Day 4 - Tuesday

Frank & I woke up bright and early for our daysail with New Horizons Charters. Another one of my research finds, New Horizons is highly recommended on Trip Advisor if you ever go to the USVI. They really take care of you and they tell you that your day with them will be the best day of your vacation(it definitely was a contender). If you order online you get the deal for "half price" (though I don't think anyone paid full price on our trip) so it came out to $60 a person. You leave at 8 a.m. or so and return around 4. They feed you a continental breakfast and an amazing lunch, and it's open bar the whole time and provide you with all the snorkel gear you'll need. We left from Sapphire Bay Marina and we stopped at a few different snorkel stops along the way. 

That guy in the black polo and cap is our captain. I can't remember his name. Scott or Mark or something. He was great.

This is what we look like at 8:30 a.m. on vacation.

A handy use for our fins. That Frank is so clever.

This was our first stop at Caneel Bay on St. John for snorkeling. Unfortunately I forgot my underwater housing for my camera back at the apartment, which I purchased specifically for this snorkel. Oh well. It was cool. We swam to shore at Caneel Bay and then snorkeled along the coast through some coral reefs. Lots of cool stuff. Nemos, alligator gar and more. Ask Frank. He knows what those things are actually called.

For lunch when we got back to the boat (lunch consisted of baked meatball parmigiana, fruit, pasta salad, lunch meat, brownies (baked right onboard) and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. We were really hungry so we devoured it. It was soo good. And one of the crew members was passing around pitchers of these drinks called nooners - I have no idea what was in it but it was delicious. Anyway, we were tired and full and had no interest in going back out for another snorkel. Especially since the tops of my feet were really burnt, even though I had put a ton of sunscreen on them.  We just sat under the canopy and enjoyed the rest of our sail. Then this guy - a barracuda that our captain affectionately named Barry - showed up. That was pretty cool.

Around 3:30 or so we headed back to the marina. Man I was so tired. I don't think I even showered before I went to bed for an hour. That's gross I know. Frank woke me up at 5:30 or 6 and said he wanted to go back to Hull Bay to check out their sushi bar, Watahoshi Sushi (another find that I actually researched before we went on our trip). Word on the street was that it was actually good - I wouldn't find out until later how they managed to serve authentic and fresh sushi out of a shack in St. Thomas.

This is the sushi chef. Turns out, he is actually the son-in-law of the owner of Hull Bay. Originally from Japan, he and his wife (owner's daughter) moved to San Francisco after they had been married for a few years and opened up a sushi bar out there. When Hull Bay's owner decided to move to St. Thomas full time and buy the Hull Bay Hideaway, she convinced them to come down too. Enter Watahoshi Sushi. Authentic Japanese sushi out of a shack on the northside of St. Thomas.

This is his wife. She was hostess and waitress. We looked through the menu... I can't tell you exactly what we ordered but I believe there was scallop sashimi (I now know that I'm not a fan of raw scallop), a few rolls of sushi with some variation of avocado, shrimp, salmon,etc., and the Hideaway Roll ($14). The most expensive thing on the menu, it's an inside out roll made with beef filet, avocado, and a bunch of other stuff I don't remember. Really yummy. The waitress told us that her husband created the roll for her mom (owner of Hull Bay), who at the time said she didn't like sushi. She now eats everything on their menu. We left full and satisfied. I think the bill came to about $60 or something.

It was relatively early so we decided to find a nice place to go and enjoy the view of the cruise ships leaving port. Our handy GPS took us to the Banana Tree Grille overlooking Charlotte Amalie Harbor (where the cruise ships dock). We enjoyed a glass of wine and thought about the fact that we still had 5 more days to enjoy on the island. End Day 4.

 

Day 3 - Monday

After an amazing dinner on Day 2, I slept like a baby and woke up to this:

I wondered if I was still dreaming. I pinched myself and then realized I wasn't.

Backing up a bit, I never mentioned our "area" of the island we stayed on. It is the Northside, more of a middle-class residential area - away from the crowds. Our view here is of Magen's Bay (on the right side of the peninsula to the north) and straight to the north is Peterborg - a very exclusive gated area of St. Thomas for the wealthy (not us).

After our long beach day on Day 2, Frank was not in the mood for salting his already sunburnt wounds. So we decided to explore Red Hook, the hip area of St. Thomas on the East End that has lots of bars and restaurants. We also had a daysail planned for the following day, Tuesday, and we wanted to make sure we knew where we were going, since we had to be there early in the a.m.

Our first stop was Big Bambooz, a new outdoor tiki bar close to the St. John Ferry. The waitress greeted us with a smile (they're all so friendly here! Why am I so surprised when people are nice?) and asked if I wanted a "I'm on vacation-fruity-frozen-drink" and I said, "Ok."

