News of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

What's the perfect Virgin Islands souvenir?

This is a picture of a bottle stopper, sold as a souvenir at a smoothie stand on St. John. 

A couple of Midwesterners happened to post that they regretted not getting one while they were on island, and a thoughtful person, known as LMG, read about their regret on the Virgin Islands On-Line Forum, and bought them one.

Well, this started me thinking about souvenirs.  What's a good memento of a good time on St. John? 

For me, it's a silver band which features a petroglyph design, which we bought at R & I Patton years ago.  In fact, I lost it, by which time the Pattons were no longer making them in silver, only gold.  But Irene did me a favor, and hand crafted a second one.  I wear it now as a wedding ring.  It's a constant reminder of the island.

I wonder what souvenirs other people bring back.  Seems to me the more locally-made or -related, the better, rather than something that might have been Made in China.

Care to share?  Post your suggestions here.

Mmmmm, good eatin'

Ted Robinson's odyssey continues. 

The founder and genius of the now-closed Tage restaurant has signed on for what sounds like a full-time job with Starfish Market. 

"Chef Ted Robinson last  week accepted the position of Director of Deli Operations/Executive Chef," according to a news release form the company. He will oversee  an expansion of prepared foods at the supermarket, located in the Marketplace.

"Popular hot deli meals and Chef Ted's new Creations To Go, make Starfish the best  place to go for fast, fresh packaged meals on the go," said a spokesperson for Starfish.  The Chef will also continue his own catering business Ted's Supper Club, which prepares gourmet meals in private villas and for parties.

Travel radio show loves St. John

St. John got two more hours of fame this past weekend as the focus of a radio talk show, "Traveling Feet" with Stephanie Abrams.  She broadcast the from a restaurant at the Westin Resort.

"Palm trees are barely swaying, but just enough to kind of caress you as you sit outdoors,", Abrams said at the start of the first hour of her Saturday show.  Then, she asked her engineer back on the mainland, "Can you hear the steel drums in the background?  These lovely gentlemen in their pretty tropical shirts ..."

Abrams talked enthusiastically about St. John and interviewed about half a dozen people.  They includedthe general manager of the Westin, Kim Chappel, as well as Rafe Boulon of the USVI National Park, Patty Johnston, manager of Cruz Bay Watersports, and James Penn, owner of Penn's Taxi.

The shows are archived online.  Right-click on the links below to save the programs to your computer and then listen to them with iTunes or Windows Media Player.

• The first hour is here: http://archives.warpradio.com/btr/TravelWithStephanie/011319.MP3
• The second is here http://archives.warpradio.com/btr/TravelWithStephanie/011320.MP3.

Cost U Less has a new owner

A Virgin Islands version of the states' Costco chain is under new management.  Lots of locals, as well as visitors on their way to the island, use Cost U Less as a one-stop to stock up on all sorts of items, from DVD players to lettuce, to wine and even outdoor furniture - at very competitive prices.  The store is about a 15 minute drive from the Red Hook ferry dock.

The North West Co. said its purchased Cost-U-Less Inc. for $52.2 million.  The Manitoba-based company operates 220 retail stores in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean.   North West traces its history back 338 years and is publicly traded.  Its stock (North West Fund, NWTUF.PK ) has gained 50% this year.

Remember Deborah Designs?

A long, long time ago, Deborah Willard was a clothing designer and artist living on St, John.  She had a shop in the courtyard of the Lime Inn. She sold hand-painted clothing: t-shirts, dresses, hats, tank tops, shawls, etc. featuring tropical designs, whimsical iguanas and lizards, or customers' requests.After 15 years, she left the island, in 2004.   

RickG - a frequent contributor to the Virgin islands On-Line forum, noticed a post signed Deborahdesigns and one thing led to another.

Ms. Willard posted a a few weeks ago on the forum indicating she's relocated to a studio in the downtown arts district of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, her home town. She now describes herself as "Painter/Doodler/Scribbler/Illustrator/Graphic Designer/Surface Designer/Hand Painter/Calligrapher/Signwriter/Editor/Proofreader/Computer Person/All-Purpose Creative Genius in nearly everything except food.

Here's her Web site: http://www.deborahwillarddesign.com/.

