Having your fill of good travel food

One of the delights of nature travel is the wonderful food you encounter.

I recall some marvelous clam chowder at ye olde Union Oyster House in Boston, a place that has been around since 1826 and was a favorite of Daniel Webster.

I also enjoyed barbecue on the Pampas of Argentina, Guinness stout and roast beef in Dublin, Ireland, and some excellent Indian food in London. But I think my all-time favorite meal came in Trinidad, that scenic little island in the Caribbean and home of the scarlet ibis.

I was staying at the Asa Wright lodge, a rambling old house where we were promised “forty life birds before breakfast.” And indeed we saw lots and lots of birds each morning, from the back deck, overlooking a wild, verdant valley. The lodge had set up a feeding table directly below where we were sitting and birds flocked in by the dozens and dozens – blue-crowned mot-mots, purple honeycreepers, bananaquits and loads of tanagers.

But it was the lodge food, offered cafeteria-style, that really made my day.

We had such specialties as Indian flat bread filled with curried chicken, fried shark with hops, hot salted codfish, cornmeal okra dumplings, spiced rice and peas – and lots of cold Carib beer.

I asked the serving lady which dishes were particular Trinidad favorites and she dished up pelau, a ricebased dish, and coo coo, a cornmeal okra dumpling. Both were excellent.

So if you ever go to Trinidad, drop by Asa Wright lodge and ask the nice cafeteria lady what she suggests. You can’t go wrong.