SOME BARBEQUE IN ANTIGUA

“Life is too short to eat food that doesn't taste good.”
― Alana Chernila

SOME BARBEQUE IN ANTIGUA

NELSON’S DOCKYARD (and Other Delights)

Nelson’s Dockyard is in English Harbour, Antigua.  The naval dockyard was once the home of the British fleet during the Napoleonic Wars, and served as the headquarters of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson from 1784 to 1787.  It has been restored and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Nelson’s Dockyard is also an operating marina and has hotels, shops and restaurants.  It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The cost of admission is $8 USD and includes a guided tour as well as entry to all sites including Shirley Heights and Dow's Hill. Tours do not run on Sundays.  

http://nationalparksantigua.com/visiting/nelsons-dockyard/

So, Sharon and I were spending a couple of weeks in Antigua to attend a couple graduations of nieces of our “adopted” daughter, and island girl, and to enjoy some much needed vacation.  We did not stay at one of the all inclusive resorts on the island but rented a villa in Saint Phillip’s Parish on the northeast side of the island.  We had been there before and this time, decided to do some wandering of the country by ourselves.  

We wanted to visit English Harbour and Nelson’s Dockyard and, maybe, lunch there.  Choosing a day when there were no cruise ships in port (Trust me, you don’t want to visit any tourist attraction in Antigua on a day when the cruise ships are in.) we drove there.  It is all the way on the south side of the island from where we were staying.  Driving there in our rented Honda Fit was something of an adventure in itself.  Antigua is a former British colony so you drive on the left and the roads are about in the same condition as back roads in Louisiana.  Think of a go cart race with two way traffic where a few of the go carts are larger and have the names Mack or Peterbuilt on them.

After touring the dockyard, visiting the Dockyard Museum, and marveling at the detail of the tech inspection for the boats of the 2019 Optimist Club World Championship Dinghy Race that was in process there, we were now ready for lunch.  We chose the outdoor barbeque next to the Copper & Lumber Store Hotel.  This barbeque operates for lunch from 10 AM to 2:30 PM.  It also seems to supply the barbeque portion of the menu to the restaurant in the hotel.  The menu is on a chalk board, somewhat limited, with all items the same price, $37 EC (that’s $10 US).

Sharon chose the Pork Ribs and although there were a couple of Chicken selections I ordered a Cheeseburger.    Everything comes with Coleslaw and French Fries.  My choice was not that strange because most of the barbeque you find in Antigua is chicken.  I had been eating barbequed chicken for a week and a half and was suffering from “chicken fatigue”.  (Well, there were a couple of fish and curry dishes in there too, along with a lunch of Jamaican jerked beef pasties, but mostly chicken for dinner.) Don’t get me wrong, I found nothing but good barbequed chicken in Antigua!  I even barbequed some myself at the villa and that was good also.  (I marinated it with lime juice, spices and some local rum, not to toot my own horn.)

The pork ribs were meaty, well smoked and fall-off-the-bone tender.  They were served with a slightly sweet, not too spicy, sauce that is one of the better barbeque sauces we have sampled.  I asked one of the women working the outdoor kitchen to make the fries crispy and she made them just the way my wife likes them.  Sharon was well pleased.

The cheeseburger was as good as you can get here but was made with Swiss, not American cheese.  Since Sharon is not a coleslaw fan I ended up with both servings.  This was what I call a competent coleslaw, but with an interesting dressing.  I really couldn’t identify the spices in it.  Although it was somewhat pinkish in color it was quite tasty.

Everyplace you go in Antigua from roadside stands to the restaurants in the resorts you will find barbequed chicken.  This is not surprising since the whole island is only 108 square miles and cattle, although you will see some, take up a lot of room so, most of the beef and pork is imported.  The chickens are local, a point reinforced by waking up every morning to roosters crowing if you are not staying in one of the resorts.  The other thing that isn’t surprising is that all the barbeque, whatever the meat, found there is good.  They ought to know how to do it since barbequing, as we know it, was invented by the natives in the Caribbean and taken to the rest of the world by the Spanish and the English buccaneers.  If you get to the island, enjoy!