You know me, I’ll eat anything. Yet the prospect of a dish called Bake and Shark set my stomach on edge. It’s tradition, however, to recuperate after Carnival on Maracas Beach and feed your hangover at one of the many shark shacks that line the beach. I was tentative at first – thoughts of gelatinous shark fin soup filled my head – but soon discovered that the local speciality is just a Trinidad version of the filet-o-fish. “Trinis use the whole fish,” I was told, allaying any fears I had of being handed fin on a bun. The battered filets of shark meat are served on warm bake, a fried bread common across the West Indies. Condiments are optional but I topped mine with red onion, garlic sauce, tamarind sauce, pineapple and chadon beni – a green sauce made from a local herb similar to cilantro. Needless to say, it’s about as tasty as fresh fish tacos on a beach in Baja. Plus, the trio of spicy sauces opened up my sinuses, while all that bread and batter went a long way towards mopping up any leftover alcohol floating around in my system.
About Author
