Memories of Casa de Campo: Minitas Beach Cuisine

This post is also available in: Spanish

In this week’s ‘Memories of Casa de Campo’ post, Carol Burke, our weekly writer, writes about eating on Minitas beach at the Pescador restaurant, which has no become the BeachClub by Le Cirque. This article is Carol’s 51st article – meaning that this week we celebrate 1 year of publishing Carol Burke’s wonderful memories and photos of Casa de Campo, later in the week we will be publishing a special celebratory Memories article to commerate this great achievement – many, many thanks to Carol for all her hard work!

“The pleasant hours of our life are all connected by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table.”
— Charles Pierre Monselet, French author (1825-1888)

Minitas Beach was more than sun-bathing, swimming, wind-surfing and sailing.

Dining al fresco was its greatest and most welcome offering after a morning on the sand and in the water.

The Lunchtime Crowd at the Pescador

During the 1980s and 90s, the restaurant, El Pescador, was located on Minitas Beach. It was open mainly for lunch, sometimes for dinner,

El Pescador at Minitas Beach

and there were night-time festivals, such as Pirate’s Night, when people would gather to feast and fête on the beach.

Minitas Cook-Out at Night

Every morning as the sun began warming up the day, El Pescador restaurant would get ready for lunch.

Morning Light on the Trees at El Pescador

As the sun reached its zenith, El Pescador would also reach its peak of patrons.

People Gather at Pescador

El Pescador had a buffet table where you could pick out a raw seafood delicacy,

Pick Your Platter

and have it grilled just the way you liked it.

Grilled to Order

There was an unusual menu board, designed in wood, in the shape of a fish.
One popular dish from the menu was the fresh Caribbean Yellowfin Tuna sandwich.

Grilled Yellowfin Tuna Sandwich

The menu also offered a bountiful seafood salad,

Seafood Salad

and a platter of scrumptious butterfly shrimp surrounded by limes.

Butterfly Shrimp

One time El Pescador decided to offer pizzas. This offering caused a sensation because, before this, only Café del Sol in Altos served pizzas in Casa. The shrimp pizza was the favorite, but there were cheese and pepperoni pizzas too.

Shrimp Pizza — El Pescador

One thing for certain, you never went away from El Pescador hungry. The tables were laden with delicious food for all.

Table for Four at El Pescador

When sunset arrived on Minitas, buffet tables in the shape of boats would be set up on the beach.

Pirate Night Buffet Boat

As the moon rose over Minitas, the scene was set for a beautiful evening.

Minitas Moon

Many thanks to Carol Burke for another wonderful article! If anyone would like to view Carol’s photos in higher resolution or download them, you can do some by visiting her flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandelion-tree/collections/72157624697056850/

Also below are links to all of Carol’s previous articles!

Memories of Casa de Campo: La Romana Landmarks

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