ALFRESCO
Alejandra Maya is the queen of the kitchen at Al Fresco. She is a personal trainer by profession and was looking for a sensible breakfast and lunch place, then she decided to open her own.
We loved her vegan falafel, made from a lentil-chickpea mash, drizzled with vegan mayo and escorted by sweet potato fries and a tasty green salad with shredded vegan cheese. The Killer Burger was a killer, a homemade veggie patty seasoned with love. We also ordered the black bean burger, it was delish!!
(Just remember to avoid big public gatherings in the afternoon, as some flatulating may occur.)
Alfresco is located in the old DeliFrance location on L.G. Smith Blvd #150, Oranjestad, Aruba, and they also have daily lunch specials, eat in or take out, from 11:30 to 2:30.
Call 734 1887, for takeout, open 7am to 9pm. Don’t go, if you are in a rush.
I understand Maestro Eduardo Maya pops in ever once in a while, especially during Friday happy hour, to provide musical entertainment. He is Alejandra’s proud dad.
As the restaurant credo says: Make your healthy lifestyle a delicious and nutritious experience, Alfresco is an innovative concept, with a mission to promote a balanced food plan.
PURA VITA
As part of its Eat Clean, Train Dirty philosophy, BODY TECH Fitness club, the new exercise shrine which opened in August 2017 on the boulevard, is now offering the Pura Vita Kitchen, inspired by healthy lifestyles.
The stylish restaurant claims it delivers portion-controlled, nutritious, tasty and clean food combinations that fit a wide variety of diets and healthy eating lifestyles…. so, we tested their credo.
We shared a pair of smoothies with apple, celery, and cucumber, with all the roughage in, too healthy for my taste… a delicious vegan chickpea and lentil curry dish, an overstuffed chicken wrap, smashed avocado & egg on toast, and aromatic, fresh fruit infused teas for the finale.
We liked all of our choices. We’ll be back.
Located on Italiestraat 40, open 7am to 9pm, for breakfast, lunch & dinner and I noticed it is a favorite hang-out place for many beautiful people, tourists too.
On a different day I tried Pura Vita’s grilled salmon with sautéed vegetable. Off the chart delicious.
BEACH FOOD Take Away
You will find a good looking Italian beach tennis and yoga star is in the kitchen. He cooks everything Sous Vide, which is French for ‘under vacuum.’ Basically, he portions his creations, seals them in plastic pouches, then cooks everything in very low temperatures, over a long period of time.
The vacuum-sealed food in plastic pouches or glass jars cooks for many hours in a steam environment; this verifies food cooked evenly, and retains all moisture and juices.
The Sous Vide is a popular trend on cooking shows and some famous high-end chefs made it even more famous, it has been around for a long time, and requires patience, but it is lean, zero added fat, 100% flavor retention.
WhatsApp your order, say Antonio, and it will be ready when you get there: Burgers, panini such as pulled pork, pulled chicken, different lasagnas – the traditional one was excellent — platters including rib eye, salmon, pulled pork or steak, baby back ribs and pastas. How about penne served with a bacon mushroom sauce with chicken?
Buon apetito!
Salina Cerca 9n, Noord, Tel.: 594 4741, open 10am to 10pm. Sometimes closed.
