family vacation would not be complete without the delicious local cuisine of sunny Aruba.

Being the ultimate vacation planner, my dad made advance dinner reservations for our entire seven night stay. If you've ever been to Aruba over Christmas time you know that it's the scene to be seen, which isn't necessarily a good thing, in my opinion. But it also means that every restaurant in the city from the most elaborate to the dilapidated shack on the corner is booked solid. Luckily my dad took the lead and looked into some of the best restaurants on the island. Now being a seasoned Aruban vacationer (2nd year in), our family is determined to try out restaurants we never have before. Though I have a feeling we'll cover them all after this year (wink, wink). Throughout the week I'll be posting the tastiest and most repulsive food Aruba has to offer.

Our first stop on the trip, after hitting the beach, was an decorated Carribean seafood restaurant called Driftwood. Favored by the locals, Driftwood attracts a diverse crowd and caters to seafood lovers. Though Driftwood has a limited menu, it offers a few key seafood options prepared in either a garlic or creole sauce, blackened, grilled, or deep fried. Rumor has it that the catch of the day is the fish caught by the owner of the restaurant. We can't know this for sure, but whatever they happened to catch yesterday was good in our book!

Though Driftwoods interior is best described as kitchy, its food is both authentic and satisfying after a long day of traveling. And after waiting many months for this vacation, I was ready to eat and I think the rest of our group was too. Being known for their locally caught seafood, that is just what most of us ordered. Our group of seven ordered the following:


Garlic Bread Green Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing

Seafood Chowder Crabcake

Grilled Shrimp with Garlic Sauce The Driftwood Special

Land & Sea Kebab Wahu with Creole Sauce

Overall the steak was probably the best Driftwood had to offer. I ordered the Driftwood Special which included a 4 oz filet with mushroom sauce and a lobster tail. The filet was perfectly cooked and suprisingly delicious, considering I don't usually order steak. The lobster, though nicely flavored, was a bit overcooked which was disappointing. The shrimp was also cooked and seasoned very well and was accompanied by a tasty garlic sauce which complimented the shrimp and mixed vegetables. Apparently the Catch of the Day (Wahu) cooked in Creole sauce was mouthwatering.