The "Big Black Banana" is the signature drink of Everyt'ing Cool. (I think the last count was 96 different rum drinks on their menu.) I got hooked on them the first time we went there and have been drinking them ever since. I even bribed the owner to share the secret recipe but he swore me to secrecy. If you watch closely when they're made one of the ingredients is a slightly over-ripe banana, hence the name "Big Black Banana". It's the rest of the ingredients (alcoholic) that make them sneaky. They go down smooth and easy but I ususally have "shoreside wave problems" after the second or third, if you get my drift. (Bonine and/or the patch don't work on that condition!)
Conch stew is made of conch meat, potatoes, celery and tomatoes stewed in a tomato sauce base with Caribbean spices. I got hooked on conch on our first "land cruise" to Grand Cayman. Conch is a large sea snail. Think of one of those old South Pacific B-movies you've seen at 2:00am when you can't sleep where this Tahitian-looking guy is standing on a cliff looking out to sea and blowing into a sea shell. That shell was, at one time, the home for some poor, unfortunate conch who is now homeless, or worse. It's eaten "cracked" (strips rolled in seasoned flour or corn meal and deep fried), marinated (raw and marinated with lime juice) or stewed.
There is a restaurant called the Cracked Conch in Grand Cayman near the Turtle Farm that serves it more ways than you could ever imagine. Thursday night used to be "Conch Madness" night. Conch was part of everything from the apetizer and salad, to the main course, to dessert. I heard they got hammered pretty well in the last hurricane so I don't know if they've re-opened. The Almond Tree House in Grand Cayman does the most awesome conch steak. Lightly breaded and sauted in white wine.
Now, aren't you guys sorry you asked?! Probably more than you ever wanted to know about a slimey little sea snail.
