You can't find a view like this in New York!
I'm writing this post to tell you about the food in Bermuda, not the amazing views. Bermuda really does not have much of its own cuisine. Most of its food is English, American and Caribbean in origin. All of which you can get here in the States. However, there are two food items and a drink that I want to mention. The two dishes we both tried were fried Conch fritters and Bermuda fish chowder soup. We were going to have the Wahoo fish but the restaurant didn't have any available at that time. Bermuda is known for its rum. The popular drink in Bermuda is the swizzle. But first, the fried Conch.
The fried Conch is the meat inside a sea shell. Below is a photo of the Conch Shell.
I wouldn't particularly eat Conch because the texture is like a clam, which I'm not fond of. But since we ordered fried Conch fritters I just couldn't resist. The fritters were shaped like balls and breaded on the outside. The Conch meat was minced, had carrots and maybe potato. The fritters came with lemon and a very delightful tartar sauce. My wife doesn't like tartar sauce but she liked this one. See the fried Conch fritters below.
The Bermuda fish chowder was surprisingly good. I thought the soup was going to be very fishy and creamy. When I tried it, the soup was not fishy or creamy at all. Actually there was tomato sauce in the soup which gave it a rich red color. The texture of the soup was not watery, it had some thickness. There was definitely fish stock used in the soup. The fish was very tender as it seemed like the fish had been cooking for a long time. The soup contained Grouper, Wahoo, Halibut and Hake which were shredded and reminded me of shredded pork. You may also add a sherry pepper sauce and black rum which makes the soup taste a little more bitter. My wife preferred the soup without the sauces. See the Bermuda fish chowder below.
Bermuda is known for its rum. But there is one drink in particular that is very popular on the Island and considered its national drink. The Bermuda Rum Swizzle is a great tasting drink even if you are not a real rum drinker. Depending on where you get the swizzle, the recipes can change slightly. We had one which contained pineapple, mango, lemon, angostura, orange juice and black rum. The drink had a thickness to it, which most likely came from the mango juice. We were still able to taste the rum but there was so much flavor from the other fruits that it made the drink delightful.
Bermuda is not known for its own cuisine but it was nice to taste some different foods and have a drink that you really don't see very often. If you ever go to Bermuda, make sure to have a Bermuda Rum Swizzle and eat some of its enjoyable dishes!
David John Oliva
