Eating Our Way Through Nassau with Captain Ron

From now on, there is one thing that I will recommend to everyone going to New Providence Island: The Bites of Nassau Food Tour. When one thinks of the Bahamas, I’m sure a food tour is not the first thing that comes to mind. While the Island is known for their sun, sand, and sea, I urge everyone to go on this three-hour food tour.

This tour started off on a great note. We got a call from TruBahamian, the company that runs the tours, saying that they overbooked their tour but they’re willing to give my friends and I a private tour later that same day. We jumped on the opportunity, partly because we needed to do a tour for the course and partly because who doesn’t want took walk around and eat food for three hours?! The company’s willingness to accommodate us resonated with my group. We loved that they cared enough to give us a private tour rather than refunding our money. The level of care this company showed seems to be the usual for the native Islanders.

Captain Ron, our enthusiastic and passionate guide, started off the tour by telling us about the history of the Bahamas and a summary of his life. While I was sitting through that 20-minute explanation, it seemed irrelevant, but looking back on it, that summary was necessary in order to understand the reasons certain foods are popular in the Bahamas. After that, we finally started our tour. We went to historic places such as Bahamian Cookin’ and Kitchen, Graycliff, and Towne Hotel. At these places, we had mostly authentic food that would have been difficult to find without the tour.

While the tour was great, there is always room for improvement. So, to TruBahamian, I recommend that they allow the tour guides to say whatever they want. Captain Ron had given us two options: a “whitewashed” tour (where we are given the history of the Bahamas through rose colored lenses) or the real tour. My group, of course, chose the real tour. However, I believe it’s important that everyone learn the real history of the Bahamas, as it’s not something that is readily available, as American history is.

Second, I would recommend that the Conch Shack be taken out of the tour. At this shack, the food wasn’t fresh and didn’t properly represent the love Islanders hold for conch. It’s my hope that this restaurant be replaced with one that better represents how good conch can be, especially since there are many that really understand how conch is supposed to be prepared.

Overall, I don’t have many recommendations for the tour. Captain Ron has a really good understanding of the history behind the food, and the passion he holds for these tours and educating people only makes it better. If anyone finds themselves in New Providence, make sure to take a tour with Captain Ron!