EetCafé The Paddock in Oranjestad, Aruba

Aruba, like many popular tourist destinations offers a wide variety of culinary experiences ranging from local pubs, small restaurants, fast food restaurants, food booths and fine dining.  If you really want to experience Aruba, the local pubs are a must stop.  This is where the local eat and this is where you will enjoy home style meals, pub style.  They are very friendly and laid back, offering a nice selection of lower priced meals yet good food served in settings with lots of atmosphere.

EetCafé The Paddock in Oranjestad, Aruba is located on L.G. Smith Blvrd. #13.  Oranjestand is the island's capitol so there is a lot to see there.  It is a very peaceful and picturesque town with streets lined with Dutch colonial gabled houses and lots of modern small shops echoing the architectural style of yesteryear.  The eclectic outside decor of The Paddock with cheer, bright red roof beckons you to pop in a sit a spell.  The open air ambiance is sure to please.  The small pub is open to the street as well a a small dining dock overlooking the harbour.   The inside of the pub has hardwood flooring, a small  bar seating with the walls and ceilings decorated various paper money, business cards and anything else patrons have managed to tack up.  This really is just a fun little pub to enjoy a bit of good food and a glass of Aruba's beer, Balashi!

EetCafé The Paddock offers a nice selection of favourite Dutch platters as well as 'all you can eat ribs' on Wednesdays.  The lunch specials are written on a chalkboard adding to the cozy, friendly atmosphere.  I ordered the chicken shoarma platter with fries ($10).  Shoarma is a very popular seasoning blend in Holland.  It is used on or as a marinade with lamb, pork and chicken.  The marinated meat is fried then served with a creamy garlic sauce. 

Both the shoarma seasoning blend and creamy garlic sauce would be very easy to make at home.  I will share my clone recipes for both as soon as I make them.  This really is a nice dish that even kids would enjoy!

My husband ordered the special burger ($8.42).  This burger consists of a good sized burger pattie on a whole wheat but topped with grilled onions, and a fried egg on a bed of lettuce and pickles.  The presentation was different with the raw onion ring.  He ordered it without the pickles. 

This is a lot of protein for a burger but not as much as some of the huge burger patties that are over a pound.  While I have not had a burger with a fried egg on it myself, my husband thoroughly enjoyed his meal.  Again, this would be a very easy meal to recreate at home.  I suspect it arose from a frugal housewife who realized eggs are less expensive than meat. 

When in Aruba, do check out The Paddock.  We really enjoyed our visit there and will surely visit them during our next trip to Aruba.  Relax, watch the harbour traffic and enjoy this quaint little pub.  It is a must visit pub!

Meat Pies with Sour Creamed Baked Potatoes

One benefit of being a foodie is other people love to share some of their signature dishes and recipes with you. A couple we know well immigrated from Lancestershire, England a number of years ago. She is a fabulous cook who has had a good deal of experience as owner and operator of two English style pubs in Canada as well as experience in England. She makes lovely meat pies that were always a hit at her last pub and is now selling them at a weekly farmer's market. Her husband dropped off a couple at my husband's office on Thursday so we had them for dinner Saturday night.

Meat Pie

Meat pies or some form of meat pies have been a staple in most cultures for time ever. Essentially a meat pie is some type of thick stew (eg. meat with vegetables and gravy) as opposed to other pastry covered meat based dishes like pasties that do not have the gravy as part of the filling. They are usually rich and flavourful on the savoury side with nice flakey crusts. The meat pies were pre-baked so all I had to do was re-heat in the oven. Trust me these meat pies are nothing like those store bought meat pies.

My husband's meat pie was beef with vegetables. The crust was lovely, nice and flakey. The filling was rich, thick and flavourful! I served the meat pies with green beans and sour creamed baked potatoes (recipe follows).

Steak & Kidney Pie

My meat pie was steak and kidney, a traditional British pub fare made by topping a filling of chopped steak and beef, lamb or pig kidney in a sauce then topped with crust with or without the bottom crust. This version of steak and kidney pie also had potatoes in with the meat but no other vegetables. The crust gets its deep golden sheen by brushing it with milk before baking.

Sour creamed baked potatoes make a wonderful side for steak and kidney pie. The original recipe I had said to use double cream and lemon but I substituted sour cream. The results were quite good!

Sour Creamed Baked Potatoes

6 medium baking potatoes
¾ sour cream
1 tsp prepared horseradish

Wash potatoes and prick with a fork. Bake at 180ºF (350º until soft. Remove from oven. Cut in half. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes leaving about an eighth inch of the potato on the flesh. Mash the scooped out potato with sour cream and horseradish. Spoon back into the potato skins. Bake at 180ºC (350ºF) with the steak and kidney pies for 25 to 30 minutes or until meat pies are cooked through and the tips of the potato filling begin browing.