Hey everyone,
I'll be in Aruba with a 4 year old. We will have a car, as we usualy do. Can you recommend restaurants that are not in hotels, but rather stand alone? Flying Fishbone is def. on my ToEat list but I would not be interested in easting at the Marriott or the Hyatt.

Thanks
Serge

El Gaucho-great steaks
Que'Pasa-great International food,(also a good price,recommended by a local)
Rumba-good food at a pretty good price.

The Flyin' Fishbone has a great atmosphere,but more expensive than the other places mentioned above..but worth it for the ambience.

Have fun!

Christie

For something different try Tango. The steaks are good but they have professional Tango dancers performing and its quite a good show.

We enjoyed Salt 'n Pepper. Casual atmosphere serving tapas. We also liked Texas de Brazil. We are steak and potato people and thought their mashed potatoes were very good. Sign up on their website beforehand and they will e-mail you coupons.

The best meal we had was at LePetite Cafe. Stone cooked steak and lobster for $29.00. Great flavor. Really tasty food.

Rumba was by far our favorite restaurant. The service was terrific (the servers were both friendly and funny), and the food presentation was tremendous. The place was filled with more locals than touristy-types (like us!), and the prices were reasonable.
If you go, make sure to save room for the home-made desserts! Rumba is the tops!

As for the Petit Cafe, we liked that as well, but we certainly wouldn't want a 4-year old near the hot stones!

Finally, if you're interested in fresh fish, Driftwood is terrific. The owner catches the fish during the day, and serves it that evening. The meals were excellent, particularly the mixed grill starter.

Have fun, and forget the calorie-counter!