TURKS AND CAICOS - The coolest place to chill day or night on Provo is Horse-Eye Jack’s Bar & Grill. Come as you are with friends or alone, then sway in a hammock or kick back on beach chairs while losing yourself in the music, sipping rum punch or swigging Turk’s Head lager—all to the rhythms of the surf. Caution: The Horse-Eye Jack’s experience has a transforming spa effect.

Co-owners Arlene Jennings and Sheryl Leach acquired the property in 2006 when they designed and built the restaurant/bar from scratch. They wanted to do something different while maintaining the feel of the Caribbean, so they blended the natural atmosphere of Blue Hills with the upscale ambience of Grace Bay. Leach, creator of the popular children’s program Barney & Friends, then opted to become a silent partner and deferred management of the operation to Jennings.

No one knows the origin of the restaurant’s name. Some speculate that the bar was named after the local horse-eye jack game fish known for its proportionally large eyes. Others point out that the bar’s logo features an hombre, presumably Horse-Eye Jack, relaxing on a chair on the beach under a palm tree. Always creative, Jennings is planning a contest to concoct a legend about Horse-Eye Jack.

When I stopped at Horse-Eye Jack’s late in the afternoon, the parking lot was already crowded. A turquoise 1952 Chevy pickup sits on a raised platform to the left of the entryway, symbolic of the bar’s back-in-the-day atmosphere. Sea-grape trees flank the wooden walkway to the palapa bar, with the deck, beach and sparkling Caribbean beyond. Horse-Eye Jack’s is the real deal—the untouched Caribbean of yore, before the onslaught of pricey five-star resorts and condomania.

“We tried to keep things as they were,” Jennings said, pointing to some casuarinas growing up through the deck, their needles swaying in the breeze.. “Locals call those weeping willows. They were here first, so we built around them.” I noted the lush palms growing through the deck. “My friend gave me those when they were sprouting from coconuts,” Jennings said. “When we cut holes for them, they came to just above the deck, and then they really took off.” She added that everyone picks and eats the sea grapes that border the walkway. “They grow wild all over the island. When I was growing up everyone picked them and ate the purple fruits. They’re like berries and taste like a blackberry.”

You can’t get any closer to the water than Horse-Eye Jack’s. With its laid-back island atmosphere and panoramic seascape, patrons can wriggle their toes in the sand while enjoying a drink, and they can even go for a swim. “Last week they picked up a sleeping nurse shark from the shallow area out front and brought him up on the deck. I told them to get him out of here and get him back in the water,” Jennings said, laughing. “Nurse sharks are bottom feeders and they’re harmless, but since we don’t offer them on the menu, we let him go.”

Jennings noted that staff is key. “A friendly, personable staff makes customers feel at home, and it makes us feel good to see people enjoying themselves.” In my experience, she’s exceeded her goal. Shana, the young waitress from Jamaica, greeted me with a million dollar smile, and when Glen arrived, the manager from England, he seemed delighted to be behind the bar and answer my questions. The chef makes it a point to come out and chat with diners, so people often go into the kitchen before leaving to say thanks.

The awesome bar is an oversized octagon of polished, pigmented cement inlaid with sea glass and pink-tinged conch spirals. “We don’t waste the shells,” Jennings explained. “As you can see, some were used in the bar. When diners order conch, we ask them if they want the shell, and clean it for them if they do. Otherwise, the divers sell them on the beach. The islanders also use conch shells in construction.” Conch (pronounced kongk) has been an important Caribbean food source since the time of the Arawak Indians, who carved the shells into tools and ceremonial artifacts.

As we spoke, I watched Shana mash mint leaves and chopped limes with local Bambarra rum and a touch of sugar in a highball glass. She filled the glass with ice, added soda water, and shook gently before returning the drink to the glass and affixing a lime slice to the rim. It definitely looked like the perfect Mojito to me, and I aim to find out on Mojitos Mondays when the popular cocktail sells for $5. Horse-Eye Jack’s also features Frozen Fridays when all frozen drinks are $6.50. During Happy Hour, between 5-6:30 p.m. daily, beers are $5.50 and well drinks (the bar’s cheapest whiskey, brandy, rum, gin, vodka) are $4. Normally well drinks are $6, beer $7.50, and cocktails $8.50. The good news is that on the Blue Hills side of the island, there’s no tax.

