Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
price tag has led to overfishing, forcing the government to issue periodic bans on its
harvesting. In those instances, lobster is imported.
You can occasionally get good
conch stew
at a local restaurant.
Sea scallops,
though still available, have become increasingly rare.
Mussels
are cherished in Ber-
muda; one of the most popular traditional dishes is Bermuda-style mussel pie, with a
filling of papaya, onions, potatoes, bacon, curry powder, lemon juice, thyme, and, of
course, steamed mussels.
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
In restaurants and homes,
Portuguese red-bean
soup
—the culinary contribution of the Portuguese farmers who were brought to the
island to till the land—precedes many a meal.
The
Bermuda onion
figures in many recipes, including onion pie. Bermuda-
onion soup, an island favorite, is usually flavored with Outerbridge's Original Sherry
Peppers.
Bermudians grow more
potatoes
than any other vegetable; the principal varieties
are Pontiac red and Kennebec white. The traditional Sunday breakfast of codfish and
bananas cooked with potatoes is still served in some homes.
“Peas and plenty”
is a Bermudian tradition. Black-eyed peas are cooked with
onions, salt pork, and sometimes rice. Dumplings or boiled sweet potatoes may also
be added to the mix at the last minute. Another peas-and-rice dish,
Hoppin' John,
is eaten as a main dish or as a side dish with meat or poultry.
Both Bermudians and Bahamians share the tradition of
Johnny Bread,
or
Johnnycake,
a simple pan-cooked cornmeal bread. Fishermen would make it at sea
over a fire in a box filled with sand to keep the flames from spreading to the boat.
The starchy
cassava
root, once an important food on Bermuda, is now used chiefly
as an ingredient in the traditional Christmas cassava pie. Another dish with a festive
holiday connection is
sweet-potato pudding,
traditionally eaten on Guy Fawkes
Day (Nov 5).
Bermuda grows many
fresh fruits,
including strawberries, Surinam cherries,
guavas, avocados, and, of course, bananas. Guavas are made into jelly, which in turn
often goes into making the famous Bermuda syllabub, traditionally accompanied by
Johnnycake.
What to Wash It All Down With
For some 300 years,
rum
has been the drink of Bermuda. Especially popular are
Bacardi (formerly a Cuban company, their headquarters are now in Bermuda) and
Demerara rum (also known as black rum). The rum swizzle (with rum, citrus juices,
and club soda) is the most famous cocktail in Bermuda.
For decades, the true Bermudian has preferred a drink called
“Dark and
Stormy.”
Prepared with black rum and ginger beer (pronounced
burr
), it has been
called the national drink of the island.
An intriguing drink is
loquat liqueur.
It can be made with loquats (a small plum-
like local fruit), rock candy, and gin, or more elaborately with brandy instead of gin
and the addition of such spices as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
You'll find all the usual name-brand alcoholic beverages in Bermuda, but prices on
mixed drinks can run high, depending on the brand.
Like the British, Bermudians often enjoy a sociable
pub lunch.
There are several
pubs in the City of Hamilton, St. George, and elsewhere on the island. For the visi-
tor, a pub lunch—say, fish and chips or shepherd's pie, a pint or two of ale, and an
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