Grocery Shopping at Super Food Plaza in Aruba

Aruba is one of six islands in the Dutch Caribbean. The island, which is roughly three times the size of San Francisco, lies about 25 miles north of Venezuela. The license plates boast "One Happy Island" and, given the immaculate weather, white sand, flowing rum, and modest population of 110,000, it comes as no surprise.

We escaped to Oranjestad, Aruba's capital and largest city, for a few days earlier this month. When we got there, after a quick dip in the Caribbean, the first thing we did was head over to Super Food Plaza, the city's biggest grocery store and the greenest shopping center in the Caribbean.

A dozen registers handle the daily demand of shoppers.

This is the counter for Jack's, the plaza's café with prepared food to eat in or take out.

The bakery.

Prices are in florins, but this loaf of fresh-baked bread is $2.40. A great price, but most other products aren't cheap, given the island's geography.

Juices.

Milk.

Chocolate milk.

Canned tomatoes.

Vibrant beef being diced for stew.

An intriguing selection of pork belly, prepared three ways.

One of our favorite things to do in new places is seek out the local beer and hot sauce. Balashi is the island's flagship beer and has been in production since May of 1999. Chill, also made by Balashi, is the brand's "light" beer and our preferred option for the brighter flavor and lower ABV, which is important when you're on vacation.

Hot Delight is the local hot sauce. The two varieties are Madam and Papaya. Both are hot pepper, water, and salt-based sauces, and the addition of corn oil in each lends a subtle sweetness that balances the clean, bright flavor of hot pepper mash. We were (spare) Madam users. Hot Delight is of the a-little-goes-a-long-way variety.

A look at the bounty of chips available at Super Food. Doritos were prevalent, but there were (not surprisingly) dozens of brands we'd never seen before and they all had amazing packaging.

Well-curated, stand alone cheese selection.

Super Food Plaza consists of other stores, including Daily Fish, which has a separate entrance and was unfortunately closed the Sunday we visited. But the market is designed as a one-stop, so customers can get everything they need in a single visit. Which is great always, and especially when you're only on the island for five days.

Super Food Plaza | Bubali 141-A Noord, Aruba | 297-522-2000 | www | map