This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through a link below, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much! I only recommend products I use or believe will be something you’ll love!
Spices
Do you know that Grenada is often referred to as “The Spice Island”? Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, bay leaves, and turmeric are some of the spices that grow here. There’s a large section of Saint George’s market entirely dedicated to selling spices. It’s easy to find, just follow your nose!
If you know me, you know I love ice cream. So, it is fitting that one of the first local foods I tried was nutmeg ice cream. I was hooked! For a special treat, Tony and I would take the bus to Sugar and Spice and share a coffee frappe made with nutmeg ice cream, yum! In our early dating years, we would often share a chocolate banana shake. Here we are many years later (43 years to be exact) going on a date to share a coffee ice cream shake in Grenada. For us, it’s like a Hallmark movie moment!
Nutmeg has other valuable uses in addition to being used in cooking and ice cream. We learned from boating friends about a nutmeg pain relief spray that helps ease joint and muscle pain. We’re going to give it a try!
Grenadian Chocolate
Spices are not the only renowned product grown in Grenada. The island is also a popular chocolate destination. At the grocery stores, I noticed a variety of chocolate bar companies and flavors and thought of a fun project. “We could sample different ones each day!” Tony was happy to conduct this test of chocolate bars. During our pet-sitting stay in Grenada, we tried different brands of chocolate, chocolate bars with various amounts of dark chocolate, and some with spices or nibs or salt added. We liked almost all of them! The nutmeg or turmeric flavors were strong so smaller nibbles of those worked better than big pieces. If I had to choose a favorite, I think I’d go with The Grenada Chocolate Company “Salty-Licious”.
Speaking of The Grenada Chocolate Company, we watched a documentary to learn about cocoa and the beginning of the tree-to-bar movement. David Laurence Friedman, known by many as Mott Green, was a visionary and instrumental in helping the cocoa bean farmers increase their income. He and a couple of business partners opened a chocolate factory and started producing the first chocolate made in Grenada with Grenadian cacao.
Chocolate Factories
There are a handful of chocolate factories in Grenada now that you can visit and tour. We made it to three of them; The Grenada Chocolate Factory, Tri-Island Chocolate, and Belmont Estates. And in downtown St George, there is the Chocolate Museum which also offers education and chocolate products. We learned something new about cocoa and chocolate production at each of these places! If you are interested in this topic, here is a children’s book that was written for the Grenada Chocolate Fest 2015. Yes, they have an annual Chocolate Festival to celebrate the cocoa culture of Grenada. Maybe you want to go?
Eating Out
Of course, we ate more than just chocolate bars and nutmeg ice cream!
A popular activity for cruisers to do together is to eat. During hurricane season in Grenada, sharing a meal takes more forms than going to a restaurant. Sometimes it means sharing appetizers during a dinghy drift. Other times it might be a sunset barbeque at the beach. And a taco Tuesday aboard a cruiser’s boat always brings a crowd. For the ladies, we also had a women’s only weekly social time for Thursday morning coffee at Knife and Fork at Port Louis Marina.
One of our restaurant outings with Doug and Amy was to try their friend Colin’s new restaurant Zaboka 473 on the Carenage in St George. The food was superb and the presentation was beautiful. He’s a talented chef! His restaurant was still in the first few weeks of opening. In our opinion, he’s off to a grand start!
Many of the restaurants we visited with other cruisers were on the waterfront. Even though we all live on boats, I guess we still gravitate towards the water when we go out to eat.
Birthdays are extra special when celebrated in the islands! For my birthday, we enjoyed a delicious meal at 61 West overlooking a bay with colorful fishing boats on moorings. The food, ambiance, and company all combined to make it a wonderful 63rd birthday celebration.
When I learned it was Kitra’s birthday, I kidnapped her for a coffee visit (Coke in her case) and a chocolate croissant. Kitra and Ben on Dagger’s Down are close friends of Doug and Amy. Cruisers are good at expanding their circle of friends; now we count Kitra and Ben as our good friends also! When the café realized it was Kitra’s birthday, they got in on the action by singing Happy Birthday and giving her a piece of coconut cake and chocolate candy! It was Sweet! (literally and figuratively).
