dining

Yep, those are whole aji chombo peppers and a bunch of garlic in the oil

The food at the Antillean Fair

by Eric Jackson

It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

This year it was tougher than ever, because the Antillean Fair had more food and beverage vendors than ever. There was never any question of sampling everything on offer.

Among the fried fish stands, the one with the aji chombo peppers floating in the oil stood out, and the crisp, spicy result, with a bit of coconut and guandu rice on the side, did not disappoint. And what would I want to wash it down? Some fresh-squeezed orange juice did nicely.

I had no fever, so I didn't try the fever grass tea. The saril --- the red stuff in the tank next to the herbal cure --- was pretty good, though

This, however, was a sunny afternoon's adventure and just one cup of orange juice would not keep me hydrated, and besides, I had more food yet to taste and wash down. I did a couple of versions of saril, one that seemed like the tea made by boiling the petals of that variety of hibiscus and a bit of sugar only, the other with a hint of allspice. I didn't find either version heavily laced with ginger as I usually make it.

Codfish cakes, or torrejas de bacalao in Spanish

I tried a couple of different versions of deep fried codfish cakes, and they were comparable. The available condiment in each case was yellow hot sauce. At home I like to dip these things in some of the mango chutney that I put up most years, and that's probably not all that strange a mix of ethnic cuisines given how strong an influence people with roots to the Indian subcontinent have made on the cultures of such former British colonies as Trinidad-Tobago and Guyana. Panama's Hindu community also first established itself by way of the Caribbean, even if its roots go back mainly to Gujarat and Sindh, now states in India and Pakistan respectively.

Oooh, they had home made ginger beer. This was not the bubbly variety that you make with a concentrated syrup mixed with soda water, or the other bubbly variety made by fermentation and bottling while the gases are still in it. It was fiery, sweet stuff --- very good.

Now, which of the many versions of souse to try? I tried the one that seemed to have more flecks of red. Not much meat on these pigs' feet, and I'd have done the cucumbers a bit thicker, but then the stuff that I make and call souse uses hocks instead of feet so it really isn't the "authentic" thing. This version worked.

Jamaican-style curried chicken? Ah, yes. This is another South Asian influence on the Afro-Caribbean culture, and although Jamaican cuisine can be quite spicy, the curries are usually relatively mild compared to some of their Asiatic cousins. This one was mild, and quite good as well.

From here on out, it was liquids only. Besides, the show was about to start on stage so that was enough excuse to hang up my food reporter hat for the day. That meant not trying the buns, or the ackee, or the oxtail and pig tail stew, or the patties (spicy Jamaican empanadas), or the isinglass, or the.... You get the picture.

There are a few Caribbean restaurants around the capital, some in the Panamanian regional Bocas del Toro style, a few more specifically Antillean. It's been too long since I have prowled the streets of Colon in search of the good West Indian food, but surely the Atlantic side's purveyors of that cuisine haven't all gone away.

I generally get my Caribbean food fix by making it myself, but the food vendors are one of the important reasons why I make it to the Antillean Fair every year.

Those Jamaican buns looked yummy --- but no room in the tummy and a camera

that I didn't want to mix with sticky stuff by putting a bun in the bag. Oh well....

Also in this section:
The food at the Antillean Fair
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