Hello everyone. I'm breaking my lurking ways to ask a favor as we begin our T minus 30 day countdown to the next Bonaire visit.

We will be on-island Dec. 17 to the end of year. It seems like a lot of changes have happened in the restaurants on Bonaire since we visited last year over the Christmas holidays. I hope you'll be able to help us plan our culinary fun. We prefer to go out and enjoy the local restaurants as much as we can while on Bonaire, and so any update on new/good changes since last December will be appreciated.

Looking back, last year at dinner we enjoyed

Lighthouse 3 times (close to our accommodations at the Sand$, very yummy, but no longer...?) Have they reopened somewhere else?

Rumrunners at Cap'n Dons 2X; good quality food and service, easy for fall back when we forgot to make reservations elsewhere but dinners were not especially memorable (except during the power failure when we had grill-able food only by candlelight!)

Mangos 2X; good food, especially very accessible local specialities (Kabrito Stoba, Keshi Yena and funchi); casual but friendly service.

Note: Clearly we were staying in the neighborhood at night, I guess that happens when you get old...

Chibi once (but mozzies were bad during the wind inversion)

rifstaffel (sp?) and shrimp chips were excellent at Old Island while we waited for our pal Chris to arrive [Rog W 30 days to go! _8^) ]

Croccatino was good but more mosquito bites under the tablecloth (note to self: bring a pair of long pants!)

On the other hand, based on my (now fuzzy) memory of a combination of food quality/experience value

Lion's Den...pass

La Balandra @ Harbour Village...pass

We also had great service from antilleanwine.com. I emailed ahead for a couple of cases (we were there for two weeks after all) and they had everything in stock and brought it by the condo on Christmas eve. NB, they like $USD cash so figure out how much you'll need for them before leaving home. It seems like they must serve the restaurants as well, since my selections were present on all the wine lists we saw.

Since I never got around to writing a trip report last year, if I can get some recommendations from the community I'll be sure to write one this year.

You have to try le bistro de paris. Great food, service and value. Stop at the shop (chat n browse) and I will give you a card for a complimentary glass of wine with dinner. Michael ps rack of lamb is to die for!!

Ah, we'll be getting there at the same time. Last time we were there we had a FANTASTIC meal at Mona Lisa.

Kelly

Mark, if you haven't eaten Gibis food I feel sorry for you.

Also try It Rains Fishes; Pasa Bon; Casablanca; La Luna. Be adventurous and go into town ;-)

Mara

Hmmm. I found dinner at It Rains Fishes to be OK but uninspiring, and the service was quite a bit below average. Service at the restaurant at Divi's (don't recall the name) varied from excellent to pitiful, although the food was good.

Dinner and service at (turtle something or other?) at The Plaza also wasn't very memorable.

I liked Pasa Bon Pizza (had the pasta) and Casablanca, and Bobbi Jan's as well. Croccantino's was too noisy with all the road traffic on Kaya Grandi, but the food was good. Note: if you get the "mixed grill" at Casablanca, don't plan on dessert (you won't have room). Never *did* find Maikey Snack.

Got the most personalized service at Swiss Chalet, very friendly folks! They managed to stuff me full with a Farmer's Pie, if memory serves. Thankfully I don't understand the letters D-I-E-T 'cos I'd have blown it that evening! I was fighting to keep my weight UP with all of the added exercise, and they sure helped! Mmmmmmmm. They had other selections for those of you that worry about figures, but I was going for the heavier stuff to Fill Me Up.

And of course, I highly recommend a Tuesday at Gibi's home. Thanks a bunch, Gibi & Emma! My two favorites were the Goat Stew and the Conch.

I had dinner at Bongo's the first couple of nights 'cos I still had aching sinuses from the flights. Good food, excellent service, filling, just everything a growing boy needs.

(One of these days, the idiot airlines need to install HUMIDIFIERS in the freakin' airplanes! I had severe sinusitus after the flight out, and an ugly case of flu after the flight back, still ongoing. Humidity helps protect you from airborne disease, folks... it's a proven fact. That's why we get colds in the winter. Mucus is your first line of defense.)

Stan, ya gotta bring your own nose water, easily available at any drugstore these days, we usually bring our own drinking water as well(no telling where the airlines got theirs from.) Heck if I had my way I'd bring oxygen.
I'm seriously considering operating room masks for our next flights.

Tried the mask thing Seb, it doesn't work, I tried. How about gloves...either latex or vinyl (for those allergic to latex like I am). I'm wondering how often they actually clean those cloth seats...yuk! maybe a throw away seat cover might help, or something you can wash when you get home. Most of the flu, colds, believe it or not DON'T come from the ventilation system. They come from armrests not cleaned, cloth not cleaned, seatback tables not cleaned properly, people not washing hands properly (probably the worst). To tell you the truth they should add another 15 minutes on every flight...clean a little better.

Liz

Oh yeah..Tell Mary I got here email. thanks for the thoughts. Mary M. will be with me on the 1st, Ed too. Ed will report back to my biological family, Mary to my BT family.

Also, I'm bringing my Moogie CD into the OR for the surgeon to play...talk about Bonaire on the BRAIN!!!! LOL

I used to always get sick after flying but the last couple of trips I have taken I have dodged the bullet by taking hand sanitizer and using it on my hands frequently - especially before I eat or drink anything. I even take a bit and put around the insides edges of my nostrils to try to get the airborne germs.

I get funny looks but that is a very, very small price to pay to stay healthy on my vacation.

Belinda

Since the restraunt opinions of the island restaurants posted on BT seem to be extremely subjective, I thought I would add my two cents worth in:

Pasa Bon Pizza - the best gourmet pizza I have ever had (and before the New Yorkers get upset and those from the Windy City...yes, I have had pizzas from both styles also) The pizza has a wonderful crust, not too bready and a little crispy. The Fish Pizza of the day...you can't go wrong.
Brasseri Bonaire - wonderful tuna entree - amazing balsamic vinagrette dressing on the salad
Casablanca - wonderful filet mignon au poivre. cooked to perfection
Lost Penguin - great lunch place
Mona Lisa - the best sesame salmon entree and tuna carpaccio
Capriccio - the entire meal was wonderful from start to finish - both pastas that I tried were exquisite
It Rains Fishes - fish mousse with smoked salmon appetizer (maki style roll) was wonderful, marinated fish salad good
Swiss Chalet - wonderful fondue and the rosti was terrific
Again, I listed those that made a impression that I thought was worth posting.
Angie

Mercy Mags and I had a nice lunch at the new Brasserie next to Remax. Go browse Bob's house for sale windows and then enjoy a good lunch. It is a nice addition to the day time meal repetoire of Bonaire. Also another find is Luigi's across from another find Le Flamboyant. Luigi's has local lunch and it's VERY GOOD.

Ann

Regarding airplane sicknesses, I agree the planes are nasty, I have begun to bring the travel packs of the Clorox wipes, and wipe down the arms and the table. I also bring hand sanitizer and use it frequently.