I'm not even sure what was in this thing, but it was like a banana milkshake. She called it a Banana Bailey Colada (so it sounds like there was some Bailey's in there, maybe some coconut or something). Ah-mazing. It had to have been like 1,000 calories. I was so full afterward. Frank had a Virgin Islands Summer Ale. We decided to walk around and explore a little bit.

We ended up at Amigos, a Mexican cantina with delicious margaritas and we snacked on some nachos (not pictured). They also have an awesome happy hour with $2 tacos that we discover on about Day 6 or 7, but I'll get to that later. Notice Frank is still drinking the summer ale. That's because you can walk from place to place with a drink in your hand. No one cares. It's a little too laid back if you ask me (there's no such thing as DUI here - well, there is, but you don't get in trouble for it).  

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought some ridiculously overpriced produce and bread and I made shrimp scampi for dinner. I'll post my recipe some time. It's super easy and super good.

End Day 3.

Day 2

We woke up early on Day 2 and we were off to the beach by 9:30 (8:30 EST!). We decided to check out Hull Bay for our first beach day. My research told me it was a "locals" beach, and on a busy port day I figured it would be a good option. Plus, it was the closest beach to our apt.

It was definitely quiet, we were the only ones there for the first hour or so. We lost track of time and just enjoyed a lazy day. By about 12 or 1pm, we were hungry. We turned around and right behind us (literally) was the Hullbay Hideaway. It's not even a restaurant really, more of a series of outdoor structures with roofs to protect you from the rain. A hole in the wall really. A hole in the wall that locals love. So I heard through my research anyway.

We mosie(is that how you spell mosie?)'d up to the bar and Arthur greeted us. Ok, there wasn't much greeting. He gave us a menu while he took our drink order. We quickly learned that Arthur was not only the hostess, waitress and bartender, but also the cook. We both order the Presidente Burger (burger seared in Presidente Beer, topped with beer sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato and pepperjack cheese). Arthur goes to the back to start working on our burgers. A short time later (I don't know how this guy does it), he comes out with two huge burgers piled high with fries. I wish I had taken a picture of it. You just have to trust me on this. It was one of the top 3 burgers of my life. I don't know what this guy is doing, but he's doing it right. And he's doing everything. I must take a trip back to St. Thomas, if only for another presidente burger.

We then went back to the apt. to take a nap, and then woke up and got dressed for dinner. We stopped at Drake's seat on the way for a photo op.

Notice how skinny I look. This is because it's only Day 2, and it is before dinner.

A lot of places in St. Thomas are closed on Sundays, but Craig & Sally's was open. Some nice people at McDonald's pointed us in the right direction (everyone's so nice here!) and we scooped up the last unreserved table.

The menu at Craig & Sally's changes every night . They blog about it (YES! BLOG!) every day. Check their blog to see what they're serving tonight. This place had the most interesting menu. The tapas were so innovative, and you can order them individually, or select a platter of 3. We picked 3.

Chicken Pot Stickers and Peanut Curry; Brie, Cranberry-Orange Relish and Toasted Almond Crostini and Warm Artichoke and Spinach Tart. The tart was eh, kinda like quiche. Not really what we were expecting. The crostini and potstickers were phenom. LOVE.

When Frank saw this on the menu, he knew what he wanted.

Pan Fried Cashew and Parmesan Crusted Striped Bass Fillet
Artichoke Heart, Sauteed Mushroom, Goat Cheese Studded Wild Rice Pilaf
Blackened Tomato-Roasted Garlic Cream

Sorry I didn't get a picture of it before he ate half of it. Trust me it looked prettier.

I ordered the
Pommodori Secchi
Sundried Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Red Onion, Garlic, Touch of Red Pepper Flakes,
Basil and Proscuitto sauteed in EVOO, tossed with Linguini and Parmesan

It was delicious. Light, yet filling. Perfect for a warm day in the caribbean. A nice bottle of wine, a leisurely dinner. We were both very happy. One of the top 10, ok, maybe top 5 restaurant experiences of my life.

Day 1

Our trip to St. Thomas started in Philadelphia, with a short puddle jumper to Dulles Airport. From Dulles we flew nonstop to St. Thomas. Our plane was delayed in Dulles, so we were late getting into St. Thomas. By the time we got there we were exhausted. We parked our car in the "parking spot" - I use the term loosely -

 and plans to go out to eat were quickly dismissed.  We got out of our winter clothes (yay!) and went to the grocery store.

Anyone who has ever gone to a grocery store in the "islands" will quickly tell you that it isn't cheap. My dreams of buying local, exotic fruit at low prices turned into Florida Avocados for $2 each. Really? Pineapples were $6. I kid you not. I can buy a Costa Rican pineapple in Delaware for $3, but here the same pineapple is $6. Liquor, on the other hand, was dirt cheap.  Anyway, not much in the food department to blog about for the first day. Day 2 will bring more interesting surprises.

I'm back.

