Secrets of Nassau: Arawak Cay

So what do you do in Nassau when you've been there so many times, you've got the stores memorized? You find something new and different to do. On a recent cruise visit, we explored Arawak Cay, better known to the locals as "Fish Fry". It's an area that has lots of small food and drink shacks, as well as a couple of restaurants. Of course they feature some great local delicacies including lobster and conch dishes. If you've never tried conch, this is the place to do it. Conch is a type of mollusk like a clam or oyster, and live in a beautiful shell that you can find plenty of on the beaches in the Bahamas. It is a tough, leathery meat, so to eat it, it has to be tenderized. You'll hear lots of pounding going on as the cooks beat the conch meat with a mallet to flatten it and break down the sinewy texture. It can then be fried, and usually served as a steak or sandwich. Other popular conch dishes include conch fritters, conch ceviche and conch salad. Fritters are tasty little fried balls of dough which include minced up bites of conch, and are served with a roumalade for dipping. Ceviche is a Spanish dish that literally "cooks" the raw conch in lime juice. It contains diced up bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and spices and is usually served with crackers. Conch salad is similar, with the addition of extra ingredients like cucumber and celery. Arawak Cay is easy to find. From the downtown area, head toward Cable Beach. It's about a 30 minute walk from the cruise ship terminal. Be sure and take your swim suit and a beach towel. There's a decent beach area nearby. As a bonus, look for some sea glass that washes up in the small surf, and take it home and make jewelry out of it. If you go, let us know how you like it!

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