Moomba Beach Bar is located along Aruba’s famous Palm Beach. It’s on the northwest end, past the Holiday Inn.

It’s a giant, open-air palapa hut set on boards just above the sand. You have a great view out over the beach at the boats floating in the clear Caribbean sea. The drinks are cold, the staff friendly, and there are plenty of revelers to join in the fun. They got creative with one of their lights as you can see here:

That’s an interesting use of empty beer bottles. As far as I know, if you ring the bell, you bought a round for everyone at the bar, so be careful with that.

Either way, it’s a pleasant retreat from the sun and sand for a bit of refreshment and conversation. Better yet, you can walk to many of the hotels in just a few minutes. As always, enjoy your imbibing responsibly.

Bon dia.

City Lounge, or CILO, is a new restaurant located at the Seaport Mall in Oranjestaad, Aruba, DWI. There is both indoor and outdoor seating as well as a bar inside with WIFI service. Here’s a first look.

And that bar I mentioned:

We enjoyed an early lunch here, with a view of the nearby marina where fisherman take tourists out for a day on the Caribbean Sea. As for the meal, it was quite good. I started with the tomato soup and here’s a look at the presentation.

Then my wife enjoyed smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese wrap that she found delicious. See below.

I went with the CILO club, which contains parma ham, brie cheese, and the usual lettuce tomato and such. Check it out.

Fries were crispy, too.

You’ll find a crowd of local business people here and a few island visitors salted in. Prices are fair for the quality and good service. Guests of the nearby Renaissance Hotel and Timeshare may want to put this on their list for a convenient snack or meal.

Bon dia.

Ellioti’s Restaurant is located near the Costa Linda timeshare in the low-rise area of the island of Aruba. You’ll find some very good food and service here.

We arrived without reservations but with a hankering for some reliable Italian dishes. We were greeted by a friendly hostess who found us a nice table. There is a bar and seating outside, as well as a nice fellow playing the piano. I ordered a mixed salad, which arrived promptly and was well presented. Take a look:

The greens, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers were garden-fresh, crunchy, and delicious. I appreciate a good salad to start, especially in Aruba, where vegetables (for some reason) are too often an afterthought. My wife likes a Caprese salad and here’s a view:

Again, a very pleasant presentation. Moving on to the entrees, my wife ordered grouper in puttanesca sauce. She thought it was great and here is what it looked like.

Don’t miss that little shaving of ginger on the bottom there. I went with the tried and true spaghetti bolognese and this meat sauce was a bit sweet but very good indeed. Here it is:

To think that this was the appetizer portion! I didn’t finish it until the second half was consumed for lunch the next day.

Service here was among the best I’ve had on the island. I tipped liberally with good reason. I only wish I had gone to this place before.

Bon dia.

Papillon is located in the new “Village” commercial area, across the street from the Radisson Hotel along Aruba’s Palm Beach.

Most of the seating is outside, however, there are a few small tables inside. I prefer to eat inside but this time I took a seat outside, which turned out to be okay as the breeze was gentle and cool. There were three of us, each with different tastes. Escargot is a favorite, and upon finding it on the menu, it was ordered by one of our group. Here’s the presentation.

That was different and the flavor was very good. I ordered a salad, which was full of delicious bits including shaved cheeze, walnuts, and such. Here it is.

Then came the entrées. The salmon was ordered and reported to be delicious, and it can be seen below.

Then there was the duck in a nice sauce as seen here.

Those little potato croquettes served with the duck were a fresh touch. I went with a tried and true filet, which was cooked exactly right.

Service at Papillon was professional and attentive. Wines were had by the glass and they were worthy of the prices. The cost of eating here is at the very upper limit of my budget. For a special night out, it was worth it.

Bon dia from Aruba.

Urataka is a sparsely populated area located close to the geographic center of Aruba. Here you will find a good place to stop for pizza and an ice-cold drink. Take a look.

Painted those colors, it’s hard to miss. I should also mention that this place hosts a mix of visitors going to and from the Arikok National Park as well as a local people who live in the area. So you’re sure to have a more diverse experience than other places.

Couldn’t pass up the chance to photograph the Coca-Cola sign. Anyway, since the sign higher up talks about the best pizza, I decided to give it a try. I ordered the “meat lovers” version and here is what it looked like.

This was the 14″ medium which is more than enough for two people. The crust was excellent by the way and the only thing this pizza needed was a little more sauce. Still, it was very good and I highly recommend it if you’re on the island and need a pizza fix. While waiting for the meal, I checked out the scenery and discovered this sign on the wall:

No one from the club was around at the time of my visit, probably because I was there on Sunday and these are the Terrible Tuesday Riders. There are a number of motorcycle clubs on Aruba these days. Sometimes you’ll see as many as one hundred of them touring around together or parked at a place like this.

Enjoy your visit, don’t eat too much and always enjoy your Coca-Cola ice-cold. Bon dia from Aruba.

Cactus Jack’s is a fun restaurant that just opened in “The Village,” a new commercial development in the high-rise hotel area of Aruba. I decided to give this place a try because I had a hankering for rotisserie chicken. Here’s what it said on the menu.

I didn’t hesitate and promptly ordered up the above mentioned item. However, first I started with the shrimp as an appetizer and here’s what arrived at the table.

