Bryan Morris – Aruba’s Premier Wedding Photographer

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Total silence. Attempting to formulate a sentence to describe this experience.

You would expect food this good from a 5 star restaurant. Well this is a little restaurant right in Palm Beach. It’s actually in walking distance from the high rise hotels, nothing supersedes a good walk after a meal like this.

This restaurant is as top class local as it gets. It ranks right up there with any big 5 star restaurant. I know my descrition does not do this place justice. Just go! Care to know about the price, I’ll just say it’s nice!

This is the Aruban Ceviche.

Sitting here preparing this post I seriously feel like going to get one of these to take out I might just do it.

Crispy Tiger Shrimp! My date had this and according to her it was great.

This is a portrait of my date.

Grilled Catch Of The Day Special for Moi. Look at the size of that fish.

Mixed Seafood Platter!

Blessings,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]

I’ve had the pleasure of dining at Madam Janette, one of Aruba’s top restaurants. Depends on the time of year, you’ll have to make a reservation way in advance to get in. It is still not a restaurant that you can call today to get a reservation for today.

Fortunately, I know people that know people.
A call was made a few nights ago and since we were 2 and the time of year is right we’ve managed to get a late reservation. (Highly unlikely situation) This is not the norm, I usually don’t eat late and I guess all stars were in line for a great evening of dining. Getting a reservation for anytime at Madame Janette is not to be turned down as this is not the benchmark.

The ambiance in Madam Janette A+, you’ll definitely score high taking your wife, fiance, girlfriend or just friend as the food is awesome. My experience confirmed that they were not just handed the many awards that they display but they really deserved them.

Gold Medals 2004/2005 Rising Culinary Star of the Year.
Best Restaurant of the Caribbean – Caribbean Travel Life Magazine Annual Reader’s Poll
Two Gold Medals – Les Amis d’Escoffier
Best Restaurant 2004-2006 – Aruba Trade Wind Times
Are among some of the awards that they were presented.

This is the cool looking menu.

Janette’s Homemade Crab Cakes, served with chef’s spicy island Aioli.

Madam’s hot shrimp in a petite casserole.

Shayenne have me displaying my “Head Rockstar” symbol.

The old butcher Lamb Rack, overnight marinated in a secret marinade, invented by our chef’s father, grilled to perfection, served in it’s own juices.

Almond Grouper, a fine grouper fillet in a coat of almonds served with a cream spinach sauce.
This was awesome, it’s said that this is the most ordered dish.

This shows you how excited she (Shayenne) was about taking pictures this time around.

Dessert was pineapple sauteed in Morgan’s Rum with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. (Not sure if it was Morgan’s, I think so though. Nevertheless, it tasted awesome.

Our servers were Sergio and Thomas (I Hope it’s spelled right), these guys were awesome. Anytime you go there, request them.

Blessings,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]

Ooh La La….

That was my exact expression during and after the dinner I’ve had at the French Belgian restaurant at the J.E. Irausquin Blvd 224, Aruba.

It was an absolute dining pleasure at the Le Dome, one of Aruba’s more upscale dining venues.

Le Dome has 4 dining rooms:

• La Galerie, a flowery outdoor dining area
• L’Orangerie, autumn leaves in a colorful garden – eyecatching furniture and decorations. This room and it’s setting makes you feel like you’re in a French garden. L’Orangerie is a separate section very attractive for festive occasions; it can provide seating for up to 45 people.
• The Old World, coziness of a winter evening – sense the authentic European atmosphere. In this room you dine among antiques and you will probably imagine yourself actually in Belgium. Classical surroundings enhanced by traditional Belgian cuisine, beautiful soft music; take a moment to step back in time.
• Salvador Dali, the lightness of a spring afternoon – Salvador Dali as a creative artist will always be an example for the art of the 20^th century.This room exudes spaciousness and features several original lithographs decorated with gold, by Salvador Dali. This series “t Hoge Lied” was made in the beginning of the 70’s, based on the Old Testament story of King Salomon.

The restaurant has a strict dress code.
Casual elegance.
For gentlemen long pants and sleeved shirt required.

Dress code for terrace
Casual, shorts permitted.

Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted by the hostess and taken to our table. A coco colored lady, Larisa was our server for the night.

Words fail to express the care that we’ve received from Larisa and the entire crew at Le Dome. In one short word “Awesome” and that word still don’t do the service justice.

The ambience is very nice, we were offered a very romantic table for three. That’s me and my two wives, Shayenne and Moisha (My camera bag)

Salade de Tomates et Mozarella for Shayenne.

Escargots de Bourgogne a l’Ail for me 

Shayenne displaying her new look. 

 Filet Mignon for Shayenne with a choice of three sides.

 Cajun Wedge Potatoes, was her side with the the Filet Mignon

Filet de Dorade aux Coquilles St Jacques 

Shayenne wanted a lot of pictures with her new look so I made quite a few to make her happy.

Banana Split for Shayenne for dessert. 

This was my dessert, Crepe Suzette……Very Good! 

