Umbrella's- Review

Lighthouse Burger- 6oz patty, pineapple, bbq sauce.

Details:

-Cuisines: American- Burgers Chicken Wings, Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, Fish N Chips, Cocktails
-Location: Grand Anse Beach (From SGU take Grand Anse bus. Stop at pavilion (the stop after IGA). walk towards beach and turn right. Umbrellas will be on your right. Walking: walk towards beach from soccer field in front of IGA past lifeguard tower. Turn left and walk about one block up.  You will see wooden tables and umbrellas to your left).
-Hours: Tu-Th 12pm-9pm; Fr-Sa 12pm-10pm; Su 12pm-8pm
Delivery: Weekdays 11:30am-8:30pm ; Fr & Sa 11:30am-9:30pm; Su 11:30=7:30pm
-Phone: (473) 439-9149
-Price Range: $

-Attire- casual

-seating and Bar available

-Click here for their Menu

Virgin Pina Colada.

OMG BBQ Maco Ribs.  The best meat I've tasted on the island.  They sure know how to cook their ribs. I dream about then day and night.

Catch of the Day Sandwich

Catch of the day fish on top on caesar salad.  I'd suggest asking for dressing on side you regulate amount.

Nachoes. Delicious, But I must warn you that they don't have traditional tortilla chips.  Instead, imitation Dorito like chips hahaha. Delicious cheese, Delicious jalapenos, delicious salsa.

Sweet potato fries.

Carriacou Fish Bites

To sum my experience up at Umbrella's-- great atmosphere, perfect location on the Grand Anse beach front, great prices, and great tasting food.  I went here to celebrate my friend, Grace's B-day so with her B-day celebration came a big feast.  What's a B-day without a big feast right?   

It's been 7 months and I haven't had a decent burger (I have high standards... In-N-Out hahaha).  Spiceland Mall's Grill Master's burger was a complete fail for me (I don't know what kind of patty that was and the buns were like dense dinner rolls).  Rick's Cafe had a better burger, but still, it lacked the burger spark.  So far, Umbrella's is in the lead for best burger (of the three I tasted so far here in Grenada).  ***Update. I just had Banana's burger and they also have a traditional American hamburger patty and bun (I love their bun the best. it's the one with sesame seeds on top ahah).  I enjoyed it so much and along with Umbrella's burger, it's in my top 2 burgers in all Grenada.

I ordered the flip flop burger and the lighthouse burger (a regular burger + pineapple and BBQ sauce) for my studious husband back home.  Both tasted like your traditional angus burger.  I order them all the time.  Don't forget to ask them how you want your burger done.

Best thing about Umbrellas is they offer delivery earlier than all the other restaurants, that normally start delivery at 6pm.  Keith, the owner, is the fastest with getting orders out.

Flip Flop Burger

I also tasted their Carriacou Love Bites- deep fried battered fish bites (MMMm), Sweet Potato Fries (MMmmm Delicious!), and  their Mocha Jumbie dessert (house made brownies topped with ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream (mMmm)).  Large portions for all. I highly suggest everything!

Mocha Jumbie for the Birthday girl

Service- On non peak weekdays, lightning speed, on weekends, expect to wait a bit longer, but for one of the busiest restaurants in Grenada, service is considered fast for me, on busy days.  Our waitress was super nice.  She knew about Grace's B-day and decided for the Dessert to be on the house. 

Tips: Nights can get pretty busy.  Try going at an earlier time.  Bring a change of clothing along with flip flops and a plastic bag just in case you want to get wet and hang out on the beach.  Also, don't forget to wear sunglasses and sunscreen as the sun can be pretty intense at times.  10EC to rent the white chairs.  You might want to wear insect repellent if you plan on eating inside (both day time and night).

The Belmont Estate (better known as The Grenada Chocolate Factory)- I got the Golden Ticket

I've been to loads of places around the island and this place ranks in my top 5 all time favourites.  How often do you come across a raw chocolate factory?  Did I mention that they're all organic and give out chocolate and hot chocolate samples?  Score!

What you will find at the estate:

