Sandals Grande Antigua - The Food

We did not make it to every restaurant. We missed out on Mario's (Italian) and Bella Napoli (Pizza) and OK Corral (Tex-mex, we figured we get enough of that here in OKC.)

Since we are Sandals Select (you get to that level on your second trip) we always get a sweet treat in our room. Since we were concierge level, we also got our fridge stocked with Carib, Wadadidli (the Antiguan beer) wine, mixers, and alcohol. Concierge level is great because there is a lounge staffed with people to take care of anything. Leon was awesome! He said the local rum was fantastic but it wasn't in our room. He offered to go to the store and buy a bottle and bring it to us. We gave him a $20 usd at 6pm and the next morning at 7am he was knocking on our door with our change and the bottle of rum. (That was a tiny bit too early but I was still real happy to bring that bottle home.) 

The drinks were fantastic and the bartenders were all so friendly. Lauren was on an internship from the UK and she was one our favorites.

This is called a Reggae Top and its delicious. I like to call this type of drink a pool drink because you drink it while you're in the pool. I also had purple rain (so so good), blue hawaiian (also relish) and the miami vice. 

Soy was the sushi place and it was phenomenal. It was closed a few nights but we went as much as we could. We would like to recommend that the resort order some top shelf sake for an extra charge. We would drink that up in half a second!

Kimonos was good food and good entertainment. The chef put on a great show for us.

Eleanor's was caribbean and required reservations. It was also the only restaurant where Blue had to dress up some. We both loved the lobster and the crab cakes. I did my best to stay away from the desserts.

Not on the website is the hot dog cart. It's a brilliant idea! The hot dog cart was next to the pool for easy snacking and lunching. They also had a popcorn machine at the pool. 

We discovered late in the trip (our last night) that Bayside was a French restaurant. We love French food and the food didn't disappoint. Sadly the customer service flopped here. We requested a specific bottle of wine, which was for an extra charge. The staff kept saying that the wine was coming but we found out later on that it wasn't because they didn't have that bottle. It took them 40 minutes to fess up to that oops. They even set our appetizer down with out giving us the option to select a different bottle. Eventually we did select a different bottle and it was good. We told Sean, the food and beverage director and he's worked there for 20 years, and he took the bottle off our room charges. Thanks Sean! We really appreciated that!

The Sandals Select dinner was spectacular. We all enjoyed prawns and rack of lamb, buffalo mozzarella cheese salad, and chocolate beet cake (the cake was good!)

The farewell party was stuffed with desserts and food. I did have a few bites of dessert! Oh so heavenly!

The last day we had lunch at Bayside and it was delicious. I love hummus and I finally ate a few fries on the last day. We also went to the courtyard bistro for some to go sandwiches. That was perfect for my dinner. We didn't land in Charlotte until 9pm. Also on our way out the door, I asked for some cold  soda pops from the concierge. They didn't have any cold but they got two warm cans cold in 10 minutes and brought them to me right before I stepped foot not he shuttle. That was the perfect going away refreshment. 

A Private Island Experience, Part II

Wednesday at Little Deadman's Cay, we had an early morning call from the host. He thought it was a good day to go snorkeling and lobstering. We didn't want to say no and agreed to meet him at the dock. 

The private island comes with this dock and two boats (plus the kayak that we used most of the time). Noel picked us up and headed out to where he planned to hunt for lobster. These critters are also called crawfish and do not have claws like Maine lobsters have. They are just as delicious and melt in your mouth. I have no pictures of the lobsters themselves because I didn't really want to get too close to them. They freaked me out a little.

Crawfish tails

Cooked fresh crawfish

We tried to snorkel on this trip and it just was not very easy. The water was moving at a fast pace and I held onto the boat and did not venture any where. Next time, we will be hiring a guide to take us kayaking because Noel does not know much about it. He's a fisherman and a landscaper besides being host to the island. That's quite typical for life on Long Island. Most everyone has two or three jobs to survive. While that seems like a lot of work, everyone I met was happy and no one complained about living on Long Island.

Thursday, we attempted another kayak trip but it was difficult and we gave up easily. This kayak has no rudder or steering mechanism. Its really difficult to head the course you want and there's lots of extra paddling. We did convince Noel to pick us up and take us to get more beer. We treated him to lunch at Max's Conch Bar. Max's has breadfruit chips, cracked conch, and a fresh conch salad that Max is very proud of. The food is delicious and the staff are friendly. Usually we hang out at the bar with Max and his wife Liz.

I have one more recap of the Private Island Experience and then I will be recapping Sandals Emerald Bay at the Exumas.