Friends and friends of friends alike (a.k.a. Strangers) are frequently asking me where they should eat when visiting the Caymans. I understand where they are coming from -- they are visiting for the first time and I have lived and worked here for over a decade or they know that I am a bon vivant and figure that I would only recommend the finest restaurants on the Island. These are safe assumptions. And generally I am happy to lend a hand, but I have been traveling a great deal recently and have been bothered with multiple calls to my cell phone. For some reason these calls always happen at the worst possible moments and I am often too rushed to give anybody a reasonable amount of attention. So, in the interests of ensuring at least one extraordinary meal on your trip, I present to you and yours my favorite restaurant in Grand Cayman: Blue
Blue at the Ritz Carlton Hotel should not be missed. Chef Eric Ripert has worked in several Michelin 3-star rated restaurants: including Le Bernardin in New York (which you will definitely hear more about when I get around to blogging on New York!)
The fish is caught and served on the same day every day and they have a formidable wine list -- which is something you really come to appreciate when you live on an island. My favorite dishes are the grilled Wahoo with passion fruit Bernaise and the Hake which is prepared with callaloo (a leafy green vegetable with a very unique flavor only found in the Caribbean), pumpkin and rum butter. My wife loves the lamb. I used to think she ordered it simply to bother me because eating anything other than fish at Blue should is criminal -- but she has had it a few times and she is not a masochist (despite what her mother told her on our wedding day) so it must be good. Blue is also legendary for their desserts. Debbie likes the rice pudding and my favorite is the chocolate tart.
For more information about Blue, visit http://www.ritzcarlton.com/resorts/grand_cayman/dining/venues/blue/menu.html