A Tropical Island Adventure October 2006

by Daniel G. Shafer
Images by R. Byrne

Billy Quon Lee has created an exceptional eating establishment in the midst of an area famous for outstanding restaurant faire. His Bahama Billy’s Island Steakhouse is a superb example of dining excellence.

If, as famed French architect Le Corbusier is reported to have said, “The Devil is in the details,” then Billy Quon Lee of Bahama Billy’s Island Steakhouse in the Carmel Barnyard must have had a devil of a time putting the popular local eatery together almost five years ago.

The Caribbean-style restaurant lives up to its “Tropical Island Adventure” name and motif especially in the fine details that might be overlooked by a restaurateur with less passion and experience than Lee. He takes great pride in scouring the world for artifacts and accoutrements to create an ambiance suitable to his marvelous dishes.

The Bahama Billy’s experience begins when customers walk through the partially glassed-in patio and into the restaurant’s lobby where they are greeted by Bahama Billy himself. I don’t mean Lee but a life-sized animatronic Caribbean islander complete with dreadlocks who sits at a piano and provides diners with a constant source of entertainment and frequent amazement. “I saw him at a trade show in Chicago,” Lee says, “and I knew I had to have him here. That was in May 2001 and we were opening in December. But I needed a custom version, a Rastafarian in a tux. They created him and shipped him to me in time for our opening.”

The tuxedo is something of an anomaly in a restaurant run by Lee, who repeatedly points out that neither his staff nor his clients tend to wear jackets and ties.

“We have the Tommy Bahama look going with our wait staff,” he points out, “and it’s that casual island atmosphere that I really try to encourage here. It’s what I call an ‘open-shirt attitude.’”

About 80% of Bahama Billy’s diners are locals, most of whom are repeat or regular customers. “We get a great mix of people,” Lee says, “from Carmel High School students to an older clientele looking for a little excitement with their dining experience.”

The walls of the restaurant are festooned with art, principally the wavy-framed oil paintings by Steve Barton, with their tropical-island themes, vibrant colors, strong brush strokes, and bold textures. In fact, the restaurant became such a great venue for Barton’s works that Lee made a deal with the artist to sell his artwork in a gallery that now adjoins the restaurant.

Far from being overshadowed by the restaurant’s inviting and upbeat décor, the food at Bahama Billy’s consistently draws rave reviews from diners of all types. While most of the dishes carry a tropical island flavor, they have been modified to suit local taste buds. “In the beginning,” Lee says, “[Executive Chef and partner] Jason Wright and I went pretty authentic with the flavors. But Caribbean food tends to have a lot of sweetness and we found that locals didn’t enjoy that as much as we thought they might. So we’ve evolved the menu over time to remind diners of a Caribbean vacation without hitting them over the head with strange flavors.”

Any list of the most popular items at Bahama Billy’s must begin with their Calypso Cheese Bread (see recipe). This bread is so popular that when Lee opened a second restaurant in the Barnyard a few months ago, his customers at Bixby Bistro were ordering the bread as a take-out item on their way home from his new establishment. “I figured I’d better start offering it there as well or too many customers would be going home early,’ Lee says affably.

But of course man (and woman) shall not live by bread alone, and Bahama Billy’s menu has plenty of other delectable offerings for whatever mood you find yourself in on any given visit.

On the appetizer front, the clear leaders are the famed sweet potato fries with a cashew-coconut breading and a choice of sweet and spicy dipping sauces, plus the nearly indescribable coconut prawns. If soup is part of your meal plan, you’ll have a hard time finding something as different and tasty as the crab-mango bisque with plentiful chunks of fresh crabmeat.

On the main menu, diners can choose from a wide variety of alternatives – from best-of-breed Bahama Mama fish tacos to the Ultimate Meatloaf, which is brilliantly seasoned, wrapped in bacon, and served atop mashed potatoes for a hearty meal. If seafood is your pleasure, you’ll find the macadamia nut encrusted halibut to be an excellent choice.

But save room for dessert. Lee offers two unique desserts, either of which is guaranteed to top off a delightful, relaxed evening. The Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie is far too big even for the largest appetite (but give it a shot anyway) and Bananas Marley, Lee’s own take on the Bananas Foster that New Orleans made famous, is not only fun to eat but a joy to watch in preparation tableside. Plus, my friend declared the Key Lime Pie to be the best he ever ate.

See you at Bahama Billy’s. Oh, and leave the tie at home, OK?°