Roatan redux

"What did you eat while you were in Honduras?" is a question I've heard once or twice since I got back from vacation. Some common guesses are tortillas, beans, and bananas. Well, I did eat "baleadas"--thick, toasted tortillas folded over beans and cheese. I also ate a few smoky red bean purees, and found bananas folded into pancakes and fruit salads. But some of my favorite meals diverged from typical Honduran fare.

I spent a good part of my time on Roatan, one of the Bay Islands off the Caribbean coast where the residents are a hodgepodge of Hondurans, Garifunas, Britons, pirates, and divebums. While the island location and erratic electricity mean meals aren't cheap and spoil-resistant ingredients like bacon are ubiquitous, the melange of cultures leads to many food choices, from risotto to pho. Two of the foods I can't forget are:
1. Key "lemon" pie at The Lighthouse, a romantic restaurant set on the water that serves classy seafood platters with warm coconut bread (a Garifuna specialty), white rice and red beans, salad, and garlic vegetables. But the best thing is the pie, with a crumbly graham cracker crust and a tart, icy cold, lemon custard filling, which is sweet enough but not overwhelming.
2. The sausage plate at The Galley, a small shack set away from the road. This plate comes with two sausages (a popular choice is the bratwurst, although the frankfurter is pretty good). Next to the meat sits a huge leafy green salad with ripe tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, a baked potato or fries, a generous helping of sauerkraut, mustard and my personal favorite, a freshly baked pretzel with salt. Although the outdoor seating means bringing bug spray to dinner, it's a nice place to savor some good German/Northern Italian food with a Salva Vida or a glass of wine.