And this is the last one of Shayenne….. 

Blessings,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]

Scala is a restaurant that is now open a little over a year in the brand new Paseo Herencia Mall.

I’ve had the pleasure of repeating my dining experience there about a week ago. This was one of my first restaurant visits for the year. It then never crossed my mind to have a restaurant review on my blog so I did not take a good camera and the images were not of the quality accustomed to on the blog so I never posted them.

I’ve had this guilty feeling as this was a great experience and I didn’t get a chance to showcase it so I just had to rebound.

The second time around seemed even better than the first as I got to talk to Alex, the restaurant’s manager in person and he gave me the inside scoop.

The restaurant is great and big. You have the option of sitting inside in the AC, outside on the balcony or on the street side downstairs just like in Italy or France.

Service is awesome, you’re treated like the royalty that you are. Lila our waiter was exceptional, very attentive.

The ambience differ, due to the different levels. Inside and on the balcony in a private corner can be very romantic. On the balcony more open and downstairs on the walkway it can be very much casual. It’s amazing to see one establishment but it can still offer different ambience simultaneously.

Here’s is a more graphic view of the dinner that we’ve had.

Escargot a la Scala was for Shayenne, of course I had to taste it I’m going to give the review, right.

Seafood Chowder for moi

Reef and Beef for wifey, the traditional Surf and Turf but they came up with a funky name for it.

I’ve had the scampi stuffed grouper, Ooh La La…..

I’m not a drinker, I might have a wine or two during dinner but that’s it. We were just tempted to try the Baileys Martini after dinner, which we did.

A portrait of me, I told you Shay is starting to get a hang of the camera.

Shayenne all smiles after the Baileys Martini, happy as a clam!

Talking to Alex, I’ve learned that they have the have a Chocolate Martini, and urged us to try it. You would probably hear about a Chocolate Martini and envision a brown drink, well at Scala you’re wrong. He brought us a clear drink with 1 Kisses chocolate at the bottom. This drink was so chocolaty, that it amazes me.

You noticed I don’t have a picture of dessert, I did have desert, Brownie a la Mode. Deep in conversation it came to my table and I bit a few chunks of it. I’ve remembered the day after that I didn’t take a shot or two of it.

My general take of the restaurant is AWESOME.

* Disclaimer
All restaurant reviews on this blog are not funded by any of the restaurant, they are my unbiased opinion of the establishment.

Be blessed,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]

Yet another restaurant review.

I just can’t help it, I love good food and Aruba certainly is the place for this.

I’ve had lunch at Matilde.

I’ve separated myself and was trying to formulate the experience, but because of my finite vocabulary, I was at lost for words. So, I’ll just say it as ghetto as I can; Man they’re great!

I’ll be totally honest, I’m not paid for these reviews, this is my blog and I can do what I want.

Upon entering, the greeting lacked. My wife glanced at me as stating; “this might not be a nice experience.” I however totally understand that everyday is not your day so I gave the lady that greeted us at the door the benefit of the doubt.

Her second approach was improved a hundred fold, so I’ll say that a) She then found out who we were b) She realized that she was not in good spirits at the greeting and adjusted or c) It was just our imagination that the greeting wasn’t too nice, which I doubt!

Service 4 7/8 of a star, because of the first impression. First impressions do count.

Ambience 5 stars

Food 5 stars

The ambience was great, we sat in a little cozy/romantic corner. The restaurant went through a major renovation. The decor is very modern, trendy……..

I will use their own words to describe the restaurant.

“Chez Mathilde once again reinvents itself.
 After extensive renovations Matilde offers an entirely new “Caribbean Chic” but relaxing atmosphere under the same original owners and management.
 A more buttoned-down experience yet maintaining the same standards of excellence and world class cuisine we have always been known for.

Now you can be chic, trendy or both… only at Matilde.“

This could not have  been described better.

The food?

Tony the Tiger would say, “Grrrrrrrreeeeeaaaaaaaaat!”

Portions are not big but they are just right. Upon leaving the place you don’t feel stuffed, you feel like you’ve just had some good food.

Of course I have images of the food I ate……

Strawberry champagne was brought to our table as soon as we were seated. I’m not a fanatic of strawberries but the longer you let this sit in the champagne, the better it tastes.

This is the Crab Cappuccino, we both had this as appetizer, very good.

Matilde Burger, this is a real homemade hamburger covered in cheese. Shayenne couldn’t stop raving about this burger.

This is the Caribbean Grouper Filet.

Self Portrait of Shayenne.

Her second attempt at a self portrait.

Shayenne’s Dessert; Oven Baked Apple Tart. Yummo!

My dessert; Pumpkin Cake. Se magnifique

 Cappuccino to complete the lunch!

Blessings,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]

WOW!

Don’t carve this in stone yet as I’m not done going through the close to 400 restaurants on the island hwever, Aruba has great restaurants.

I’m yet to find one that does not make the mark. Sometimes I wonder if I get the service because they know that I’m VIP (another post, another time) but most times they don’t know until the end of the night and I rather keep it that way.

