A vendor cooks local dishes at the fish fry in Gouyave, Grenada. (DIANE SLAWYCH/QMI Agency)

The food is good, cheap, plentiful, and served in a festive atmosphere often accompanied by free entertainment. That’s what you’ll find at the weekly fish fry — a popular tradition on many Caribbean islands.

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If you’re the type of traveller who likes to know where locals go to eat and have fun, this is it. The open-air events typically take place on streets closed to traffic, where vendors serve different kinds of freshly caught fish with Caribbean side dishes and beverages not normally found at home.

As these events happen only once a week, you may want to plan ahead to make sure this excellent local experience fits into your next Caribbean vacation. Here is a sample of some popular dinners:

Barbados

Hundreds of Bajans and visitors show up for the Friday night Oistins fish fry — even when it’s raining, as it was the night of my visit.

It’s easy to decide what to order when you can see everything being cooked in front of you. Choices range from barbecued chicken to seafood such as barracuda, kingfish, snapper, tuna and mahi. The island specialty is flying fish — a silvery blue specimen about 20 cm long that can glide above the water for a few metres. Oistins serves them battered and fried or in a special sauce.

While there, stop in at the Oistins Fish Market (open daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.) to see the day’s catch, or check out the street entertainment. I watched some break dancers, then browsed at dozens of craft stalls selling conch shells, flags, clothes, jewelry and island-made sandals.

Step away from the flaming coal pots, sizzling grills, rum bars and blaring calypso tunes, and you’ll soon hear nature’s version of entertainment — a chorus of frogs engaged in their nightly singing ritual.

At Easter time, Oistins Fish Festival puts on three days of competitions, parades, demonstrations of fish boning, and a big street party with music that goes on into the night.

For more, check visitbarbados.org or call 1-800-268-9122.

Grenada

Although it’s a tiny town, Gouyave — on the island’s west coast — actually deserves two visits. Once, during the day, when you can tour the large nutmeg processing station (Grenada is one of the world’s major nutmeg producers) and then, on a Friday night for the weekly fish fry.

This is when the town comes to life. Numerous food stalls, entertainers and revellers cram onto just two streets, which are closed to traffic. Order the fish of your choice cooked to your liking — fried, grilled, baked or stewed, then “lime” with the Grenadians.

During my visit, drummers entertained, prompting both locals and visitors to dance to the beat.

Vendors will help you decipher the menu boards, which may include items such as crayfish waters, crab and dumpling, coconut bakes, fried breadfruit, and cou cou! Don’t miss a chance to try local non-alcoholic beverages such as the gingery sorrel (made from Jamaican sorrel, an edible red flower), passionfruit, Mauby and golden apple. Also common is Ting (a carbonated drink made with grapefruit juice popular in the Caribbean), Vita Malt, and ginger beer.

Some resorts, including La Source, will organize transportation for guests who want to experience the weekly event, which runs from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

For more, check grenadagrenadines.com or call the Grenada Board of Tourism in Toronto at 416-595-1339.

Antigua

This island’s equivalent of the “fish fry” is the Sunday afternoon barbecue at Shirley Heights. What makes this special — along with fish, ribs and chicken — is a spectacular view! Amid the restored 18th-century buildings is a terrace that overlooks Nelson’s Dockyard, Falmouth Harbour and English Harbour. On a clear day you can see the volcano in Montserrat, which has recently been very active.

The barbecue starts at 2 p.m., with steel band music followed by another live act playing a combination of Soca, Calypso and Reggae from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Check out the crafts for sale, enjoy a rum punch or the local Wadadli Beer, and sample a slice of juicy Antigua Black pineapple.

To get the most of the experience, arrive around 5 p.m. and stay for a couple of hours so you can see both bands, and day and night harbour views. The party atmosphere begins around sunset — when it’s also possible to glimpse the green flash that is sometimes seen just as the sun dips below the horizon.

If you miss the Sunday barbecue, there’s another on Thursday, which runs from about 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more, check antigua-barbuda.org or call 416-961-3085.

St. Lucia

Here’s a tip from a St. Lucian: When going to the Friday night “fish feast,” in Anse La Raye, south of the capital Castries, get there early (around sunset) to ensure the best selection.

What’s on offer will depend on the day’s catch and may include squid, octopus, shrimp, lambi (conch) and lobster (in season). If this is street food, bring it on!

The average cost of a meal with “bakes” (fried biscuits) and a beer is about $10 or less.

After the fish fry, make your way to the Gros Islet Jump-Up — the long-running end-of-the-week street party that attracts hundreds of people (and lots of stalls selling more food). Huge speakers blare out Calypso, Soca, Reggae, and Zouk tunes all night long.

For more, check stlucia.org or call 1-800-869-0377.

writer@interlog.com