The Bahamian Experience

One of the things I miss most about being in college is Spring Break, Winter Break, well I guess pretty much all of those breaks.. My dad always has a company trip right around February break, and I miss getting that all expenses paid vacation - those days are over as I am now an adult with a full-time job. But miraculously, this past February, a window to my past opened up, and I had the opportunity to join my parents on the annual office trip. It all started when I was home for Christmas and my parents were complaining about how they had to take two consecutive trips to Nassau, Bahamas. As they were explaining how a group of their friends wanted to go the week before they had to go for the office trip, and that they would be stuck on vacation in paradise for just over two weeks, they were legitimately looking for sympathy from my sister and I. Seriously? What I wouldn't do for two uninterrupted weeks of sipping fruity drinks by the pool in perfect weather... nevermind, that sounds miserable.

Anyway, my sister and I went back to school and work right after New Years, and just a short month later my parents (and my younger brother Jordan) were on their way to the Bahamas. My parents and their friends have naturally all discovered Facebook, so as I sat at my desk freezing my ass off and perusing Facebook I was being constantly bombarded with pictures and status updates about how much fun they were all having....

Exhibit A - Hmmm... Miserable?

So after the 20th status update I decided to, in jest, make a comment asking one of their friends, to ask my parents to book me a flight because I would be joining them for the weekend. Five minutes after commenting on the post I had almost forgotten about it, until I received a text from my dad that read, "Hey hunni, Joann says you wanna come to the Bahamas? Book your flight! And invite your sister." Well you don't have to ask me twice, I booked my flight and three days later my sister and I were on our weekend getaway to Nassau (My parents are amazing in case I hadn't mentioned that).

We arrived after a short three hour flight and as soon as we landed I called my parents to see where they were, which is when my dad informed me that they had sent a car to get us - we had arrived mid-day and clearly that was prime cocktail time. We found our driver and in no time we were headed towards The Cove at Atlantis. Our driver was obviously hysterical, telling stories about celebrities he's driven, and the billionaires with their 20 year old girlfriends. The highlight story was clearly the one about the guy who landed in his private jet with his wife, dropped her off at the hotel, and then came back to pick up his girlfriend, who had just landed, to bring her to a different hotel. It was hard to get through the stories though, since my dad called just about every five minutes to make sure we were being driven to the hotel and not being sold on the black market somewhere in downtown Bahamas. After about an hour in the car we finally made it to the resort, changed into our bathing suits, and hit the pool for what was left of the sun.

Awards Dinner

That night we attended the awards banquet for my father and his 100+ guests, and then went out for drinks in the hotel bar afterward. The food at the banquet was fine, but I wasn't really blown away. I'll give them credit though for banging out 100+ dishes and keeping everything hot. I should also mention that my sister and I were so exhausted that we ended up going back to the room before my parents did that night... sort of embarrassing.

Cain at The Cove

Kayla, my dad, and I (Yes my dad is wearing a do-rag -
in his defense it was to protect his head from getting
burned)

The next day was blissful. We sat by the pool, sipped "Orange Paradises" (by sipped I really mean chugged), and soaked up the sun at Cain - the adults only pool at The Cove. At one point I lost the rest of my family, only to find my dad in the middle of the pool conversing with strangers... typical vacation behavior.

Anyway, after spending a full day drinking and sunning, we showered up and headed to dinner at Dune, a Jean-Georges restaurant located in the Ocean Club hotel.

This is the second Jean-Georges restaurant I've been to, the other was Market at the W Hotel in Boston, and I have not been disappointed at either. The food is a combination of both French and Asian cuisines, and the presentation of the food is exquisite.

 For dinner I ordered the roasted peking duck with shallot confit, asparagus, shitake and lilly bulb stir fry - it was perfectly cooked and on point with flavors (My second favorite duck dish). Our group also ordered the lamb chops with mushroom bolognese, swiss card and pecorino cheese, the salmon with artichokes and black bean vinaigrette, and the beef with gingered mushrooms and caramel emulsion. All of the food was sophisticated, refined, and extremely well done. I think one way to tell exceptional food is when someone with a less sophisticated palate can still enjoy it - because it's truly that tasty. For example, my cousin is a chickenavore, in that he typical enjoys just chicken... usually plain, with a simple side. Well on this vacation he ordered the lamb and absolutely loved it - and everything it came with.

 If anyone is traveling to the Bahamas I would highly recommend having dinner at Dune. We were able to take a shuttle from The Cove over to the hotel, and the food was absolutely worth the expensive price tag. Also, the Ocean Club is where one of the James Bond movies was filmed at, and the views are to die for.

I have been to the Bahamas on vacation before, but this was by far the best trip. My parent's also recommend going to Mesa Grill located at Atlantis. It's one of Bobby Flay's restaurants, and from what they told me, it was awesome (But I guess I'll be able to validate this claim after Saturday).

Perfect weather & Perfect food