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Dining: Budget Meals for Simple Folk?
Bonaire Talk: Dining: Archives: Archives 2009: Archives - 07-01-2009 to 12-31-2009: Budget Meals for Simple Folk?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Kreider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 5:26 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We'll not have any cooking facilities, just a small fridge. I'd greatly appreciate your recommendations for good, yet simple fare for folks on a limited budget. I'd rather spend my money on dive gear.

Thanks very much!

Tom

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Johnson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #533) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 1:47 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Here are my ideas:
a) Fresh fruits and veggies from the stand in town or the fruit store;
b) Snacks and sandwiches. Go to Cultimara, Bonaire Warehouse, More for Less or Flamingo grocery. Think of things like tuna, gouda, deli meats with some bread. Or things like cold cereal and milk. Or pringles...
c) Does your place have a BBQ? Then are those sorts of options.
d) Leftovers can be your friend. Pasa Bon Pizza is good cold. If you like cold leftover meats, you could go to Patagonia or the BBQ place.
e) Consider taking some favorite snacks from home. Gatorade powder. Or beef jerkey. Or mixed nuts...
f) Snack stands tend to be cheaper to eat at (think Maikey Snack, Julio's, etc.)
g) Cold drinks in the fridge is a good thing -- you will get thirsty and the grocery store will be cheaper than the bar.

The first few options might require buying some plastic plates and a cheap knife or fork.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antony Bond (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #527) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 5:02 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Most of the Snacky Bars on the island represent excellent value for money.

Try some of the less touristy ones such as Peking and Harbour City, both on Kaya Korona and Yue hua on Kaminda Lagoen. These places are both takeaway and eat in, the portions are massive and will easily feed the biggest appetite for two meals. At the Peking, the garlic ribs are superb and at Harbour City, sweet & sour pork and the Chinese soups are excellent. For a good lunch with the locals, try Divi Divi on Kaya Dr Jose G.Hernades 26. A great atmosphere and good local food.

If you venture out to Rincon (and you should), try Sisys Bar (also known as the Polar Bar) & Kos Bon So. Everyone will recommend the Rose Inn but you will find plenty of other eateries that are at least as good if not better. Although places like Kos Bon So are not that used to tourists, both the owners and regulars are very friendly and happy to chat. If you get stuck with the menu, there will always be someone to help you out.

All of these places serve great food at a good price. The beer is always ice cold and will normally cost you around Naf 2, a lot cheaper than the tourist spots.

I should know, I was a Snack Bar Detective (but don't tell anyone)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Leo Irakliotis (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #490) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 9:52 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

All of the above are excellent ideas. Cold pizza is my most favorite breakfast. The Polar Bar at Rincon is worth a visit, especially at the end of a 3-4 hr drive through the National Park.

A local restaurant that offers good value is El Fogon Latino. A big bowl of Sancocho will set you back $6.30, satiate your hunger, and please you with its refreshing taste. It's an flavorful beef stew.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Phil the Bee (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #112) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 3:40 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

If you are on a limited budget, it's probably best to avoid buying anything ready-prepared at Cultimara or Warehouse, keep to simple things you make yourself, fresh fruit and veg (although the fruit can be expensive) and the smaller snack places already mentioned. Quite often one meal from them will serve two people, maybe with the addition of some salad veg from More for Less, Progresso or one of the small Chinese shops.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Diane and Bea (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #473) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 11:35 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

How about peanut butter and jelly :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Leo Irakliotis (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #500) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 11:37 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Both are imported items and, therefore, expensive :-) And you need bread on top (well at the bottom) of them!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Johnson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #534) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 11:51 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

One other general observation: If the goal in a tourist area is to save money on food, eat and drink as the locals do. This plays out in two ways.

First, almost any location has more expensive and less expensive food choices relative to the USA. Consider skipping things that in the USA would be fairly inexpensive but are expensive at your destination (i.e., tortilla chips). For example, is a can of sardines from Spain cheaper than one from the USA? What are the local staples?

Second, shop where/how those that live there shop. These are often stores that are a bit further out (More for Less vs. Sand Dollar Grocery). Check out the bakery. The same is true of restaurants. Check out the snacks. There is always KFC and Subway. If you ask around, you will find more of these places...

Two other thoughts: There is often a trade off in the cost thing and that is time. It is always worth asking yourself: is this how I want to spend my time given what I am saving?

It might be worth it to treat yourselves to a very good meal early and late in the trip. You always have the one at the end to look forward to. And the first one allows you to see what is out there...

