Do you find it hard to figure out where to eat when on vacation?  In Trinidad and Tobago they offer such a diverse dining scene that you may not be able to distinguish between the good restaurants and the ones that aren’t worth your business.  But there is good news; here is a cheat sheet to all the great dining on the islands from the casual to the luxurious, along with tips on what it is you’re actually ordering.

 We’ll start off with Trinidad.  Trinidad is made-up of many ethnicities throughout it’s population, with cultures that range from India, Thailand, China, Spain and more, and is filled with experts on authentic cuisine from around that world.  History and the culinary often mix with each other, painting a picture of the reason why these dishes are served where they are, as it is in Trinidad.  Brought to the island from Africa ages ago, Creole food is a mix of African recipes made into dishes that are purely Trinidadian.  Dishes such as macaroni pie (a casserole of macaroni, milk, eggs, and cheese) and stews of caramelized chicken or red beans, are the most popular and authentic of Creole food in Trinidad. 

 East Indian influences are found through the island as well.  Curry is found flavoring everything from duck, to chicken, to goat.  Other favorites influenced from this region are roti (flatbread pastry stuffed with curried meat and vegetables), chokas (roasted and pounded vegetables usually served for breakfast), aloo pies (fried potato pies), barfi (coconut fudge), and ras gulla (milk balls served with sweet syrup.  The best area in Trinidad to find these dishes at their best is in the town of Debe, in the south of the island.

 Authentic Trinidadian cuisine can be found at one of the many vendors in crowded areas like Queen’s Park Savannah.  From these vendors, you can order jerk meats, homemade ice cream, Creole corn soup and more.

 Upscale dining in Trinidad can be found in many restaurants that serve dishes from around the world, such as Italian, French, Indian, Japanese, Thai and Spanish Cuisine.  Known as the “restaurant strip,” Ariapita Avenue is perfect for finding somewhere to dine, along with Woodbrook, St. Clair and around Queen’s Park Savannah.  In Queen’s Park you can fid excellent tastes of India at Apsara (“celestial dancer”), such as spicy curry, and tandoori flavored with Indian and Caribbean spices.  Inside the Coblentz Inn boutique Hotel you will find Battimamzelle Restaurant, which is one of the areas most upscale dining venues.  Here they serve up Caribbean-style cuisine with touches of European and Indian flavor and style.  Melange restaurant in Woodbrook serves international dishes like snapper risotto and other pastas.  La Grande Almandier offers authentic Creole food, with some of the freshest seafood around, with the local fishermen supplying them with the catch of the day.

 In Tobago, most of the dining gets its inspiration from the African heritage of its people.  The Creole cuisine found in Store Bay offers specialties like crab dumplings in coconut and curry sauce and pacro water (a local spicy libation) within some of the best restaurants on the island.  also in Crown Point, places like Buccoo are known for the international gourmet restaurants.  And excellent Creole cuisine set in the form of a 4-couse meal is served at the Arnos Vale Waterwheel in the Arnos Vale Hotel.

 There are also three food festivals that occur yearly on both the islands.  In Trinidad, you can go to the Taste T&T Festival, a 2-night event that brings the top restaurants and more under the same roof.  In Tobago, you can go to the Blue Food Festival in October, where cooks from the villages create dishes out of local ingredients.  And in the summer months you can go to the Tobago Heritage Festival, where they put culinary and cultural achievements on display.

 Also, many shops with serve the regular favorites, but the names don’t exactly explain what you will be eating, so here are a few definitions of local favorites:  Bake and shark is a sandwich consisting of deep-fried shark between fried dough, and is usually topped with the likes of vegetables, pineapple, ketchup, tartar sauce, spicy chutneys and more; Fruit chows are local fruits (such as plums, pineapple) cut up and mixed with lime juice, garlic, pepper and cilantro; Souse is boiled pig trotters or chicken feet, served cold in a lime, cucumber, pepper and onion broth; Chip-chip is a small shellfish (similar to clams) that is served curried or with a cocktail sauce; and Cascadura is a small freshwater fish that is usually served curried.

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