tamarine

palo alto, ca

whenever we ask a local about good restaurants, they invariably include tamarine in the list. it is located just down the street from our apartment but it is always packed. last minute reservations are nearly impossible to get. we finally planned ahead enough to make reservations for dinner. we arrived on time, but they still made us wait at the bar for twenty minutes before seating us. fortunately they make excellent cocktails.

asian fusion here means that they use high quality and expensive ingredients and then throw asian sauces on them. turns out to be pretty decent fare. the shaking beef (pictured) was delicious. was it worth the price? not sure. might be good for a special occasion with a focus on cocktails. otherwise i say go to a real asian restaurant for something more reasonably priced.

bistro le clochard

curacao

website

curacao doesn't have that many fancy restaurants. remember that couple that i mentioned in the pane e vino post? well, we saw them again at pampus the following night (where i forgot to take a picture). then we saw them AGAIN at bistro le clochard on the next night! turns out, one of the guys is originally from curacao but studied hospitality abroad and had returned to take his partner to some of the best restaurants in curacao.

bistro le clochard is definitely one of the best - everyone at the resort recommended it and it's been around since the 1970s. the restaurant is located inside an old fort from the 1800s and includes includes a little outdoor ledge on the water. we sat at a corner of the ledge, where we could look up at the old fort looming above us and out into the ocean to watch ships passing the island. great romantic atmosphere, solid french cuisine, excellent wine, and great steaks.

pane e vino

curacao

link to tripadvisor

we decided to go somewhere fancy for dinner one night and the resort recommended pane e vino, which was about a half mile down the street. the resort, however, ordered us a cab because they didn't want us walking in the area at night. when we arrived, there was a security guard outside the restaurant, so the resort was probably right to order us a cab. pane e vino is located in what looks like a little yellow house. it's cozy, with only a handful of tables. for a while, there was just one other couple in the restaurant. they had ordered two glasses of champagne - looked like a good idea, so we did the same.

incredible italian food, some of the best that i've had. the chef, who is italian, came out toward the end of the meal to greet his guests and everyone showered him with compliments. first, derek and i shared a massive antipasto plate with mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted vegetables, and parmigiano cheese. my entree was seafood pasta in a rich and winey sauce. derek's entree (pictured) was intense -homemade spaghetti in a butter truffle sauce served shaved truffle and chunks of foie gras. it's like a heart attack in a bowl. a delicious, rich, and fatty heart attack.

jaanchies

westpunt, curacao

link to tripadvisor

carlos, the resort's resident tour guide, took us on a fantastic tour of the west side of the island. gorgeous beaches and incredible coves to explore. the west side of the island requires a car, which means that the beaches are less crowded and tend to have more locals. one of the stops was jaanchies, a famous restaurant that serves the local island cuisine.

i ordered the fish. derek got the beef stew (again). as you can see, my fish was served with picked vegetables, rice and beans, and buttery shrimp. the seafood was incredibly fresh and everything was delicious, especially with the spicy onion sauce that they serve on the side. jaanchie's is an open air restaurant with a garden full of tiny birds along the front of the restaurant. it's a little disconcerting to be eating so close to the birds, but you get used to the chirping.

hemingway's

curacao

website

we were getting tired of just sitting on the beach at the resort and wanted to explore more of curacao, so jenny did some online research for us and suggested the curacao seaquarium. it was only about a mile south of us, so we decided to walk. along the way, we saw several other resorts and beautiful beach areas packed with tourists. one of these areas was seaquarium beach, which apparently has a cover charge (ridiculous), but if you look like you belong (which means, if you look like a tourist), you can just walk onto the beach without anyone asking you for money. there's a few shops with beachwear, scuba gear, and a couple of restaurants.

we stopped at one with seating on the beach, hemingway's. i decided it was a great opportunity to try some dutch snacks. curacao was formerly a dutch colony and the place is full of dutch tourists. pictured is my order of bitterballen, a deep fried beef snack. i don't know where these have been all of my life. i don't understand why this delicacy has only been discovered by the dutch. it's chopped bits of beef, mixed with potato, deep fried, and served with coleslaw. awesome.

iguana cafe

willemstad, curacao

link to tripadvisor

we chose curacao for our honeymoon because it's conveniently out of the hurricane paths and we happened to be traveling during the caribbean's hurricane season. found a fantastic luxury resort (which was also fantastically expensive, but you only get one honeymoon, right?). the resort was located about a mile and a half away from the capital city, willemstad. apparently it's not safe for tourists to walk that distance (said the resort staff), but we didn't find that out until our trip was nearly over. we walked during the day, did not run into any issues, and it was nice to explore the area.

iguana cafe is on an extremely touristy stretch of the capital. it's the perfect place to sit, eat a touristy meal, drink an appropriately tropical alcoholic beverage, and watch the "famous" floating bridge float back and forth to allow ships to pass through the channel. derek ordered the "local" beef stew, which was delicious. i ordered the very touristy chicken strips, which were fried to death but still delicious. a rum punch and a pina colada rounded out our excellent lunch.