Both of my trips to the Bahamas left a bad taste in my mouth, but it wasn't from the food.

One was aboard a motoryacht to Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island in December, a month better suited for holiday window-shopping than for finding a decent weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. The other was a family-bonding trip on a crowded cruise ship during which my two teenage sons chose to bond with a couple of teenage girls instead of their parents. Both trips were without serious incident, or subsequent paternity tests, but neither left me with a very positive feeling. Being an open-minded person, however, I was willing to give the islands another try.

A few months after relocating to south Florida from Minnesota I got a call from Tom McKenzie, captain of the 92-foot yacht Water Gremlin. Tom spends his winter months chartering the yacht in the Bahamas, while in the summer he docks the yacht near the owner's home in Minnesota on the St. Croix River. Tom read an article I wrote about his employer and graciously invited me to Nassau for a couple days of scouting more article ideas on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. Tom has been going to the Bahamas for much of his adult life and has a network of Bahamian contacts. New Providence Island is a main provisioning center for both cruisers and charter yachts on their way to more southerly island destinations. Having recently hired a new chef, Barbara Wiscott, Tom was anxious for her to become familiar with New Providence Island and asked Durango Stuart, a friend and crewmember on another yacht, to take us on a shopping trip.

LIZ PASCHA day combing the island taught the author where to find the same local produce served at five-star restaurants and which butcher trims meat to demanding specifications.A day of combing the island gave my new friend and me the scoop on where to find the same locally-grown produce served at five-star restaurants and which butcher will trim and slice meat to the most demanding of specifications.

CITY MARKET

Part of the Winn-Dixie chain, City Market is your basic full-service grocery store with nine locations on the island – on the west end of Nassau at Cable Beach and the east end of the harbor across from Nassau Harbor Club in the Harbor Bay Shopping Plaza, just to name two. Weekly specials are available through the island newspaper and on the market's website: citymarketbahamas.com. This is the best place to go for buying basic staples when convenience is paramount.

SUPER VALUE: CABLE BEACH

According to a local taxi driver, a mega yacht executive chef shops at Super Value for all the boat's needs. The one-stop shop, located in west end Nassau (242-327-8879) offers dependable quality and personal services.

Wiscott has found the produce to be reliable with a good variety of mushrooms and shallots, which can be hard to find. It's the same with meat. "It's like having a real butcher shop since there is always a butcher on hand to give you the cut and trim it the want you want, with no extra charge," Wiscott says. "If my guests want a steak exactly so thick, I can accommodate." And while you're there, don't forget to tip the grocery baggers. Their sole income is derived from tips.

GOURMET MARKET

Americans will find many of their favorite gourmet items here since products are imported from the U.S. Items are already expensive but since most are flown in, prices are about double what you would pay stateside.

The store's head of provisioning, Dion Munnings, strongly recommends their buckhead beef and wide selection of organic produce, which includes specialties like passion fruit and pomegranate. They also stock hard-to-find items such as gourmet cheeses, caviar, and pates. The market, which is located in Caves Village on West Bay Street, about five minutes from Nassau Airport (954-678-3653), delivers to boats when given ample notice, and ships anywhere in the Bahamas. They can be reached on the web at www.gourmetmarketnassau.com. You can send email to gourmetmarket@coralwave.com.

LIZ PASCHAt Fort Montagu, local fishermen clean and gut their fish right at the boat ramp on East Bay Street and then offer their catch for sale.POTTERS KEY

Here at Potters Key, vendors in colorful shacks offer local fruits, vegetables, nuts, assorted spices, and hermit crabs also known as tree crabs, as well as hot prepared food. It's also a delightful place to enjoy a beer and conch fritters.

Located under the bridge to Paradise Island on Potter's Cay, the Key is a good place to buy produce and support local growers.

FORT MONTAGU

At Fort Montagu, local fishermen clean and gut their fish right at the boat ramp on East Bay Street and then offer their catch for sale. It's not the kind of sanitation I'm used to when buying food but it is a boat ramp afterall. Word of caution: some of the vendors got annoyed when I took pictures, so leave your camera in your bag and file the very interesting cultural experience in your memory.

Go if you have experienced selecting seafood using the following guidelines: Ensure fish skin is clear and not slimy. Fish eyes should be clear, not protruding and not cloudy. There should be no smell. Gills should be red, not white or slimy. Make sure the fisherman has a cooler with ice so you know the catch hasn't been sitting in the hot sun.

GOODFELLOW FARM

Ian and Karin Goodfellow started their first farm in Eleuthera where Ian's family owned property, then expanded to New Providence Island. They plan to build their third farm in Abaco.

Microgreens (small salad leaves) are the chief agricultural product and the farm is the primary supplier to the Atlantis Resort. Herbs such as Italian flatleaf parsley, dill, cilantro, and edible flowers such as nasturtiums are grown in rum casks acquired from the former Bacardi rum factory.

The farm store also offers a wide assortment of fresh vegetables, meats, seafood, cheeses, homemade jams, jellies, juices, as well as craft and gift items like soaps, candles, jewelry, straw baskets and organic sea salt. Farm chef, Lise Watson, who started as the farm's delivery girl, employs a fulltime yacht provisioner and oversees the daily menu for the farm's café, where some of the island's best-known, like Micheline Roquebrune, wife to Sean Connery, eat and shop alongside construction workers. Delivery service to any sized boat is free providing the order is in by 10 a.m.

Make sure to visit the farm, located on the far west end of the island on Nelson Road (242-377-5000), at least once and go during the week when it's not as crowded. Reserve at least half a day to make time for a farm tour. Enjoy lunch at the farm café where the daily-changing menu may include seared curry scallops, lentil and wild rice salad over farm-fresh greens, or a warm spicy snapper filet sandwich with fresh-baked bread. Bring your own shopping bag or buy one in the store. They don't use plastic or disposable.

While you're there be sure to buy Karin Goodfellow's cookbook, Living off the Land & Sea: Cooking with the Bounty of the Islands. And bring a pen for the author's autograph. She'll be the one in shorts and boots tending to horses across the road. Reach them on the Web at www.goodfellowfarms.com or email at sales@foodfellowfarms.com.