Are you entertaining friends and family members over the holidays?
I have four fun ideas for you, two today, two tomorrow….
Dinner at Fred’s: Friday night found me and a number of friends at Fred’s, on the second floor above Que Pasa. Fred was the partner at 2Fools & a Bull cooking studio on Palm Beach. He retired his foolish status in favor of vacation, at the end of which he went back to work, putting together a chef owned signature eatery, by the name of Fred’s. He built everything himself, including a complete kitchen and a large U shaped dining table. At the end of construction, he framed his stained and tattered work-shorts, and put on the apron. He’s been open for a few months, and he reports gaining popularity momentum. Our party enjoyed impeccable cuisine starting with a lovely trio of appetizers, Tuna Tataki, Seared Tuna and an off-the-chart, home-smoked salmon with a sweet mustard sauce. Nit normal excellent!! Then a light, delicious wonton soup, and Tournedos Rossini, a classic, created by some French master chefs in the late 18th, or early 19th century, serving pan-fried-in-butter filet mignon, topped with a generous slice of foie gas, swimming in a truffle and Madeira wine sauce. Words cannot describe this sinful creation. Tommie, the dining room front man complements the five-star cooking with five-star service.
A new family Day Trip, Experience San Nicolas: The experience includes a number of stops at the various Art Fair murals, a visit at Cosecha, the Museum of Industry, Espacio Azul and O’Neil’s Caribbean Kitchen, as an option. We went to Cosecha this week. It’s a lovely art gallery, in the middle of Main Street, San Nicolas. Joanne Dirksz, the director told us that Cosecha will be hosting some Christmas Ornament workshops for kids in the upcoming days, and that the foundation will be pleased to host you and your guests for an art session, under the direction of beautiful, driftwood artist Maria Onni. The recently opened Industrial Museum is an interesting stop, located in the fully restored water tower. I met the Ana Maria Lombardi Perez of Espacio Azul at the Aruba Fashion Week tradeshow. She exhibited some Artesana Wayuu bags, also available in the San Nicolas gallery. Lunch at O’Neil, Caribbean Kitchen was tasty, they are closed on Monday but otherwise open every day from 11am to 8pm, offering local and Caribbean cuisine, good to the last bite. O’Neil was the chef at Jamaica Mi Krazy, and continues the soul food legacy on his own, at the former Promenade restaurant. The décor is the same, just as previous owner Peter Dorrer left it. But the food is authentic and totally reasonably priced. We had Curry Chicken Rotie, and Garlic Shrimp. The Rotie chicken was perfectly seasoned and the garlic shrimp were fresh! Nice attentive service, by helpful dining room staff. I will be back for the Caribbean Island Guava Roast Chicken!