Previous
Island of soups
DINING & ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE - JAN 2003
EDITOR'S NOTE: Some restaurants have closed.
Island of soups
Vichyssoise to chowder
There are many kinds of soup in the world: hot soups such as conch chowder from The Bahamas, ice cold soups such as gazpacho from Spain, and soups served either hot or cold, such as vichyssoise - the leek and potato delight made with fresh cream that originated in the United States, not France as most people think. (The creator, however, was a chef from the Bourbonnais, says Larousse Gastronomique, a bit defensively).
Most of the world's great soups are available on New Providence, whether they originated in Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North and South America or Europe. There's a nice version of leek and potato soup, for example, served hot with garlic croutons, at BBQ Beach at Sandyport, where you can dine alfresco, watching the sun go down on the incomparable Bahamian sea.
Clear or thick
There are clear soups, such as consomme laced with sherry, and thick ones, such as Hungarian goulash soup, in which potatoes, tomatoes and onions swim with tender chunks of beef in a paprika broth - a meal cherished in Vienna, incidentally. You can get a big bowl of Hungarian goulash at the Europe Restaurant & Bar at the Ocean Spray hotel on West Bay St. Some fanciers of the delicacy say that Europe's French onion soup
is unmatched.
Others argue that you haven't had the best until you've tried the baked onion gratinee at the Blue Lagoon Seafood Restaurant & Grill Terrace, the upscale restaurant at Club Land'or, on Paradise Island. You decide, they're both excellent.
Noble bouillabaisse
And then there's bouillabaisse. So impressed was he by this soup that William Makepeace Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair, wrote a ballad to it, singing: "Bouillabaisse a noble dish is - a sort of soup, or broth, or brew... "
For bouillabaisse, soup lovers owe thanks to fishermen in Provence, who cooked the first crude version in cauldrons set up on the beaches around Marseilles. Originally, it was a "a sort of soup" made up of all the fish that would not sell at market that day - mullet, rockfish and scorpion fish, for example. Les Pecheurs also chucked in small crabs, mussels, and just about anything else that was fishy and edible, and seasoned it with olive oil, pepper and dried orange peels.
Snooty chefs in Paris refined the dish, adding saffron and expensive items, such as lobster and booze. The number of versions is now legion, including one from Chez Willie (see recipe), served as dinner ($85 for two, including vegetables and potato).
While it is not on the menu, you can call a day or two in advance and order a superb bouillabaisse at upscale restaurants such as Graycliff on West Hill St, opposite Government House, and Sun and... on Lakeview Dr just off Shirley St, both specialists in French haute cuisine.
Out west, The Poop Deck at Sandyport serves a delicious Bahamianized version of bouillabaisse that includes seared snapper, mussels and scallops in a broth flavoured with fennel and saffron.
Ethnic soups
Looking for an Italian minestrone, a Chinese hot and sour, a Japanese miso, a spicy Indian/British mulligatawny? They're all available in Nassau and Paradise Island, which hosts scores of ethnic restaurants.
For a fine minestrone, visit Cafe Matisse, an elegant Italian restaurant on Bank Ln, just off Bay St. Matisse also serves a tasty leek and chickpea soup, which you can sample in the open-air courtyard, or inside a historic home, amid prints of paintings by the legendary artist.
Double Dragon, with three locations in Nassau, also offers a choice of classic Chinese soups, such as won ton, mushroom egg drop, velvet corn & chicken and hot & sour.
Another favourite of haute cuisine fans is bisque, a soup that is thought to have originated on the Spanish side of the Bay of Biscay. It's a complicated recipe with several steps, the main ingredient of which is a seasoned puree of shellfish, usually lobster or crab nowadays, but originally made with freshwater crayfish.
Traditionally, the shells are cooked separately and then pounded and ground up with rice and other ingredients to flavour the puree. To make soup, white wine, cream and mirepoix (a prepared seasoning of diced vegetables) are added to the bisque along with cayenne.
There is a renowned lobster bisque with a hint of lemongrass at the Five Twins restaurant at Atlantis. The chef splashes in aged Armagnac, instead of the usual cognac, for a subtle, heady flavour. Sun and... also serves an exquisite lobster bisque.
Columbus Tavern, in the Paradise Harbour Club & Marina on Paradise Island Drive, makes a tasty shrimp bisque, but it's served as a soup de jour. If bisque isn't on the menu on the day you visit, console yourself with a bowl of delicious conch chowder and enjoy a spectacular view of all the action in Nassau Harbour
Down-home Bahamian
Chowder is usually thought to be a North American invention but some lexicologists think the name comes from chaudree, a thick soup from Charentes, France, or chaudiere, the French word for cooking pot.
Except for restaurants that feature strictly ethnic food, (including Greek, Italian, Australian, French, Chinese, Japanese, British, Mexican, Thai and Indian - see the restaurant listings starting on pg 79), almost any restaurant that serves soup will also serve conch chowder, a national favourite.
One recipe calls for a base of chicken broth, another for little white wine, another for tomatoes, and the variations go on. At the British Colonial Hilton, they add vegetables and lace it with sherry, which you can enjoy alfresco at the Patio Grille & Poolbar, with a fine view of the majestic cruise ships lined up at nearby Prince George Wharf.
For conch chowder made the traditional way, take a cab out of the downtown area to Nassau St, and the Shoal Restaurant. Owner Ruth Glinton serves gallons of her down-home version to Bahamians and visitors alike. The conch chowder at Cafe Johnny Canoe at Cable Beach is another favourite among locals and visitors.
Also famous for their versions of conch chowder are Travellers' Rest and Compass Point Restaurant out west, Crocodile's Waterfront Bar & Grill on Nassau Harbour, and Anthony's Caribbean Bar & Grill on Paradise Island. The new Reggae Cafe at Cable Beach serves a "souped up" version, containing lobster, shrimp, conch and grouper.
Wild about souse
Another soup Bahamians are wild about is souse, a marinade of meat, celery, potatoes and other vegetables, dominated by allspice. In two of the more common souses, the meat is pig feet or sheep tongue. The squeamish may wish to forego these delights in favour of the tamer chicken souse. Most often, souse is served for breakfast. It is one of the healthiest of the popular Bahamian dishes.
Seafood bouillabaisse
(from Chez Willie)
(serves 8)
24 oz lobster
16 shrimp
8 oz grouper, sliced lengthwise
4-1/2 oz scallops, sliced
1/2 lb mussels
White wine, Pernod (to taste)
Pinch of saffron, chopped parsley, salt and white pepper
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced leeks
1/2 cup diced celery
Combine all ingredients in a skillet with two qts water. Heat mixture until it has the bright yellow colour of saffron.
Conch chowder
(from The Shoal)
(serves 6)
6 conch, tenderized with a mallet and finely chopped
3 green peppers, diced
1 head celery, chopped
3 onions, diced
3 potatoes, chopped
Pinch of salt, Accent, thyme and
tomato paste
Combine first five ingredients in two qts of water. Bring to a boil and cook about 30 mins. Add more water if required. Add salt, Accent and thyme to taste. Add tomato paste for colour.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-Mail: Click here
Internet: https://
Disclaimer:
Information in editorial and listings is subject to change at any time.