old rio steakhouse

[john]

anyone know the name of the restaurant that is where the old rio steakhouse is. we ate there in nov and enjoyed the food and music but can't remember the name. the owner was singing and came over and bought us a drink. all i can remember is that he was from nyc. want to make online reservations if they have a website

[Elaine S]

John... I believe it's Breezes.

[Elaine S]

Click here: Breezes | Aruba Restaurants

[barbiesara2003]

The owner who visits the tables is Arthur formerly of boonoooonas. (I know I spelled that wrong)

[dwippies]

didn't everyone, lol?

Originally Posted by barbiesara2003

The owner who visits the tables is Arthur formerly of boonoooonas. (I know I spelled that wrong)

[roschone]

Haven't tried Breezes yet, bit we LOVED Boonoonoonoos. Miss it terribly even though they've been gone for years. I still have that little teeny tiny menu that looks like a folded business card, lol. I guess I should put Breezes on my list for this year. Don't know why we haven't tried it before.

[roschone]

Duh, I just read that it opened recently......

[dwippies]

i agree about boonoonoonoos. loved it. i still want the recipe for the anchovy/olive and heavens knows what else pate they served with bread as soon as you sat down. i relaly do want to try breezes in august. please write a review when you get back.

Originally Posted by roschone

Haven't tried Breezes yet, bit we LOVED Boonoonoonoos. Miss it terribly even though they've been gone for years. I still have that little teeny tiny menu that looks like a folded business card, lol. I guess I should put Breezes on my list for this year. Don't know why we haven't tried it before.

[charlescroes]

BREEZES
The name comes from a Breeze-way that was cut out of the center of the building (my idea by the way)
The owner - operator is Arthur Solomon
Not from New York but from Jamaica via New York
Arthur and his wife Ingrid had the pool restaurant at Caribbean Palm Village

BOONOONOONOOS
This is actually a Jamaican word used in a creole context
The word has varied meanings but basically means the following:
good-wonderfully-great
The owner operator was Kurt Biermans Not Arthur.
Kurt was one of the better restaurant men Aruba has known.
He literally cooked every single dish that came from the kitchen and never showed anyone the recipes.
He now resides in Holland or Belgium (not positive on which)
His Daughter (Nataly - I think) works in TV or something along those lines and is a stunning young girls that is a perfect blend of he Mom and Dad.
There was an attempt to franchise the restaurant in Holland but it didn't work out.
The actual location of the restaurant was in one of our family homes and the Postcard Menu concept was my small contribution to making sure that the tenant would have good publicity.

I will say the following about the food.
While they were open, I ate there a minimum of 3 times a week. They actuall had to give me a discount.

be well
charles

[roschone]

Great info Charles, and I love that postcard menu contribution. Great idea.

That being said, I would KILL for the jerk rib recipe from Boonoonoos. I've tried it in several other places, but nothing compares to what they used to serve. It was very, very spicy - maybe too spicy for some - but the flavor was out of this world and irrestible.

[roschone]

Originally Posted by sherry

i agree about boonoonoonoos. loved it. i still want the recipe for the anchovy/olive and heavens knows what else pate they served with bread as soon as you sat down. i relaly do want to try breezes in august. please write a review when you get back.

Will do Sherry. I'm glad I came back to this thread, I almost forgot again. I'm gonna have to go over some old post and get my list of places to try. I knew I should have written them down, lol.

[charlescroes]

Originally Posted by roschone

Great info Charles, and I love that postcard menu contribution. Great idea.

That being said, I would KILL for the jerk rib recipe from Boonoonoos.

No need to kill

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to prepare enough jerk pork for 6 people:-

3 lb. of boneless pork loin
6 sliced scotch bonnet peppers (jalapenos may be used if scotch bonnet peppers are unavailable)
2 Tbsp. thyme
2 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 Bulb of garlic, finely chopped
3 Medium onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
Juice of one lime
1 cup orange juice
1 cup white vinegar

1 to 2 Tsp of the following (to taste)
-ground cinnamon
-nutmeg
-ginger

Preparation

Chop the onions, garlic and peppers. These do not need to be chopped too fine as they will be liquidised by the blender.

Blend all of the ingredients (excluding the pork) in a blender to make the jerk sauce.

Cut the pork up in to smaller pieces.
Use a fork to poke some holes in the pork pieces.

Rub the sauce in to the meat, saving some for basting and dipping later.

Leave the pork in the fridge to marinade overnight.

Cooking

Grill the meat slowly until cooked, turning regularly. Baste with some of the remaining marinade whilst cooking. For best results, cook over a charcoal barbeque (ideally over a rack of pimento wood).


Serving

Serve with festival, salad and the jerk sauce left over for dipping.



be well / eat well
charles

[bhoffdhoff]

The recipe sounds fantastic! Thanks, Charles.

Bobbie

[roschone]

Thank you Charles. This is the same recipe as Boonoonoos? I am going to try it --- again. But I will use pork ribs instead of pork loin as that is what I remember them serving. I can usually get the jerk sauce pretty close, but their meat was so tender it melted in your mouth. I grow my own scotch bonnets so that's no problem.

Thanks!!!

[charlescroes]

That was the basic recipe. You have to spice it according to your likes and dislikes. The softness comes from the marinating. Standard rules are
The longer the softer (up to a point)
The more acids (vinegar) the softer (up to a point)

Good luck

be well
charles

Originally Posted by roschone

Thank you Charles. This is the same recipe as Boonoonoos? I am going to try it --- again. But I will use pork ribs instead of pork loin as that is what I remember them serving. I can usually get the jerk sauce pretty close, but their meat was so tender it melted in your mouth. I grow my own scotch bonnets so that's no problem.

Thanks!!!