Barbeque - Cabarete Style

Chill N' Grill

We met Rob on the beach a couple of months ago.  He was walking his two Dominican rescue dogs so easy to strike up a conversation.  He is American and is married to a Canadian.  They moved to Cabarette about five years ago and bought the Chill 'n Grill, a bar and grill just down the street from us.  The property also came with several apartments and a few small commercial buildings.  When they bought, this area was booming.  Just a few months after they moved here, the all-inclusive resort that dominated this area closed....and things really slowed down in the Camino del Sol area that we live in.  And so did their business.

We have stopped by for a beer several times but hadn't eaten at their place.  Their specialty is a private dinner around the barbeque pit.  You need to give Pam and Rob at least a 24 hour notice of what your group would like to eat....so takes a bit of organization.  They need a minimum of four and no more than 12 guests.  We've been wanting to plan a dinner there for some time, but it just takes a bit of organization.

Rob getting ready for our group

Finally, last night we did it!  We got together a group of twelve all from Serenity del Sol and walked up to the Chill 'n Grill for our dinner.  We had a drink in the bar area while Rob got the fire going.  He used a wood charcoal mix and the sparks were flying.  After the coals were glowing, they seated us around the table.  The heat drafts up, so it's not really too hot seated around the fire.  Was a great dining experience!

Grilled Salad

Pam started out by serving a cup of carrot spice soup and then passed around a tray of garlic bread.  We each had our own set of tongs and we grilled the bread ourselves.  The next course was grilled ceaser salad.  Pam slid the lettuce down the grill and several of us helped out by flipping it as it grilled for just a few minutes.  She then gathered up the lettuce from the grill, dressed it, and passed around the salad bowl.  Was very yummy.

Then out came the main course.  Some had ordered an entree that needed to be fully cooked on the grill, so that came first.  The steaks, lobster, pork kabob and chicken were sizzling on the grill and then Pam passed out the ribs, her specialty.  They were already cooked, so just needed to be warmed.  We also each had a potato, wrapped in foil with butter, garlic and onions, that we warmed up on grill.  For dessert, we all grilled a slice of fresh pineapple and topped it with warm Canadian maple syrup.

This was a great dinner.  Lots of fun and delicious.  We plan to be back.  It was definitely worth the time it took to organize.

Camilla and Wallita

Camilla left this week.  She'd been here nearly two weeks staying with her mom Christina and Jim from Minnesota.  The second day Camilla was here, she fell in love.  Not with a hot Dominican guy, but instead with a sweet little Dominican street dog.  On her way to the guagua, Camilla saw this little, scared pup limping around.  Camilla took her to Judy's Pet Lodge, the no kill shelter that also arranges for free spay and neutering.  The limp was due to a little cut so no big deal and luckily there was a team of vets in town that could do the spaying.  Camilla left Wallita with Judy for her surgery (yes, she gave her a name...big mistake) and then picked her up a few days later to help her recover.  The plan was that Camilla would release Wallita into the same area she found her, but instead Camilla wanted to take her home with her.  Camilla got a lot of advice from the Pet Lodge about how to accomplish this.  She got the vet certificate and bought a carrier.  I knew from my research that flying a dog when temperatures were extreme was a problem; and temps are extreme in Minnesota in February.  But Judy told Camilla it would be OK and the vet certified Wallita able to fly with temps between 10 to 85 degrees.  Unfortunately, this is not American Airlines policy.  Their policy is between 45 and 85 degrees.  Judy went to the airport with Camilla to help her get Wallita checked in and threw a huge fit when the airline refused to accept the vet's certification.  After much crying, Camilla flew out alone and Wallita went back to the pet lodge.  What to do with sweet Wallita is still in limbo.  Camilla is trying to make other arrangements to get her to Minnesota.  I do think that our gardener, Benni, will take the dog to his home if Camilla pays for her food.

Juan

One of my favorite friends in the DR is Juan.  There is a vacant lot between our condo and the ocean that was going to be developed into condos.  Looks like the developer poured the foundation and buillt a security shack and then stopped.  Juan's job is to watch over this vacant development.  He has plenty of time on his hands so he grows batatas (Dominican style sweet potatoes), helps wash our motorcycle, and keeps an eye on Hermann for me.  Juan also likes to cook.  He's got a little open pit fire behind the guard shack that he cooks some great Dominican dishes.  He loves to share them with Matt and I.  Often he'll show up on the beach with our lunch and sometimes he'll bring us some coconuts, already cracked and ready to drink the coconut water.  Really sweet guy.

Aguacate Man

Another one of the characters around here is the "aguacate man".  He drives his motorcycle all around Cabarette and Sosua yelling "aguacate" over and over again.  Aguacates are avacadoes.  He also sells fruit; I love his grapefruit.  Dominican grapefruit are the best!  He comes to our condo nearly every day.  We also see him when we're out and about.  He loves to see me driving the motorcycle....gets quite a kick out of that.  He also gives me daily Spanish lessons, always quick to correct my pronunciation.