Sometimes, you don’t know what’s in store for you restaurant-wise at a popular Caribbean island destination. I mean, they’ve kind of got a captive audience, right? The award-winning Bahamian chef at Flying Fish in Grand Bahama Island takes his cuisine seriously, but not himself. Chef Tim Tibbitts doesn’t let his AAA 4 Diamond award go to his head: he brings it all in a laid-back format on “Casual Sundays”. I was happy to be hosted to experience it!
Smart ones dine outside right on the dock, to see Chef Tibbitts perform Classic Rock! With the darkened atmosphere, a few high in demand cushy sofas and ghostly white bar, this is the hottest date night in town, mark my words.
So, I was the one in “the audience” who ordered foie gras as an appetizer. Upon overhearing my selection, Chef Tibbitts was off and running with some insider foodie anecdotes about foie gras. He learned that foie gras is epitomized by the word “control”. One chef in Europe is harvesting foie gras only once a year, when geese normally binge and therefore, they don’t have to be force-fed. Tibbitts asserts “control” also applies to the presentation of the meat. On his own dish, he brings a mix of lightly sweet and savory flavors with seared foie gras, brioche crumble, caramelized mango, pineapple gastrique, pineapple mango salad.
I think it’s common to crave lighter cuisine when at a Caribbean island; the weather is warm, you’re in bathing suits half the time, you want the local fare. So, I ordered the chef’s take on a Volcano (sushi) roll: spicy crab and scallop mousse, masago, scallion, sesame. He’s not just phoning it in . . .the mousse is an original concept and adds even more flavor and heat to the freshest of seafood.
The perfect dessert in that atmosphere was “Summer Sorbet”: dragon fruit/basil, papaya/cream, guava, and lychee/lime/tarragon sorbets. These packed a real fruit punch, using local fruit! They didn’t have that flavorless icy quality that sorbets often have.
Luxe & Down-Home Cuisine/Culture/Travel/Style 