Explore island cuisine in the Bahamas

I’ll be frank. This slimy-looking mollusk isn’t pretty right out of the shell, but after being bathed in lime juice and dolled up with diced onions, tomatoes and green peppers, it was suddenly incredibly appetizing. Before throwing in the notorious Bahamian goat pepper, the vendor hesitated and gave me a quizzical look. Could I handle the heat? I nodded. Bring it on.

Finally, the conch mixture was doused with lemon and orange juice. I tucked in and marveled that such a simple salad with only a handful of ingredients could have such complex flavors. It was slightly spicy, citrusy, sweet and briny all at the same time. I see why many Bahamians eat it daily.

I washed it down with coconut water. After I placed my beverage order, I was taken aback when a machete-wielding woman approached a chopping block like a medieval executioner. Bam! She opened the coconut and stuck in a straw. Can’t get any fresher than that.

I relaxed on a pink bench shaded by an umbrella and watched the world go by. Locals sporting colorful Rasta head wraps and cruise ship passengers in flip-flops and saucer-sized sunglasses strolled along the sidewalk. I lingered, enjoying the light sea breeze, long after the last sip of coconut water was gone. Ah, island time.

Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant

For conch chowder, I took a different approach. I went the fancy route, dining at Graycliff, an award-winning, five-star hotel restaurant known for its eclectic blend of Bahamian, Italian and French cuisine. Housed in a colonial mansion imbued with Old World charm, this is definitely not the kind of place where you lounge around in shorts and a T-shirt.

The cavernous wine cellar is enough to make an oenophile weep. With so many choices, how can you limit yourself to just one or two?

Live piano music trills from the lounge where guests sip rum-based cocktails. Many stop to chat with the man that rolls fat, sausagelike stogies every evening in the lobby. An on-site cigar factory is open for tours during the day.

When my first course, a cup of conch chowder, arrived, I quickly pronounced it the best I had sampled on the island. The ground conch was oh-so-tender. Something about this creamy, piquant soup was strangely familiar. I took another spoonful. It finally registered. Turtle soup in New Orleans! That’s what it reminded me of, and I soon learned why.

In New Orleans, turtle soup is finished with sherry to heighten the rich flavor. The secret to this delicious chowder is house-made sherry pepper sauce, a scorching elixir of dry sherry, Scotch bonnet chili peppers and thyme. The chef is not heavy-handed with it, though, so the chowder’s delicate flavor is not sacrificed to the heat.

I could have made a meal out of the chowder, but there was more to come, namely a tender pepper filet and grouper Dijonaise. The artful presentation was impressive, a reminder there is a difference between eating and dining.

Some consider conch an aphrodisiac. For those who do, the Graycliff has all the ingredients for romance: fine wine, soft music, candlelight and rooms with comfy four-poster beds that seem to belong on a movie set.

Bites of Nassau

The Bites of Nassau walking tour introduces foodies to a two-block concentration of eateries in historic downtown Nassau. Our first stop was Bahamian Cookin’, a restaurant that has been serving authentic island fare for 30 years. “Cookie,” the owner, promptly delivered plates of deep-fried conch fritters — think hush puppies with conch meat inside. I told myself I would only have one. After all, I had to eat my way through several more restaurants, but I couldn’t resist a second crunchy ball of Caribbean joy. Hey, it’s not like I can get conch at home.

As we strolled from one gastronomic delight to the next, our young, energetic guide pointed out the towering statue of Christopher Columbus in front of the flamingo-pink Government House, the famous Queen’s Staircase carved from limestone in the 18th century and many other points of interest. I signed up for a food tour and got a bonus — an abbreviated history tour conducted by a young man with a charming island lilt.

The Genuinely Bahamian Boutique on Davis Street sells locally made products that showcase regional ingredients, including a variety of exotic jellies and jams that can not only be spread on toast, but used in cooking. We sampled tart pineapple jam, sweet guava rum butter jelly and spicy bird pepper jelly.

Tamarind rum jam was a surprise. I had no idea tamarind, a fruit with pods that produce a sticky brown pulp, grew in the region. It’s common in Asian cooking, often used in meat and seafood dishes, and Bahamians use it in much the same way.

A few brave souls tried a variety of hot sauces, including Eleuthera steamy mango. Our guide called the sauce a “naughty child” because it seems sweet on the surface but burns you as soon as you let your guard down.

Apparently, some enjoy a good tongue-scalding because several Bahamian food enthusiasts bought bottles to take home.

The Tortuga Rum Cake Co. was the grand finale to our culinary journey. Rum is as ubiquitous as conch in Nassau, and it has a long and storied history that involves swilling buccaneers and bootleggers, but today, the spirit has more refined uses.

Notes of caramel and vanilla are brought out during rum’s aging process, flavors that complement desserts, so these cakes are liberally glazed with Tortuga Gold.

The moist treats are available in six flavors: banana, chocolate, coconut, key lime, pineapple and golden original, which is what we were offered. Sealed in Tortuga’s signature octagon-shaped boxes, the vacuum-packed cakes are a popular island souvenir.

I wished that conch could be transported as easily as these boozy confections. I would miss all the conch-infused delights of the island when I returned to my landlocked home.

Here’s what I learned in Nassau. To fully appreciate Bahamian food, you have to come out of your shell.

IF YOU GO

Stay

Atlantis. 1 Casino Drive, Paradise Island, Bahamas, 888-877-7525, atlantisbahamas.com

Eat

Graycliff Restaurant. In addition to the restaurant, this colonial mansion features 20 guest rooms and a pool cottage, elegant gardens, a chocolate store stocked with house-made confections and a cigar factory. 8-12 W. Hill St., Nassau, Bahamas, 242-302-9150, graycliff.com

Activities

Tru Bahamian Food Tours conducts Bites of Nassau, a culinary journey through Old Nassau. trubahamianfoodtours.com