In my time writing for the good people at Appetito, I’ve been delivering dispatches on Italian cooking from all over the globe. I’m referring to places like Hawaii, Paris, South Florida, and Vermont. I’m like a Carmen Sandiego who loves red sauce. So, when I packed my bags to go to Aruba, I knew my mission: Eat a lot of Italian food.
The hotel in my humble seaside Italian food quest was JOIA Aruba by Iberostar, located on Eagle Beach. (While I didn’t see any eagles, the beach is known as one of the most beautiful on earth.) Iberostar is a family-owned chain of hotels based in Europe; Aruba is part of the Kingdom of Netherlands, and there’s Dutch influences to be found everywhere (including fried Bitterballen balls as a bar snack).
I settled into my room overlooking the aforementioned ocean for a lay of the land, from JOIA’s huge, airy lobby to an infinity pool with lounge chairs plopped in the water. I arrived just in time for sunset, and the beach was full of selfie-takers while boats and catamarans zipped by. Every few hundred feet was a professional photographer capturing the picture of a family or a couple that will no doubt be displayed on their mantles. After a Pina Colada at the pool bar, it was time for dinner at Bucatini. Named after the long pasta with the hole in it, the restaurant sits just off the soft sands.
The table was filled with colorful bowls of roasted peppers, fresh breads, sliced cheeses, pesto, honey, olives as well as lemons and grapes. In fact, they proudly claim it to be “Aruba’s only antipasto station.” Forget about the ocean, I wanted to dive into one of those plates.
After picking my way through the antipasti, I ordered from a stacked menu. The first thing that came out was their meatballs, made with beef as well as lamb. The huge globes were topped with grated cheese and served with two crispy pieces of bread. Another spin: Bucatini’s Caesar Salad is actually a Kale Carbonara: flipping the concept on its head, subbing in the kale and utilizing guanciale.
The frito misto, meanwhile, was more authentic: a combination of shrimp and calamari, as well as brocolini, zucchini and eggplant. If there’s one thing an island nation excels at, it makes sense it’d be fish.
Its namesake dish, Buctani All’Amatricana also features guanciale, as well as onion, and as a spicy treat: pepperoncini. However, if you’re really looking to impress your date, there’s also the Tuscan-bred Bisteca Alla Fiorantina.
A short jaunt from JOIA is a Fofoti Tree, an Instagramable attraction which is essentially a gorgeous tree growing out of the white sand beach. Eagle Beach isn’t in the middle of nowhere: the area also has plenty of bars, restaurants, and even casinos. But eventually it was time to make my way to see Nonna, the restaurant Casa Nonna, that is.
Casa Nonna has three locations: one back home in New York City and another in Turks and Caicos. Its Aruba location, on Palm Island in the expansive Ritz Carlton Aruba, is a hotbed of special occasions. To my left is a beaming woman in a bridal dress. To my right, another beaming woman in a bridal dress. I started to feel a little left out and was ready to pop the question to my waiter.
Because Casa Nonna is rooted in New York City, the food is decidedly red sauce with their own special spin. The focaccia wasn’t actually focaccia, but a garlic flatbread. With Bucatini in mind, I had to compare the meatballs: true to its New York roots, Casa Nonna makes theirs with beef and pork, delightfully topped with slices of warm Parmesan and a fresh sprig of basil. I followed the meatballs with a delicious dish of lobster ravioli, made with shrimp, mascarpone and what they dub "Sambuca pink sauce."
Elsewhere, their Siamese Agnoliti was stuffed with veal and topped with truffle. Sometimes, the best dish is the simplest: sauteed spinach with hazelnuts and raisins was a nice, light combination that one rarely sees, even back in New York.
As the sun was setting on the sparkling waters, I chowed down on Casa Nonna’s dessert sampler, including a ricotta cheesecake and a pineapple panna cotta, I have to agree with Aruba's motte: This really is "One Happy Island."