(Message edited by bonairetrip on August 24, 2009)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Diane and Bea (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #474) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 12:12 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We bring a small jar of peanut butter and one of jelly and just buy fresh bread at Cultimara.. Yummy ! That is even more less expensive :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chica di Boneiru (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 12:32 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Best value meals around $10 (not including 5% sales tax or +/- 15% tip):
Hamburger or Fish sandwich at Sunset Bar & Grill (bar meals), lunch or dinner, closed Wed
Chicken or Pork Sate at Mona Lisa (bar meal), dinner only, closed Sat/Sun
Roasted 1/2 chicken at El Fognon (El Fognon has many meals $10 or less), lunch or dinner, closed Thur
Pizza at Pasa Bon, dinner only, closed Mon/Tue
Bonaire Grill Truck (Michael's, on corner between stadium & post office), BBQ ribs/chicken, dinner only, I think he's there every night except Mon, dinner only
In addition to the numerous "Snaks," Subway & KFC, most Chinese restaurants offer meals $10 or less-some have specials that are only for take-away, and some meals come in 2 sizes (regular or large)-just ask if you're not sure, lunch or dinner, no closed days

Another tip-drink Amstel or Polar like the locals; they're usually half the price of tourist-Brights.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Kreider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 1:54 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks for all of your great help!

Looking forward and counting down the days!

Tom

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kelly(*) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6116) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 2:31 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

My favorite snack for lunch or early dinner is a salad, with fresh bread from Cultimara, and a nice hunk of gouda cheese. Yummy!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By ***Ron Gould*** (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2036) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 5:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tom, Cultimara has the best homemade bread! We rap a few pounds of our favorite lunch meat in newspaper, and freeze it solid, and pack it in our dive gear. It will survive for many hours. Just came back(22nd)from Curacao for a week of diving, and our gear bag came a day late. The lunch stuff was OK. Free breakfast, and a cheap lunch, all that is left is dinner. One building south of BOA is Bobbejans. Very good BarBQ, and cheap... Ron

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pietri Hausmann (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #249) on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 6:50 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

most chinese have a cuminda chikitu-- small portion . for nafl 6.00 which a bit over $3.00 and feeds me for 2 meals--- takeaway only .. also an order of bami- nasi ,potatoes or fried rice is very large and a good fill-in for a meal .. also a sate with or with out potato is a very ample meal ... carry outs are always much larger than eat-in. follow the locals ... and you'll be fine .. great homemade ice cream every afternoon from a trucki pan parked near the catholic church in playa..nafl 1.50 to 3 ... which is large..don't let the term Chinese deter you .. the variety is incredible and includes such things like porkchop and potatoes ..cutlets ,,beef, chicken.. fish .... try a chicken chicharon .. a mainstay of the locals ..local also stick with either amstel or polar as the beverage of choice .. often nafl only 2.00 ..

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pietri Hausmann (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #250) on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 6:53 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

also when shopping for staples you will find the locals at the chinese groceries which tend to be much less than the larger stores -- especially cultimara .. they also have great fresh produce .. usually tuesday and thursday afternoons when the barka fruitas arrive from venezuela.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Blanchard (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #334) on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 10:16 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tom, you have received many good suggestions. We visit for 2 weeks every year and have found what we feel is a good plan. We bring cereal, coffee, and some snack items from the States. One of our first purchases, after the Amstel, is a wheel of cheese. The 4 of us have Cultimara bread and cheese with local fruit and tomatoes for lunch every day. Our only meal out is dinner and you can find good food at reasonable prices all over the Island. Look for the specials at your favorite restaurant.

Two more tips, Buy just a couple of bottles of water and reuse the bottles filled with very good Bonaire water. We freeze a bottle and this acts as a cooler when going to a dive or snorkeling spot.Secondly, check out "Happy Hours" for good drink prices and some excellent finger food. We especially enjoy happy hour at City Cafe.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Kreider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 12:47 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks for all of your great suggestions!!!

As it turns out, we'll be staying at Golden Reef Inn (GRI) thanks to great help from Liz! (from the hospital, at that) I will still use your recommendations for those meals that we choose to eat out.

So, we'll now have a full kitchen for what we had expected to pay for just a 'hotel' room. Thanks Liz!!!

This is prompting a new post from me shortly.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Karen Dancheck (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #135) on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 12:28 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

One of our favorite all time cheap meals was had at the Bonaire Grill Truck. It is a clean snack truck that is parked in the stadium parking lot. Right around the corner from Casablanca. He is there every night except for Mondays and he opens at 7:30. He is there late and it is a great place to grab dinner after a night dive. His menu is small and simple, chicken, ribs and french fries but the food is GREAT!. A large order of chicken and a large order of ribs was about $20. And there were enough for leftovers.

Our favorite inexpensive thing to do with leftovers is make soft tacos. You can make them with any leftover fish/meat from dinner. They sell tortillas at Cultimara. You can get a variety of ripe veggies at the stand in town. We usually make some rice with it. We experimented this past trip and made coconut rice.

We've also made some great pasta salads with leftover chicken and lots of veggies. It's always an adventure at the grocery store since you never know what they are going to have. I just wish I had brought a few more spices from home.

Have a great trip!

 


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