US Virgin Islands News

What's for dinner, and where?

St. John has a number of fine restaurants.  Some really talented people are working hard in those kitchens, trying to do their best with an unpredictable supply chain of meat, fish, vegetables, and so on.  And the high prices at those restaurants reflect both the challenge and the execution.

 Some first-time visitors were wondering on TripAdvisor, “Since groceries are so expensive … is it actually cheaper (to cook at the villa) or (is it) the same as eating out?”

Monkeynoclimb’s answer was fast and conclusive. “Still cheaper to eat in. (Besides,) many times we are too tired to leave the house after a day on the beach, too.”

For couples, going out can be economical, if you go to the right-priced places. “We always go to Candi’s BBQ one night, hit Banana Deck a couple times for a late lunch at the bar, and Aqua Bistro in Coral Bay open night for Tuna Ponzu,” said Bluewater43.

Brenda-2004 said, “Just as expensive to cook a meal in than to just go out, unless you are doing high-end dining.”

Virgin Islands veteran Rick G passed along that, “Groceries are more expensive (than home). Staples are 10-25 percent more. Prepackaged meals, frozen chicken tenders, bag cereal;? More expensive.”  His recommendation: get a whole chicken at Starfish Market, add Cruz Bay Grill Rub and hot sauce from St. John Spice, rice and peas, “and you have four to six meals.”

• TripAdvisor on Candi’s
• TripAdvisor on Banana Deck
• TripAdvisor on Aqua Bistro
• TripAdvisor on Cooking in vs Eating out

New ferry route to STJ?

Word that a Louisiana company hopes to complete two ferries for St. John before the end of the year got all the attention last week when the Governor issued a news release. But the Inquiring Iguana thinks the real news was missed.

In the release, the Governor gave some people hope that a better, more efficient, and quicker ferry route to St. John from Charlotte Amalie may be considered.

Acknowledging that STT traffic is a nightmare and hardly the first impression the VIs want to give visitors headed for St. John, the Department of Public Works said it's hired a consultant to develop a marine transportation system.

"The consultant will help determine appropriate vessels and marine transit routes ... as well as study how residents and visitors alike can benefeit from new sea routes that will reduce traffic congestion downtown," the Governor's office said.

The Iguana thinks the best way to reduce congestion is to avoid it.  Create a new route from the ferry terminal now serving boats going to Tortola and other places.  That terminal is closer to the airport than the current "station" smack dab in downtown CA, at which cabs and busses chaotically stop, discharge and pickup passengers.

It's likely, though, that the "Tortola Terminal" is too small, so ... how about using Crown Bay?  It's big enough for the cruise ships, should be big enough for St. John ferries.

New ferry service to St. John, with a pickup point closer to the airport and would be less stressful for visitors, reduce traffic through Charlotte Amalie.

Just do it!

Cafe Roma's owner: "We will return!"

Photo courtesy of Kevin McCarthy

From John Hiebert’s Facebook page …

"The restaurant closed last night at 10:30 pm..... same as always... (Sunday) at about 1:30 pm smoke was seen billowing out of the restaurant. Local business owners and staff jumped into action. (Castaways, Woodys) The fire Dept, Police, St John Rescue, and all that responded did a great job.

"However, the restaurant didn't make it. 

"Thank God that Woody's, La Tapa, and Quiet Mon, Bayside were not touched by the fire.  Sorry that you had to close because they shut off all power in the area........ ( I am truly sorry that you had to close for the evening..... but I am so touched that you were all on your roofs with hoses trying to control the fire.) 

"I live on St Thomas, and had to wait for the next ferry (1 hour after we heard the news)--just to see what was going on.... I could see smoke billowing over St John the entire ride ....... That was quite sickening for Michelle and I, because we knew that it was our restaurant BURNING!!... When we reached the St John dock, Michelle and I were so touched by all the people greeting us at the ferry, tears in their eyes. 

"The St John community is sooooo very very special. You have turned out in support and prayers for us... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! We are so very blessed by the friends and support from everyone. WE WILL REBUILD!!!!! ROMA WILL RETURN!"

• The St. John Source has a story about the fire.

Sequester worries new VI Park superintendent

Brion FitzGerald first cane to St. John to celebrate his wedding anniversary, Now, he's on the
island permanently.

 

Image from St. John Source

His first goal as the new Superintendent of the Virgin Islands National Park is to do more with less, thanks to the federal government’s budget cuts.The VI Park is expecting a reduction of almost $500,000, according to the St. John Source.  