Readers of this blog know that I’m not a beer drinker, so that Amstel Bright is the possession of my wife. Anyway, the rotisserie chicken came a short while later. I was not disappointed as you can see from the following photo.

That’s plenty of food, almost enough for two people. And it was excellent. Cooked thoroughly but still juicy on the inside, exactly the way I like it. If you’re staying in the high-rise area from the Holiday Inn down to the Westin, you can easily walk to this joint and any others in its vicinity. For a quick, casual, reasonably priced meal, Cactus Jack’s should be on the list.

Bon dia from Aruba.

Screaming Eagle, the restaurant, is one of Aruba’s best. That’s just my opinion, but after several visits during the past year, I can say that the place has earned the title. It is located in the low-rise hotel area and features both indoor and outdoor seating. Here is a look at the exterior and the interior, photos gleaned from the restaurant’s own website.

Quite nice with those tensile fabrics overhead. And here is the bar.

They also offer the option of “eating in bed” but that’s not my thing so there is no photo here. Instead, let’s talk about the food. My wife started with the escargot, which she reports as very good. My friend began with calamari sauteed instead of fried. It was an interesting twist and tasty. I went with a plain old shrimp cocktail that met all expectations. Then came the entrees. My wife went with the grilled scallops shown here.

My friend’s wife choose the garlic shrimp, seen below.

My friend selected the red snapper filet.

Finally, I choose the broiled veal chop.

That was one delicious piece of meat, broiled to perfection with a flavorful sauce that did not overpower the natural essence of the underlying chop.

Everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed the meal, all the way down to the desert which was an edible chocolate cup filled with orange sorbet and topped with whipped cream. Very nice indeed. Service here is highly trained, friendly, and accommodating. If you have limited time in Aruba and want to enjoy a first class meal, I highly recommend the Screaming Eagle.

Of course, now I’m over budget for the month as this place is not inexpensive. So I’m back to soup and sandwiches at home with maybe a foray out to one of my working man joints if a treat is to be had.

Bon dia from Aruba.

We enjoyed a very nice meal at Moby Dick’s Restaurant. We joined some good friends, took a table upstairs, and proceeded to feast. Moby Dick’s is located at the Paseo Herencia Mall in the high-rise hotel area near Aruba’s famous Palm Beach.

They have a very nice bar there as well as indoor and outdoor seating on two levels. The lower level is shown in the next photo.

Staff here are very friendly and well trained. The decor is nautical as you would expect, complete with these illuminated, etched glass dividers.

As for the food, well, it is very good. We started with Pomodori Soup (think tomato soup with a little extra garlic). Very tasty and not so much that I didn’t have room for the main course. Moving on, my wife ordered the grouper and can be seen in the next photo.

I’m not a fish eater so I didn’t taste it but she said it was delicious and cooked perfectly. Speaking of cooked perfectly, I went with a simple NY Strip steak, ordered well-done. It was perfectly well-done, something some restaurants are afraid to do out of fear that it will be over-cooked. Moby Dick’s got it just the way I like it and you can see it here.

I didn’t photo graph the food our friends ordered. They both said that it was great. We finished up with chocolate ice-cream for dessert, no explanation necessary. I’d like to stress that the service here was very good. Everyone from the hostess to the busboy did a solid job. Moby Dick’s will be on my list of Aruba stops. You might want to give it a try when you’re here on the island.

I’ve eaten out a little too much lately. It’s time to get cooking at home again. Nonetheless, stay tuned for more zany Aruba posts here at The Bent Page.

Bon dia from Aruba.

Japengo is one of the fine restaurants located at the Hyatt Resort in Aruba. This is the second time I’ve eaten there, the first being last year. The food is distinctly Asian in origin, complete with a full service sushi bar. As you would expect, service is excellent, the setting beautiful, and quality of the food extraordinary. So, let’s take a look at some of the dishes we enjoyed.

To start, my wife ordered a spicy tuna roll seen here:

My mother had the chicken lemongrass as seen below.

And I had the lobster/shrimp eggrolls with sweet/spicy dip.

Entrees were very inventive as you will soon see. My mother and father both ordered the Marco Polo, which is a small lobster tail, shrimp, and small filet over pasta in a delicious sauce. Here’s a photo of the dish.

My wife choose the Japanese Sea Bass with asparagus, also excellent and here is a photo.

Finally, I choose the Hunan Beef, which was very good and seen below.

Every dish is presented as a work of art and the waiters take pride in their service. The prices are at the upper limit of my budget, but I felt that all things considered the meal was a good value. When next in Aruba, give Japengo a try. You’ll love it.

Bon dia from Aruba.

Dushi Bagels near the Casa del Mar in the low-rise hotel area of Aruba will satisfy that urge you might have for your favorite baked item. Here’s a photo so you’ll recognize the place.

As the name implies, they have “authentic New York bagels,” which after being on the island for a while you probably have to have. I stop in here from time to time and have not been disappointed.

As you can see there is plenty of seating if you want to enjoy your bagel in the sunshine. While we all want to try local cuisine or something different, sometimes its the old favorites that must be satisfied. Give this place a try. It might do the trick.

Bon dia from Aruba.