Patrick's

 

     Years ago, Day and I went to Grenada for vacation. I am not sure what made us pick Grenada, but as it turned out, it is still one of my favorite Caribbean islands. Grenadians love Americans, given our help in the 80's, the dollar is strong and widely excepted. Grenada is also mostly unchanged by tourism, the main town of St. George's is beautiful, beaches are beautiful and the diving was spectacular. Grenada is home to the largest shipwreck in the Caribbean, the Bianca C, a 600 ft. ocean liner. If beaches and diving are not for you, the whole center of the island is a jungle, and there is plenty to explore there. There are fantastic rum tours and spice tours, and as it turns out, Grenada is the spice capitol of the Caribbean and there is plenty to learn about cocoa, nutmeg and other spices. So, there is something for everyone. What was a little disappointing, was the food. 

     Whatever restaurant Day and I went to, it seemed they were catering to Europeans and Americans, and were not doing a great job of it. Day and I are pretty adventurous eaters, and when we travel, we want local food. Several cab drivers mentioned the same place, Patrick's for local cuisine , so we called, and made reservations for later that week.

     For the next couple of days, Day and I would meet people, and get chatty, they all had the same complaints, they were looking for local food. The first couple, Day recognized from our flight, and struck up a conversation, by the end, we had invited them to join us at Patrick's later that week. The same had happened with two more couples, an English couple, a Japanese couple and the Americans from our flight. We invited all of them, never thinking they would show.

     The night to go to Patrick's had come, we had called for a cab, he showed up and knew exactly where Patrick's was. After a ten minute cab ride, we pulled up to a house, the cabbie assured us we were at the right place, and we proceeded to knock on the front porch door. A heavy set Grenadian woman, wearing an apron and a big smile opened the door, and motioned us to come in and sit at one of the two large tables. It appeared the restaurant was this lady's house, she cooks out of her kitchen and the dinning area is her front porch. It's small, maybe only 10 or 15 people could be seated at any one time, and as we sat, one of the couples we invited came in. The proprietor took our drink order, and we chatted with the first couple while the two other couples made their way to our table. As we all made introductions and small talk, I thought to myself, how cool it was that four couples who had never met before, are now sitting together having dinner, after the three impromptu invites Day and I had made.

     We were offered no menus, only a choice of drinks, and shortly after being seated, plate after plate of local dishes came out. This wonderful lady must have brought out 20 or more dishes, from rabbit stew to fried flying fish. We picked from each plate, sampling all the local flavors, and I believe it was this dinning experience, that changed me forever.
     Chatting with strangers, and inviting them to dinner. Taking the time to get to know them, however short that time might be. My time here is short and vacations are shorter, seize the moment because we my not get another chance. Certainly, I did not like all the food, but I did try everything, and I was excited to try everything. Over the years I have become very adventurous with food, and love trying all the local cuisine.

     The dinning experience in Grenada is a story I often tell, and was the most memorable part of our vacation to Grenada and one of those moments that shape you and define you.