 

FitzGerald is uncertain how visible the reduction in services and repairs and materials will be.  The most obvious may be closing the Visitors Center one or two days a week, he told the Source.  But he has said no one should underestimate the threat the cuts are to the Park.  Years of flat budgeting and no increases have led to staff and skills shrinkage.

A number of staff positions have gone unfilled for several months, which may help cushion the impact of the budget cuts.  Fitzgerald told the Source it’s unlikely any of the Park’s 50-plus employees will be laid off.

• Read the full Source story here

Rarely reviewed restaurants, but good!

TripAdvisor and Yelp are full of reviews of St. John restaurants.  The reviews are often of the most popular eateries, like Zozo’s Asolare, Fatty Crab, and so forth.

Well, the Inquiring Iguana keeps his eye out for the unusual.  Two recent reviews caught his eye.

Sogo’s

Sogo’s rates 4/12 stars on both Yelp and Trip Advisor.

Gabrielle S. says the unpretentious, West Indian restaurant is her island favorite. “In March 2013 am bringing my whole new extended family there for dinner on my wedding night!,” she wrote. “Cannot recommend the food and staff highly enough.”

Angela L. would agree. Although the place is pretty small, amnd sometimes doesn't look like it's open, she’s ventured in a few times. “We loved it when we were last here 5 years ago, and were thrilled to find it's still in business with the same people running it.  For lunch they offered steamed King fish with Creole Sauce and SIX side dishes for $12. The Creole sauce is fantastic; just perfect to our tastes. "

Adam C. calls Sogo’s, “Definitely a good spot for authentic Caribbean food in an area where that is surprisingly not that easy to find.”  He loved the conch in butter sauce. His wife had the creole shrimp.

This photo of an entree at Sun Dog Cafe >>> is courtesy of TripAdvisor.
 
The Sun Dog Cafe, another four-star fave, is a big locals’ hangout. Not that everybody isnt welcome, but it has a big island following.

Natalie H. calls it a must stop. “Their daily specials and spicy, flavorful Roti and not to be missed,” she said. 

Trevor Y said he “stumbled” on the place and is glad he did. “The Bloody Mary cocktails were superb and offered just enough spice to get my day started. I had the southwest scramble which was fantastic.” 

Sun Dog produces great sandwiches and inventive entrees from a small kitchen  rammed intlo a wooden kiosk. “The menu is impressive for a kitchen the size of a Volkswagen Beetle,” said The New York Times.

• Sogo's on Yelp, Trip Advisor
• Sun DoG Cafe on Yelp, Trip Advisor 

Top St. John restaurant for sale

This photo of Sam & Jack's Deli is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Two years must seem like a long time to run a restaurant, and for Angie Warren, time’s up. 

She and her chef, Andrew Clifford, created Sam & Jack’s Deli in early 2011 to offer “gourmet comfort food to go.”  So far as their customers are concerned, they hit a home run. “Generous portions! Excellent choices! Great quality!,” said a happy customer. ”Truly one of the greatest sandwich places ever,” added another.

Trip Advisor’s ratings make  the third-floor Marketplace spot the top restaurant in town. There have been 143 reviews, and 120 were “Excellent.” Now it’s time for someone else to pick up the menu and carry on. 

Remax Island Paradise Realty has the place listed with an asking price of $250,000.

Sam & Jack's Deli really is the work of John Ferrigno, owner of the uber-successful Zozo’s at Gallows Point. ('Sam' and 'Jack' are his sons.)  It was his idea to start the deli when a previous tenant, Baked in the Sun, moved.

PS … checking the MLS listing for the deli, the Inquiring Iguana also notes that St. John Animals, the two-year-old ‘pet boutique’ at Wharfside, is also for sale.

• Web site for Sam & Jack’s Deli
• Real estate listing for the business

New taste in town

Photo supplied by the Terrace Restaurant

The grandest addition to the St. John restaurant scene this winter is the Terrace Restaurant, across the road from the Beach Bar and the Fish Trap.  It’s where the Stone Terrace used to be … can’t forget that terrace.

Intial reviews are excellent.  While Yelp.com has none, TripAdvisor has nine, and eight rate the restaurant excellent. All of the TripAdvisor reviews are less than six weeks old, so they’re evaluating the place as it is now. 

Robin and Chef Erica Miner say they are offering  French-inspired fine dining. “With our blend of classic French techniques, high quality ingredients, a professional and knowledgeable service team, and a beautiful waterfront location in the heart of St. John, we know you will enjoy your evening with us.”