Service at the Sunset Grill Restaurant is great, I’ve had 5 different people stopped at my table on different occasions over the course of the evening to ask me if everything was OK, if I needed anything else. The restaurants manager was one of the many pacing the floors making sure the dining experience was excellent.

Service 5 stars

Ambience 5 stars

Food 5 stars

They have a saxophone player “El Prove” playing at Miramar Bar all week from 7-11 and he swings by the restaurant during the course of the night. That certainly adds to the dining experience. My wife is all breath taken about music played by saxophone and I like music in general so it’s a definite plus.

This is the way the bread is displayed. They bring you a variety of bread!

Maryland Lump Crabcake and grilled Diver Scallops for moi.

Escargots in Garlic Butter for Shayenne.

Chilean Sea Bass, I’ve never had this before. All I can say is Ooh La La…..

Porter House Steak Bone in for Shayenne. I like when she orders big like this. This came with a choice of sides. See these on the website.

Yours truly, I don’t get the chance to be much on this side of the camera but I must confess, it does feel strange. However, Shayenne seems to be getting the hang of the camera. The lighting was tricky, though.

Shayenne wrestling with her 22 oz of steak.

Chocolate Souflé, this is to be ordered with the main course. It takes 25 minutes to prepare this, even if you decide on this after dinner, it is worth the wait.

My desert was the Bananas Foster White Chocolate and Dark Rum Bread Pudding, now that was the bomb!

And now you’re asking where is the image of my dessert, right. I ashamedly have to agree that I was in a intense conversation with my wife when my dessert came and I ate it before getting the shot. The best part of it is that I’ve remembered that I did not take a shot of my dessert after we left the restaurant. It was good but to forget like that I came to the conclusion that it was heavenly.

Blessings,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]

Thanks to my lovely wife, I’ve had the honor of visiting LG Smith Steak & Chop House in downtown Oranjestad, Aruba for dinner a couple of evenings ago. Am I not blessed to have a beautiful, influential wife like I have. Just take a look at the images below. Isn’t she cute?

I just had to say that because upon going through these images I was stopped in my tracks and started to think how blessed I am. I encourage you (especially the men) to stop from time to time and smell the roses and show and express appreciation to your loved ones. I know we are demonstrators by character, men but for some reason I’ve learn that they (women) know you love them but they still just want to hear you say it.

Let’s resume to our restaurant review. I love, love love the setting. The decor is absolutely fabulous. The food is great and the service is stupendous. Jean, a Haitian native residing on the island for 16 years really knows how to make your experience one of a lifetime.

Of course, I’ve had to have my other wife along (My Camera Bag), as my wife calls it. So following are a few images that I took in the restaurant.

My Beautiful wife.

Fried Calamari for Shayenne.

Aruban Seafood Chowder for Moi.

She does not eat much (but can always request my help), but could not resist the description given by Jean concerning this 20 oz Porterhouse steak with a choice of 8 sides of which Shayenne chose Creamed Spinach and Sauteed Mushrooms.

Surf & Turf with sides of Cream Spinach and Mixed Veggies.

Is that sexy Ice cream eating or what?

Sipping on some bubbly…….This was Chateau St Michel from California, soft and fruity.

This is Jean, our 5 star waiter. You’re the best.

Blessings,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]

Yummy, yummy great for your tummy!

A few weeks ago was my wife’s birthday. This birthday seemed to be the best one ever. She received gifts like there was no tomorrow. On the day of her birthday she decided that we were not going to go anywhere as she wanted to spend some family time, kids included.

The day after her birthday was for us to celebrate together. As you can see from the title that we’ve been to Ventanas del Mar at the Tierra de Sol Resort, Spa and Country Club home of the famous Tierra del Sol golf course.

OMGosh! Superfantabulous!

Service 5 stars

Ambience 5 stars

Food 5 stars

They even have a musician either playing a flute or a saxophone enriching the experience.

This is the birthday girl. Ain’t she hawt. Taken in available light and used the 50 1.4 lens from Canon, therefore the soft texture of the image.

Seafood Cocktail Ventanas, this was for Shayenne.

Corn Crab Chowder, this was for yours truly.

Live entertainment. I like how the beginning of the flute is in focus and the musician is soft, almost out of focus. This is still all done by available light. I just love the effect from available light, it captures the moment. When you see it years after it gives you a nostalgic trip back to the moment and the ambience. Available light is my preferred shooting style. I use flash if I want to create a special effect or I’m shooting in a total dungeon.

Surf & Turf for wifey, doesn’t that look great!

This was the Crispy Whole Red Snapper, this fish was huge. Three people could’ve easily eaten from this fish with some veggies. I’ve honestly tried to down this, but it beat me to it. I just couldn’t.

This was the restaurant’s surprise (Tres Leche) as they knew it was her birthday. Does she look happy or what?

This was the Birthday Cake/ Dessert from up close.

Blessings,

Bryan Morris

Popularity: unranked [?]