Screaming Eagle Restaurant, Aruba

For an upscale dining experience during your stay in Aruba, you might want to try the Screaming Eagle Restaurant, which is located between the low and high-rise hotel areas. Both indoor and outdoor dining are available in this spacious location. Here’s a look at the building.

The bar is well stocked, well staffed, and well equipped to satisfy your thirst if you simply want a good drink in a funky atmosphere. And the atmosphere here is very “lounge.” That type of music plays softly, there are burning candles everywhere, and lots of gauzy fabrics hanging as seen below.

If your prefer to dine in bed, that is also available as can be seen here.

That’s not my style, but I can appreciate how some newlyweds might find it romantic or someone who wants to deepen their lifestyle groove might find it attractive. Table and chairs are my preferred dining support equipment. Whatever your choice, let’s have a look at the food. I went with the tried and true here because in Aruba I’m usually eating more downscale than this. I also think the standard dishes are a good test of a restaurant because if they don’t invest any quality in them, then I know they’re all style – no substance.

Well, things turned out fine. My wife and one friend started with the escargot, which came piping hot with delicious, creative toasts on the side. I had a shrimp cocktail, which was good and included a delicious salad beneath the shrimps. We moved on to the main course and we’re equally pleased.

My wife had the duck which she proclaimed fantastic (photo below).

One friend had the veal, also very good (photo below).

The other friend had the lamb, again, good, (yet another photo below).

And I had a sirloin as you can see here.

I like my steaks cooked medium well and here the Screaming Eagle missed the mark a little. The steak was much more medium. I never send them back, because they’ll only be dried out. For this small error I can not fault them as if the diner doesn’t really like his meat cooked there’s no going back. Still, it was fine.

Service here is about the highest quality on the island. The waiter did a thorough job without being intrusive, the captain surveyed the room and our table a few times, keeping her sharp eye on everything, and the bar staff supported the operation with fine beverages on the fly.

Prices are steep compared to what I’m used to paying on the other side of the island. But quality pays, it doesn’t cost. I would recommend this place for that special dinner out with friends and family, that time you want to treat yourself to a great meal in a unique atmosphere.

Published in: on July 23, 2008 at 10:34 am  Comments (1)  
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Renaissance Hotel, Aruba

In previous posts, we looked at a high-rise on Palm Beach, a low-rise on Eagle Beach, and now we’re going to have a glimpse of the Renaissance Hotel, which is located in downtown Oranjestaad, Aruba. The hotel fronts the main road which runs the length of the island.

On the opposite side of the road is a handsome marina where you can charter a fishing boat or go on a submarine ride to see the undersea life up close. I’ll show that in a separate post on those subjects. Here is the bar and lobby area.

I should note here that this area is a full level above the street. When you take a few steps up from here, you’ll come to the pool which has a spectacular view of the marina, out to sea, as well as the street below. Have a look for yourself.

That fellow over there is standing at a glass wall so don’t worry. No doubt he’s having a gander at the Adventure of the Seas in the distance. At night, this is a great place to watch the coming and going of both the cruise and cargo ships. This pool is very nice and worth a second photo.

The tent in the rear of the shot is used for events such as weddings, retirement parties, and so forth.

So, now I’ve posted about the various types of hotels that can be found in this part of the island. I’ll be adding some more, names you may recognize from the international brands as well as one-of-a-kind establishments. As this blog continues to grow, I’ll also add guest houses, and small joints where I used to stay before I had a house here. Hopefully, you’ll get an idea of the variety and quality that can be had here in Aruba.

Published in: on July 22, 2008 at 12:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Food From The Window

Since we’ve been working hard getting this house built (figuratively, not literally), it’s time for a snack. Just up the road from my place in Savaneta, Aruba, is a little place with no tables, no chairs, just a window in the side of a house. However, through this window passes some great locale fare. Here’s a look at the joint.

You’ll recognize the cunucu house shape from my earlier photo essays. Anyway, the guy is ordering a sandwich which is made of homemade bread baked on the premises, plus a variety of fillings from a curry-style chicken to fish to all sorts of things that I can’t pronounce. You give your order to the lady inside and she makes up your sandwich and off you go. They also make homemade donuts here as pictured below. This is not your typical dunker; this thing is massive and dense.

(I don’t know the name of this place, nor the name of the people inside, but I’ll find out one day when I slow down enough to ask instead of just grabbing a bite and hustling off.) At any rate, it’s only open in the late afternoon, early evening, probably as the bread comes out of the oven. Locals stop here, parking two and three deep sometimes along the road. They get a fix of their favorite things the way people in the US might run out for a cheeseburger.

Now that we’ve fueled up, it’s time to get back to work. The next post will show some different tiles on the roof. Don’t forget your hammer and ladder.

Published in: on July 20, 2008 at 11:59 am  Comments (2)  
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Flying Fishbone Restaurant, Aruba

So many people have asked me about the Flying Fishbone Restaurant in Savaneta, Aruba, that I’m compelled to put this post up now, especially since I took some nice photos last evening. Here’s a shot of the outside of the place, which started out as an old Cunucu house situated directly on the water.

It is easy to find this restaurant. Simply drive south from the airport until you enter Savaneta, then turn right at the S. Chow grocery store. Continue straight for about 1/4 mile to where the road splits and turn left. Follow this road for about a mile and you’ll see a sign on the right that leads you off the paved road onto a dirt one and just a hundred yards on and you’re there. You’ll see plenty of cars. Here’s a closer look at the entrance.

Everything on the menu here is good. The service is equally good. In other words, there is a reason this place is about the most popular on the island: QUALITY. Another reason is that you can have a table that is actually in the water, as in your feet are immersed in the warm Caribbean sea while you dine on all those great dishes. If you don’t believe me, take a look.

How’s that for seaside dining? And just in case you need one more reason to have a leisurely, romantic dinner, take a look at this, which is your view when Mother Nature cooperates.

 Hard to beat, eh?

Enjoy your dinner, and since I live just a few houses away, stop over for coffee or bourbon some time.

 

(Side note to some of my readers who have asked about the locations in my novel, An Island Away. Yes, most all of the locales in the book are real and as described. I did take a few liberties with one or two simply to make plot points possible. There was a scene that took place at Flying Fishbone in the original draft, but it was cut. Sorry. However, I am considering a scene for the sequel, Under A Blue Flag. We’ll see how it works out.)

Published in: on July 18, 2008 at 12:01 pm  Comments (1)  
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