Many reviewers are locals. Kcherie88 is one of them. “Great attention to detail-- not only in decor, but also in the service, the way the food is plated, even down to how pretty the menus are! Amazingly awesome wine list."  Seafood is a specialty. Kcherie88 had Mahi Mahi over a wild rice salad; a friend had prawns “which were also awesome."

Another local, Hungrytraveler0 echoed the positive comments. “We are picky about spending our hard earned money on junk food or pretend gourmet. This restaurant is the real deal, professional waitstaff, great wine list. A wonderful addition to the community.”

• Web site for the Terrace Restaurant
• TripAdvisor on the Terrace Restaurant

Donkey Diner: new owner, expanding menu

The new chef at Coral Bay’s Donkey Diner is a classically trained professional chef who plans to keep the place true to its roots while also taking the menu upscale.

Dave Borowiec graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and has worked for both multi-unit food operations as well as stand alone restaurants on St. Thomas and the Pacific.  Eager to strike out on his own, when he heard the Diner was for sale he alerted friends with money. One of them, Michael Brouwer, bought it.  They opened for business Oct. 22.

It’s fair to say the first few weeks were rugged.  

Some longtime local customers were unhappy with Borowiec’s effort to rid the kitchen of free ranging chickens.  “Out in the yard with the tables, they’re part of the ambience” he agreed, “But they have no place inside.”  He’s now trying to keep the fowl at bay with less aggressive measures.

Efforts to expound the Diner’s Web site have yielded little progress.  Borowiec is on a third Web designer who says they can do the job.

“We’e always going to be known as a place for breakfast in the morning and pizza at night,” Borowiec told the Inquiring Iguana. But the menu will offer more than those basics. Already he’s added toasted submarines and lobster rolls.  “We may also try chicken marsala, rosemary chicken, or chicken par,” he added. He also wants to feature Coral Bay artists' work as part of the interior decoration.

• David Borowiec on Facebook

Tourist Trap - not fancy, but special

Caribbean Travel + LIfe magazine knows a good thing when it tastes it.  And one 'good ting' is Larry Grenier's "Tourist Trap" backyard bar.

Admittedly off the main tourist route, despite its name, the Trap is four miles east of Coral Bay at Concordia.  CT+L says, "You'll find a backyard with a half-dozen mismatched tables."  Grenier calls it, "a little shithole on the side of the road."

People who have been there are, however, much more respectful.  Trip Advisor has more than a hundred reviews, ranking Trap the 10th best restaurants on the island, out of 93.  

Reviewers say things like:

• “Pulled pork nachos - yum!”
• “Best Lobsta roll going!”
• “Simple, friendly and classic St. John”

"It's the adult beverages that earn the Trap claps," says the magazine, "particularly the Drink Right, Keep Left, a slushy rum-and-fruit concoction.

The Trap's going on five years old. Long enough some people might want to redecorate or straighten up.  Not Larry. "We can't make this place nice 'cause people don't want it to be nice," he told the magazine.  "Half the stuff here was either given to me or found in a dumpster."

• Read the CT+L article here.
• The Trap's Web site

Two guys walk into a St. John bar ...

 
Kevin Chipman and Chirag Vyas, the founders of St. John Brewers at Mongoose Junction, didn't exactly just walk in to a bar.  They got there the old fashioned way.  They earned it.

Their story began soon after they graduated from the University of Vermont and decided to move to St. John.  The first year, they lived on a sailboat with no electricity while they figured out what they would do with the rest of their lives.  "You don't worry about what might go wrong in life when you're snorkeling, hiking or sailing," they told Islands magazine.  "Very quickly, we fell in love with the lifestyle here on St. John," and decided to stay.

But doing what? Well, they loved craft beers, and Paradise had no craft beer.  So they made some.

The key to their 'overnight' success, which has taken several years: hard work that began with their idea, and then their explaining - and selling - it to restaurants and bar owners.  "When our first 40-foot container arrived (with 1,300 cases of Virgin Islands Tropical Mango Ale), we warehoused it ourselves.  Half on St. Thomas, half in our apartment."

For all those people who think they'd like to c move to the island, the Brewers story is pure gold.  They found the harder they worked and the more they cared about the comm,unity, the greater their success and acceptance and support.  "Part of knowing everyone is supporting everyone," they said.

It also helps that St. John's a happy place. "If St. John  has a reason to party, it definitely will," they told Islands.

• Read the Islands article here, "How to Live in U.S. Virgin islands."
• St. John Brewers on Facebook