Knowing that we would be dining out at night and snacking during the day, my father decided to do “All Inclusive” breakfast only, which worked out perfectly.

The buffet was stocked with an abundance of super fruits, an omelet station, waffles, smoked salmon, and every other breakfast staple imaginable.

Every morning I ordered scrambled eggs with spinach, and built a bowl of fresh fruit with cottage cheese and walnuts

We often ate lunch on the beach, where food always tastes ten times better

Grilled chicken salad

Tuna steak burger.

Along with some mid-day drinks under the sun

citron vodka, soda water, lemon

mojito

Our first night in Aruba was spent at Smokey Joes, which is known for their ribs and delicious burgers

I chose grilled Mahi-Mahi atop a tropical salad with sliced almonds. I also ate some of Matt’s ribs, which were smothered in a unique bbq sauce.

Still keeping it casual on Wednesday night, my family and I ventured off to La Vista, an all you can eat buffet inside the Marriot Hotel.

At $54.00 per person, you will definitely eat your money’s worth of perfectly prepared meats, pastas, vegetables, sushi and desserts. .

Definitely try it out the next time you visit.

After dinner, we caught the end of the Bruins game at Champions, and then walked the beach to help our overly stuffed selves digest.

Thursday night was spent at Madame Janette, where both the décor and cuisine were colorful and exotic.

Chilean Sea bass with mixed garden salad

On Friday night, Matt and I, as well as my brother and sister-n-law, ate a quick dinner in our hotel before heading out on the Kukoo Kunukoo Pub crawl.

(pictures of that on the next post)

We chose Blossoms, a Japanese and Chinese eatery that offered both Hibachi and table dining. Since we were short on time, we chose to sit in a beautifully decorated room surrounded by the Great Wall of China.

.

Being from Boston, we have our share of fantastic Asian restaurants, so we weren’t too impressed with the food presented to us.

The portions were too small, and it seemed very commercial instead of freshly prepared.

I wouldn’t go again.

My favorite meal of the trip was eaten on Saturday night at Chalet Swiss.

crab cakes

calamari

garden salad

almond crusted Grouper. AMAZING!

Matt’s Filet Mignon

It is one the best restaurants on the island

On Sunday, we ate at an Italian restaurant called Sole Mare

For apps: polenta, pappardelle pasta with Italian mushrooms in a creamy tomato sauce, broccoli rabe, caprese salad, and minestrone soup.

For my main course (as if this wasn’t enough food already) I got grilled salmon with grilled vegetables

My sister-n-law’s chose a combination of assorted
grilled fish, shrimp, squid and mussels, which was delicious as well.

Matt however, chose the best meal of all..

Spaghetti Formaggio Parmigiano

That my friends, is a wheel of parmesan cheese that is lit on fire with whiskey at your table, and mixed with cooked spaghetti.

Dessert time!

warm brownie sundae, and cool cream puffs served with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Even while away, Sunday’s are still all about food.

For our last night Aruba, we had planned on having a casual dinner at a place called The Mediterranean. However, once we arrived, we learned that it had closed for good.

Searching for a plan B, we chose the restaurant Gianni’s.

The one thing that I disliked about this place was their unwillingness to change anything about the menu. With my 1-1/2 year old niece, and my mother who has food allergies, this made ordering a bit more complicated.

Antipasto

This restaurant had a lot of potential, but the atmosphere was far better than both the service and food combined.

My brother and I both chose the salmon, but were brought grouper instead. My mother said that her linguine with garlic and oil was rather dry, and my father’s bolognese was way too salty. Not to mention our waiter who disappeared multiple times throughout the night.

Luckily, the night ended with a shot of Lemoncello and a cup of coconut Gelato.

The perfect way to end our vacation.

My pants definitely feel a bit tighter, but every bite was worth it.

next up..the fun photos and beautiful scenic shots.