Ok, I know I promised to blog, made two posts and then gave up. I've fully intended to continue my blogging, but then I just got sidetracked. We've been to different restaurants and I've taken random pictures, intending to post, and then I just didn't. So, in an effort to catch you up on a few of the last months, I will start here. I'll start with talking about different restaurants that we experienced on our vacation, and then I'll go to restaurants in the area. In addition, I might change the premise of the blog a bit. I'm going to blog about my own cooking from time to time, as well as interesting places that maybe we've found on our travels, not necessarily restaurants. So here goes.

St. Thomas, February/March 2010

Frank and I took a trip to St. Thomas, USVI in late February/early March 2010. We rented an apartment for the week, which we found on Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com) - a website that I'm kind of obsessed with. Think renting a house "down the shore" - but your possibilities are endless. After our trip to Ireland last year, we realized that we really enjoy staying in a "home" and then exploring the area in day trips. It feels so much more comfortable than a hotel, and a lot of times it's cheaper. Not to mention the $ you can save on meals by eating in.
So here's the condo we stayed in.

It had an amazing view. I must have taken 20 pictures just of the view.

We absolutely loved it.

If you know me, you know I'm a researcher. So I had a list of restaurants that I wanted to try while we were there. After hours and hours of researching, I came up with a shortlist of about 6 or 7 restaurants. We had 9 days, I figured if we didn't get to all of them that was ok, but it was certainly a good start. I guess the easiest way to document our trip is to do it by days. So I'll start there.

Mexico Lindo

So after much persuasion, the hubby took me (or rather, I took him) to Mexico Lindo, a local mexican restaurant that we probably pass every day and have never ventured inside. Driving into the parking lot, we realize it's empty.

"Babe, we're the only ones here."

"No we're not," I say, "there's other cars."

"I don't know babe, I think they work here."

Well, we walk up to the door, peek inside, and sure enough, we're the only ones. There's a man sitting at the bar, but that's it. The sign says, "Please seat yourself" so we do.

The TV has some program playing in spanish, looks like music videos en espanol (Sorry babe. They don't have the game on). A cheerful young girl, probably all of 17 years, greets us with a generous bowl of chips and salsa. She takes our drink order - dos margaritas on the rocks - and we start to look over the menu.



MMM. The chips are still warm, and the salsa has a nice kick to it. So far, so good. I take a minute to look around. It's about what I expected. decorations...a little cheesy ...there's valentine hearts hanging from the ceiling, and there's still christmas garland hanging in the window. The server comes back with our margaritas and we order. We order the guacamole ($3.50), and I order off of the a la carte menu, the burrito mexicano with chicken ($4.25) and the americano pork taco ($2.75). Frank orders Brochetas Mexicanas ($11.50), which the menu describes as a mexican version of a shish kabob with chicken, beef and shrimp.

We dig into the margaritas (tasty, perfect with the chips and salsa, but definitely a mix), and then the guacamole comes soon after.

"This is it," I say, "this is the real test." Survey says? Pretty good. Not the best guac I've ever had, but I enjoyed it nonetheless (the complimentary salsa blew it out of the water).

We have our fill of guacamole, and soon after the entrees come out. Frank's entree looks delicious. Two kabobs with grilled vegetables, chicken, shrimp and beef, on a bed of a large portion of chicken fajitas, rice and beans.




Brochetas Mexicanas


I dig in to my burrito, and it's delicious. The flavorful combination of chicken, rice and beans is perfect. I go for the pork taco, and it's hmm. Salty. Funny taste. Maybe pork wasn't a good idea. The burrito was generous enough to fill me up, so I pass on the taco and finish my burrito. Frank devours his entree. We end full and satisfied, just in time for the bill. The damage came to $41, but considering $20 of it was margaritas (4 @ $5 a piece), we're thinking we didn't do too bad.

Will we be back? Sure, but not in the near future, as we've got plenty of other places on our list. Well, maybe if it's $2.99 margarita night. The service was good (it should be, since we were their only patrons), and I'm pretty sure the server thought we were food critics (my guess is from all of the photos we were taking) and she kept trying to buy our affection with free pens (?). Yes, I'm serious. First one, then another... then a styrofoam container to take home our guacamole (there was barely any left).


If you're ever in the New Castle area, perhaps stuck in traffic on Rt. 13 on your way down to the Delaware beaches, stop in Mexico Lindo for some fresh chips and refreshing margaritas. And if you've got time, try any one of their dishes. But you may want to stay away from the pork. :)

Rating:
Value - 4 stars
Taste - 3 stars
Atmosphere - 3 stars
Presentation - 3 stars
Service - 5 stars

Total rating - 3.5/5

Rating the restaurants.

So Mr. Frank told me that we need to give some sort of rating system for this endeavor. So here is our system of rating each restaurant.
1. Value
2. Atmosphere
3. Taste
4. Presentation
5. Service
We'll allow a max. of 5 stars for each category, and then take the average amount of stars for the final tally. Tonight's destination: Mexico Lindo.