Horse-Eye Jack’s specializes in local cuisine featuring fresh fish and lobster (in season). Conch is among the more popular dishes. “You can’t get it any fresher than this,” Jennings said. “The fellow goes into the water and brings out the live conch which Patrick prepares right on the beach before your eyes. Why take it in the kitchen when people can watch him make it? ” Indeed, on the beach just beyond the deck, at a wooden table with a thatched palm roof, Chef Patrick was busily chopping conch, green peppers, tomatoes, and celery for a colorful fresh conch salad.

The menu offers a little bit of everything to cater to everyone’s taste. Besides conch and lobster, there’s chicken, roast pork, filet mignon, striploin and T-bone. On the oversized grill around the corner, the chef prepares jerk chicken and pork using fresh coal made from the wood of a local tree burnt underground. “The chef pours Red Stripe beer over the charcoal-wood,” Jennings explained, “and the smoke brings out the flavor of the meat really well. And we make our own jerk sauce. We don’t sell the sauce, but often tourists want to buy it, so we just make some up for them. Sometimes they stop to pick it up on their way to the airport.” I wondered about the ingredients, but all Jennings would reveal was that the spicy homemade recipe had been handed down for generations.

Manager Glen Delph-Bootle runs the bar, restaurant and kitchen. Originally from Norwich in southeast England, Glen completed four years of catering college and then focused on hotel and restaurant management. He found his way to Horse-Eye Jack’s via Australia and Long Island, New York where he worked on cruise ships. The vegetarian homemade bean burger, a great seller, is Glen’s original creation. He adapted a basic recipe and shared the ingredients: scallions, sautéed butter mushrooms, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, Tabasco, soy, carrot, tomato paste and “a little bit of white rice to help it bond and hold the patty shape.” The result is a tasty and colorful burger with its array of orange carrots, green scallions, and black beans. Other menu favorites include homemade banana bread, homemade rum and raisin ice cream, and strawberry cheesecake.

Expansion plans within the next year include putting in a floating dock for boats connected to the walkway which will extend over the beach so people can walk beneath. “We want to create a beach-site atmosphere where people come down for lunch, and then either leave or enjoy the beach on beach chairs,” Jennings said. “We plan to install showers on the beach, and tomorrow we’re expecting three kayaks, and a dozen boogie boards for people who want to surf. We’ll provide slip-on beach shoes for protection against the coral for anyone who wants to walk in the ocean. You can walk out a quarter mile and the water’s only up to your waist. Blue Hills beach is part of the extensive Princess Alexandra National Park where fishing is prohibited, so it’s common to see conch and lobster."

Horse-Eye Jack’s is a happening place but never more so than on the monthly Friday night Full Moon party when it’s all about the 80s. From 7-9 p.m. well drinks are 2 for 1. Then the tables and chairs are whisked away, and it’s an evening of beaches and bonfires with BBQ, drink specials and jello shots while a DJ spins the hits and keeps the crowd dancing until dawn on the deck and on the beach under the swaying palms.

Sunday is Family Day because Jennings believes everyone should be able to enjoy Horse-Eye Jack’s spectacular setting. Besides music and enjoying the shallow sea, there’s kite flying, beach volleyball, kayaking and boogie boarding. In keeping with her make-yourself-at-home philosophy, there’s no specified closing time, so people linger as long as they wish..

If you’re a fan of conch fritters, put Horse-Eye Jack’s on your calendar for New Year’s when Horse-Eye Jack;s is holding a Conch Fritter Competition. Prizes will be awarded to the creator of the best conch fritters and to whoever can eat the most conch fritters.

Horse-Eye Jack’s is just a short drive from Grace Bay. Prices are average for the island, with conch dishes range from $9-$19. “People vacationing here for two weeks come back at least five times,” Jennings boasts. “Come as you are and get comfortable in the hammock or beach chairs at Horse Eye Jack’s, the way it’s supposed to be when you vacation in the Caribbean.”

Horse-Eye Jack’s Bar & Grill, casual Caribbean bar and beach-front dining in Blue Hills Beach Road, Blue Hills, Providenciales 649 941 4955 horse-eyejacks@hotmail.com Hours: Open 7 days/week 11 AM until— (kitchen closes 9:30 PM). Complimentary Wi-Fi. Sunday Family Days: 11 AM until— Full Moon Party: Friday closest to the full moon; music starts10 PM; closes ~6 AM Conch Fritter Competition: New Year’s; call/e-mail for exact time.