Bakeries
Speaking of sweetness, we like to frequent bakeries. At our land base in Red Wing, MN we smell the freshly baked goods from our local bakery every time we come and go from our parking lot. Here at Port Louis Marina, we had similar easy access to freshly baked goods with The Merry Bakery at the end of the road. The owner got to know us and our “usual” from our frequent stops to get a loaf of seed bread and a cinnamon roll.
Sometimes you learn about a special restaurant when chatting with other cruisers. That is how we discovered Bella Milano Bakery. One day while walking Crew on the docks, we happened to ask Deb and Hugh on SV Simplicity where they were heading that day. “We’re walking to Bella Milano, one of our favorite coffee shops!” If you ever need a recommendation on a coffee shop, ask Hugh! He has recommendations for many of the Caribbean islands. As they left, he added an important note “Go early if you want a good bakery selection”. Noted.
Our first time at Bella Milano we each ordered a treat. Their pastries are in large portions. We managed to eat it all, but I suggested, “Next time let’s share!”
I tend to be the photographer for our adventures and as a result, I’m not in many pictures. Every once in a while, I’ll ask Tony to take my picture. He makes a good effort! Like at the bakery. I happened to check the photo he took and saw his thumb in the first picture. “Can you try again?” In the second picture, he seemed very confident he captured a good shot. We both had a good belly laugh when I pointed out the angle of the photo made it look like the straw was in my mouth. “One more try?” The third one was a keeper.
Cutty Tour
Learning new things is one of the reasons we like to go on travel adventures so when we had the opportunity to join a Cutty tour, we signed up! There are many different tour operators to show visitors around Grenada. Cutty has been offering tours for years and is an expert at identifying and explaining the plants and spices as you drive around the island.
Fish
I like to eat almost any kind of fish, Tony not so much. But, when it comes to Amy and Doug’s fish tacos, made with mahi mahi, he could eat those every day! If you want to make them, here’s Amy’s recipe:
Sauce: 1 cup mayo, 1 Tbls Siracha sauce, 1 Tsp taco seasoning
Fish Seasoning: 1 tsp paprika, ¼ tsp cayenne (or to taste), 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp garlic salt/powder, ½ tsp onion salt/powder, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp black pepper
Fish: we like mahi mahi, but you can try other types of fish
Rinse the fish, pat dry, let it come to room temperature
Lightly coat the fish with olive oil, and sprinkle with fish seasoning
Cook Med (400) for 2-3 min per side until flaky depending on the thickness of the fish
Possible Toppings: Mozzarella or cheddar grated cheese, onion, cabbage and/or lettuce, tomatoes
Tortillas: lightly spread olive oil on flour tortillas and heat in a pan.
Build your taco and enjoy!
Where To Get Fish?
To purchase fish, you have options. There’s the fish market downtown, you can find fish for sale at a farmer’s market (like the one at Port Louis Marina), or you may find a fisherman selling fish right from his boat at a streetside dock.
Grenada Foods, Spices, Chocolates
Did all this talk about our various food-related highlights on this trip make you hungry? While working on this blog post, I’ve needed to stop a few times for a snack break. We’re almost out of the Grenada chocolate bars we brought back with us!
We packed a bunch of spices and chocolate in a backpack as souvenirs when we came home. Now when I open the backpack, I smell the Grenada spice market and chocolate factories! Eventually, our backpack will air out, but for now, I’m enjoying the aromatic reminder of our trip to Grenada.
Wonderful recap of food! Grenada certainly keeps you wanting more! Especially chocolate and nutmeg ice cream! Love it!
We ate well in Grenada! And we enjoyed lots of social time with friends like you and Ben while eating good food; local and personal recipes. Your banana bread was the best we had while in the Caribbean (even compared to local bakeries).
It all sounds yummy…and a pleasure for the senses! Love reading about your adventures and new friends, keep em comin, Julie! Hugs, s
It’s interesting how often food is a reminder or connection to a particular place or friendship. With you and Don, we think of your yummy Oatcakes and Buckwheat pancakes.