The island’s cuisine is characterized by French and Caribbean influences. Creole cuisine is also widely available and is an original combination of French, Indian and African traditions seasoned with exotic spices.
Things to know: There are no licensing restrictions. Meals are ended with tropical fruit.
National specialties:• Lobster, red snapper, conch and sea urchin.
• Stuffed crab.
• Stewed conch.
•
Colombo (dish of goat, chicken, pork or lamb in a thick curry sauce).
National drinks:
•
’Ti punch (a brew of rum,
lime juice, bitters and syrup).
•
Shrub (a Christmas liqueur consisting of rum and orange peel).
•
Planteur (made from rum and fruit juice).
• Guava, soursop, passionfruit, mandarin and sugar-cane juices.
Legal drinking age: 18.
Tipping: 10% is acceptable.
NightlifeThere are plenty of
restaurants,
bars and
discos and some displays of local
dancing and
music. The
Ballet Martiniquais is one of the world’s most prestigious traditional
ballet companies.
Limbo dancers and steel bands often perform at hotels in the evenings. The local music,
zouk, lively, two-beat music similar to merengue but unique to the French West Indies, can be heard everywhere and Martinicans are very proud of it.
There are two
casinos, the Casino de la Batelière Plazza, in Schoelcher, and there is one in the Méridien Hotel. The Fort-de-France City Hall is now a municipal
theater. The local guide,
Choubouloute, contains information on local entertainment and is sold at newsagents.
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