Holiday gift ideas

Two of the island's best known artists are now shipping their 2008 calendars.  Priority Mail will get them to you in plenty of time.

Steve Simonsen's calendar features a dozen photos of the island, as well as a color map and a history of St. John.  The 17-inch wide calendar costs $17.00, plus shipping.  Orders can be placed online at this Web site or by e-mail to simonsen@viaccess.net. Steve's beautiful coffee table book of island photographs, Living Art, is also available.

Elaine Estern's calendar also features 12 views of St. John, prints of her original watercolor paintings. Its price is $24, plus shipping.

See them here: http://www.coconutcoaststudios.com/Site/2008%20calendar.html. Elaine also sells lots of gift items featuring her work.  Among my favorites are the tiles and luggage tags. Call 1-800-887-3798 to order.

Wait, there's more.

Holiday tree ornaments from Pink Papaya, $24, here: http://pinkpapaya.com/chor.html

30 years for Mongoose

Mongoose Junction is about to celebrate its 30th tourist season.  In an article about the shopping area, "This Week", the VI tourist magazine you can get at the airport and on some flight, calls the project "a beautiful example of 18th century Danish building technique with a modern twist." 

The architect on the project, and still an island resident, was Glen Speer. Originally, the center offered venues to local artists and artisans. As tourism has increased, and real estate has appreciated, rents in the center have moved up and many of the original tenants have moved on, some to be replaced by branches of larger companies.

The first phase of Mongoose began in 1978.  The upscale Ocean Grill has replaced the original open air bar/restaurant.  It was the place for business people to have lunch, for real estate salespeople to swap stories around an oval bar, while tourists sat at tables and treated bananaquits to sugar water.  The second section, heavy on big retailers, was started in 1988.

You can read This Week's story about Mongoose by clicking here.  The St. John section is on pages 64-75.

Tage's Ted is cooking

Chef Ted Robinson is back at work in the kitchen.  But this time it's not in his own restaurant.  It's at St. John's largest grocery store. 

He's at Starfish Market, cooking up his own creations for folks on the go who are looking for gourmet takeout, or people who want to spice up (pun intended) dinner at the villa. The accomplished Chef is turning his attention to prepared meals like Pulled Chicken and Tarragon Salad and a maple Glazed Slow Roasted Sirloin Wrap. 

"Made fresh daily, Ted's creations make getting a luxurious lunch or dinner easier than ever before," a news release from Starfish said.

He's also doing sandwiches, priced from $7.95 to $8.95. They sandwiches are packaged and showcased just to the left of  Starfish's hot deli case. "Selections may change depending how the cooking spirit moves him," said the news release.

Gourmet and wine store opening set

Starfish Market's expansion into an upscale food and wine specialty store is set to kick off early next month. (Picture at left is in the original Starfish store.)

A grand opening is being planned Nov. 5 for the new Starfish Gourmet and Wines store.  The venture is located on the first floor of the Marketplace shopping center, across the corridor from Starfish Market.  The shelves will be stock with wines, imported cheeses, coffees, meats, pizzas, pastas and other items.

By shifting wines and gourmet foods to a new retail space, the owners of Starfish give themselves the opportunity to expand offerings in the grocery store, too. More dairy products or produce may be considered.

Starfish Gourmet is likely to be a boon to in-villa catering services.  The availability of a wider variety of items will also give cooks a bigger palette for culinary efforts.  Several chefs at the island's restaurants have said they feel restricted in preparing menus because food distributors on St. Thomas aren't able to offer much variety.  If Starfish can establish its own sources and supply lines, St. John could become a much more tasty island.

Flea market this weekend

The Animal Care Center is hoping home owners will do a little late summer cleaning this week and sell their old household "stuff" at the ACC's first "No Fleas, Please, Flea Market".

The sale begins at 10 a.,m. on Saturday at the Winston Wells Ball Field at the Sprauve School. All children and dogs on leashes are welcome to join in the fun, according to an ACC member.   :)

Local shops and businesses are contributing items to the sale.  Both the Westin and Caneel have also contributed items.  Donations of other goods are being accepted this week. The ACC is also making space available to individuals who want to set up their own shops.  Proceeds from the space rental and the sale of donated items will go to help fund the Animal Care Center's activities on island.