Herb roasted rack of lamb served with sauteed vegetables and roasted rosemary potatoes and drizzled with a rosemary and mushroom sauce.
Conch chowder and conch fritters that they swear is chockfull of conch; smothered grouper topped with fresh steamed herbs and tomatoes; straight out of the water fresh in-house tenderized conch fried to a golden brown served with spicy calypso sauce; herb-roasted rack of lamb that is tender and succulent served on a bed of sautéed vegetables and roasted rosemary potatoes drizzled with a rosemary mushroom sauce; a guava brioche bread pudding folded in coconut and topped with brandy guava sauce and finished with a scoop of vanilla ice cream; and not one, but three layers of absolute chocolate cake decadence — is your mouthwatering yet?
These are the signature items, but still just a small sampling of the menu items at Crusoe’s Restaurant at Comfort Suites, Paradise Island, a family friendly restaurant that delights with fresh tropical flavors and tantalizing comfort foods.
They proudly boast of a menu that embraces comfort Bahamian foods as well as American and Caribbean cuisine with a little Italian and Mediterranean thrown in to entice all palates.
“You can’t put our restaurant in a box,” said Crusoe’s Restaurant Assistant Food and Beverage Manager Philip Ferguson. “Crusoe’s is like a ship cruising the water offering something from everywhere in the world with food that is based on flavor.”
Offering a little bit of everything, he said they take pride in the knowledge that they are masters of Bahamian cuisine.
‘We have conquered Bahamian food,” he said. “The menu at Crusoe’s is keeping our culture alive.”
Down home conch fritters served with spicy calypso sauce at Crusoe's Resturaunt in the Comfort Suits, Paradise Island. (Photos: Comfort Suites)
He’s also proud that they offer affordable food that leaves diners satisfied in their belly as well as in their wallets. Menu items range between $4 and $36.
Comfort Suites Assistant General Manager Shan Sands said this almost best kept secret of a restaurant that has been serving dinner for two years, and which isn’t much of a secret anymore, offers flavorful food that is appetizing with portion sizes that are filling.
“The items are prepared down home Bahamian. It tastes like island cooking,” she said of the Bahamian menu items.”
And the offerings will satisfy everyone from herbivores, carnivores, vegetarians, pasta fanatics and fish eaters to everything in between — from the pine forest favorite (chef’s selection of vegetables sautéed in garlic butter and white wine served on a bed of mushroom rice pilaf); to the meat lover’s delight; pasta corner to the seafood extravaganza (Caribbean fish, grilled shrimp and cracked conch all on one plate served with a lime cilantro dip and side salad).
Dessert is always the perfect ending to a spectacular meal. And the sweet endings at Crusoe’s Restaurant are certainly tempting. Cheesecake, and their caramel wonder (chocolate topped with vanilla ice cream and caramelized popcorn, drizzled with whipped cream and whipped caramel and finished with whipped cream); English truffles (layered chocolate ganache, cherry filling, brownie, finished with whipped cream and drizzled with whipped cream; and an assortment of freshly baked cookies join the guava brioche bread breading and triple layer chocolate cake abound in the sweet tooth satisfaction line up.
Ferguson and Sands both insist that you stick your utensil of choice, whether a spoon or fork, into the guava brioche bread pudding which is served warm with vanilla ice cream.
“You may have had it elsewhere, but we master it here,” said Ferguson.
I tried it — it was sinfully criminal.
The casual indoor/outdoor dining restaurant located by the pool also offers a 10-strong salad and sandwich menu on the dinner menu for those that want to go for lighter fare. The offerings may be lighter, but the focus is still on flavor and customer satisfaction, and again offering something for everyone.
The Caribbean jerk turkey burger, marinated in jerk seasoning, topped with mozzarella cheese and sautéed mushrooms on a Kaiser bun is a signature sandwich offering amongst a lineup that also includes a grilled veggie pattie; jerk turkey wrap; quesadilla; veggie and hummus wrap; beet and feta salad; gussie mae burger which is topped with pork and served with a spicy island slaw; Greek salad and grouper on a buttery grilled corn Kaiser bun served with sweet potato fries.
An aside from the dinner menu, Crusoe’s Restaurant also offers an all-day dining menu that features items that aren’t even on the dinner menu — nachos with cheese, the ever popular wings that they serve Caribbean twisted; a cobb salad; and a number of wraps — shrimp scampi, tuna; and chicken; and you will dig into their chicken in the bag.
Crusoe’s Restaurant, the 120-seat casual indoor dining restaurant is located by the pool and open daily for a la carte lunch (12 noon to 4:30 p.m.) and dinner (5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.)
In honor of the country’s 43rd Independence, Crusoe’s will celebrate with an old-fashioned barbecue on Saturday and Sunday between 12 noon and 4 p.m. with activities on the pool deck and live band and a full BBQ spread with all the trimmings — BBQ grilled chicken, baby back ribs, pulled pork sandwich, burgers, hot dogs; and a salad bar loaded with potato salad, tossed bean salad, three bean salad, baked beans, French fries, corn on the cob and of bread rolls.
At dinner service they will also offer a featured Bahamian-style dinner menu in celebration of the country’s birthday — two courses at $46 per person of three courses at $53 per person.
Themed dinners for special occasions and holidays, is a signature activity for Crusoe’s Restaurant said Sands.
“We do these themed dinner events for every occasion — Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve… for any holiday we definitely have something going on at Comfort Suites, offering an affordable meal in a really good atmosphere on Paradise Island. It’s a laid back, comfortable safe environment where you can enjoy a nice meal with great service that we pride ourselves on,” said Sands.
Shavaughn Moss, Guardian Lifestyles Editor
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