• Cocoa Trees- you will have a chance to taste a cocoa bean straight from a cocoa pod.  How cool it that? The pulp surrounding the bean is super delicious and resembles the pulp of a lychee.  
• Heritage Museum-  Vintage cameras, ledgers, typewriters, paintings, jewellery.
• Cocoa processing facility- here you will watch an educational video on the processing of cocoa.  After the video, you will receive chocolate samples and hot chocolate samples (my favourite part of the tour).  After, a tour guide will guide you through the different processing stations (fermenting and drying of beans).  You will even have a chance to participate in the drying out of the beans by taking off your shoes and walking through them under the warm sun.
• Petting farm- tortoises, monkeys, goats, parrots (super super cute).  They also have a bird, Rainbow, who knows how to talk!!  This bird will make you laugh for days.  I think I lost some weight from burning calories laughing. 
• Arts and Crafts shop where you can buy cool souvenirs such as spices, clothes, decorations, jewellery. 
• Cafe and chocolate shop- they carry a variety of fruity dark chocolates such as guava, soursop, cherry, mango, and so much more.  They also have truffles and chocolate bars. 
• Restaurant- Buffet style, all you can eat. ~70EC/ person.  You have an option of omitting the soup and dessert but I don't recall the price difference.  I think it was around 40EC.   I had pumpkin soup, stewed eggplant, fried fish, stewed beef, stewed chicken, salad, and ice cream. Their juices are freshly squeezed.  Everything was amazing!!  The best local food by far.  
• Nice, energetic, outgoing workers.  Probably the best customer service I've experienced in Grenada by far. 
• A table full of local vegetables and fruit.  The tour guide will tell you the names and a few details of each.

Tips: 

*I highly suggest wearing pants to avoid being bitten by sand flies (also known as sand fleas, sand gnats, or chitras).  Every single person I know who has visited the Belmont Estate were once victims of these little punks (even if they used insect repellent).  They're found in the processing facility, and at the monkey area, ideal, damp places for the insects to thrive in. 

*Don't forget to wear sunscreen and sunglasses.  

*Don't forget to bring some money for some goodies!

*Don't forget to bring your camera!

*If you're prone to motion sickness, I highly suggest taking some pills before the bus ride (bumpy and winding).  Sitting in the front with the driver will drastically help decrease your chances of getting dizzy.  It helped me a lot!

Details:

*Getting there: From Saint George's University, take the Grand Anse bus and get off at Texaco.  Catch a #1 St. George's bus to the last stop (main bus terminal in town 2.50EC/person).  Transfer to a #6 bus to Grenville (6EC /person) and get off next to the police station (to the right of where #6 stops.. towards the parking lot full of #9 buses).  Transfer to a red bus #9 Hermitage (3EC/person) and request to be dropped off at The Belmont Estate. ~40min-1hr trip depending on traffic.


*Tour length (10EC or 4USD/ person): ~30min. view cocoa trees, processing facility-watch video, see fermenting and drying beans, see animals, sampling of chocolate and hot cocoa.  After the tour, you can walk around on your own, eat, and/or shop.  Allow 2-3hrs total for the whole trip.

*Opening Hours: Sunday to Friday 8am-4pm.

Open all public holidays except Christmas

Closed Saturdays

*Phone Number: +1 473 442 9524

*For more details, visit their website by clicking HERE.

For more pictures, please visit my album on Flickr by clicking HERE.

Rainbow the Talking Bird


what this bird can say- rainbow, the F word, polly want a cracker, happy birthday, bye. Also, it can meow like a cat and laugh hysterically.

Creamy Sausage Cabbage Pumpkin Soup

It's hard not to be able to find pumpkin (more formally known as calabasa squash) here in Grenada.  It's dirt cheap, versatile, and it's nutritious.

One day, I had left over breakfast sausage, left over cabbage, left over wonton wrappers, and a bit of cream cheese in my fridge.  I decided to have a left over party in my kitchen and slapped them all together.  Out came the creamy sausage wonton....  I fried (dipped in sweet n sour sauce) several and froze some for later use.  

Another day, I made pumpkin soup.  I wondered if there was a way to jazz up this soup and I immediately thought about the wontons I had froze from a week prior.  I decided to toss some in my pumpkin soup... an idea I was forever thankful towards my brain for thinking.  The combination was so great.  The second time around making pumpkin soup (this recipe), I didn't have wonton wrappers, but I did have all of the ingredients within. I added all of the fillings of the wontons straight into the soup.  Same great taste from when I first made it.  I hope you enjoy it! It's one of my own that I'm very proud of.

Ingredients:

5 cups water

2lbs pumpkin cubed 1''

1 tsp (or to taste)

black pepper to taste

2'' sausage or 1/3 a log

1 bunch chives chopped

3 garlic cloves

1'' slice ginger grated

1/2 cabbage chopped

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

dashes of cayenne pepper (for heat)

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp sour cream + 2 tbsp cream cheese (or just 4 tbsp sour cream)

Directions

1.  Bring water, salt, black pepper, and pumpkin up to a boil.  Once boiling, turn heat down to medium high and cover.  Cook until tender (~30min) and after, mash pumpkin. After mashed, leave heat on medium low while cooking sausage.

2.  in a heated fry pan under medium high heat, add chunks of sausage. fry until golden brown.  

2.  add ginger, garlic, and chives and cook until tender ~ 5min. be careful not to burn garlic.

3.  add cabbage, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, and cumin. Cook until tender. ~ 5min

4. add cabbage mixture into pumpkin soup plus sugar. bring to a boil ~ 5-8min. or until well incorporated.

5. turn heat off and stir in cream cheese and sour cream mixture.