Feature - Dining Debuts

What's new this season on St. John and St. Thomas

You know Season is starting when new restaurants start popping up everywhere! Here’s a look at where you’ll be eating this year. With so much to review we relaxed our Three Visit rule for some but we wanted to get the info to you and give these new guys all the publicity we could! Please support our local economy and try as many of these as you can.

Roaryal Abeba

Vegetarian, Vegan (2 1/2 visits)

The name means “royal flower” and it’s fitting because the vibe there is dignifi ed and sweet, something that comes across with the understated but colorful décor and in the demeanor of the proprietors Tonia and Ali Tyrell. Because it had recently opened and we had a press deadline I only had a chance to visit once, but I loved it. A family-run establishment and one of the only true vegetarian places on-island, this resto definitely fills a void. Located in the business plaza on south shore road (across from the grocery store) it’s mainly a takeout place (read: fast!) but there are several brightly draped tables if you do want to linger. With maybe 15 menu items, the lineup changes daily and everything is displayed cafeteria-style; you choose your entrée, a starch, and sides and a small ($10), large ($13), or “everything” size ($15) plate. I tried the BBQ entrée, the lentil cakes, fried caulifl ower, and the slaw. Can we talk about the lentil cakes though? I’d actually come in just for the lentil cakes; I’d been served these at a cocktail party the night before and they were so fluffy, so spiced-just-right, with an herb-y dipping sauce, that I quite possibly exceeded my polite share and defi nitely exhibited poor impulse control. Probably had, oh, eight. So trust me, they’re good. The BBQ seitan was a little sweet, but it had a pleasing chewy texture and I liked it. The slaw was another superstar—made with fresh red and green cabbage, carrots and not too much binder (homemade soy mayo) it was a masterful balance of cool, crispy and creamy. For $10 it was entirely fi lling, a bargain, and I’ll be going back to see what else they come up with.

E. Anderson

Clean Plates

Caribbean/Jamaican (2 Visits)

After hearing about the roti from a number of trusted East End foodies, the Sun Times stopped in to Clean Plates for lunch with visions of curried meat in a fresh baked pastry in their head, but we learned that the roti was on the back burner that day because a local fi sherman had stopped in that morning with a beautiful mahi mahi, just plucked from the waters this side of Flanagan Island. When Chef Sylvia recommended that, all other bets were off and the mahi went on the grill and the jerk went on the mahi. The sandwich was served with lettuce, two big slices of tomato and a very generous slice of local avocado. On the side was some perfect potato salad, made that morning with more of Sylvia’s special spices. A cold Heineken was placed next to the big plate and the world became a much better place to live. On another visit, another taster had the mahi too, but baked with callaloo, okra and tomatoes on top with cashew rice and stuffed potatoes and said it was “cooked perfectly.”

The Sputnik is very clean and bright and if you catch the staff on a good day like we did it is better than watching a comedy show. Lunch specials change daily depending on what fresh food comes in the door and every meal seems to have very generous portions. Local drinks like soursop and breadfruit juice that you can’t get anywhere else on St. John are on the menu. The mahi sandwich was a deal at $13 and prices ranged from $9-14 for lunch, a little more for dinner.

Clean Plates is open from 8am-8pm every day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in that order.

 _Bob Tis

Queen of Tarts

Bakery take-out and catering (tasting)

Elizabeth (Liz) Lowe has been behind some of the best desserts you’ve ever tasted in some of the fi nest restaurants in St. John, and now she’s doing her own thing in the space shared by the Fish Trap’s seafood market. Because she wasn’t quite up and running at press time, Liz set up a little tasting for us. Classically trained in the French tradition, Liz’s pastries are almost too pretty to eat—delicate scalloping on the pear tart, the lime tart featuring lime zest strewn just so, the chocolate cake’s icing so shiny you don’t want to muss it. Just what you want to serve when you want to impress or don’t have time to cook! Feeling suddenly underdressed in jeans and a tee I sat down with Lisa Willis, my tasting companion.

Really, everything was superb, and to my preference, not overly sweet. I’d have a hard time saying which one was my favorite, but maybe the pecan pie with spiced rum? You taste the rum, but not as alcohol, as a flavor, and the filling to pecan to crust ratio is just right. But her chocolate cake has an addictive quality. First bite: oh wow, not very sweet. Second bite: oh that texture is interesting, is that ground nuts? Third taste: Love. This.

Liz will be open at least from noon to 6 or when her “buzzer” is out by the sign. She’s considering doing breakfast pastries (scones please!) if there’s enough interest. Special orders are welcome.

_E. Anderson

Lucky Bamboo

Asian Fusion (3 visits)

Located in the Lumberyard where Lucky Pagoda used to be, Lucky Bamboo is our new one-and-only Chinese restaurant. Based on the flow of friendly local traffic, they obviously do a lot of take-out but we sat in; and, apart from the florescent lights, it was pleasant, with late afternoon sunshine coming in through the windows and colorful red and orange umbrellas on the ceiling.

It’s a full-fledged menu, with beef, pork, shrimp, fish, chicken, and vegetarian options. Our tasters definitely liked the Vietnamese spring rolls—so refreshing on a hot day! The cool-skinned wraps were sparsely fi lled with vegetables (really, mostly shredded greens) and rather bland but here’s the thing--they came with a savory peanut sauce that’s so good you don’t even care! One tester even ate the leftovers for breakfast. Two of our reviewers thought the  three-roll order would make a fine small lunch in itself. A $5 lunch! We’re all for it.

Another taster especially liked the stir-fried brown rice, and we were told the owner is careful about the quality of rice he orders; the server also said that when you taste something that’s good, you feel better. We agree. That’s a nice philosophy for a restaurant. Vietnamese pho is going to be on the menu soon too—wildly popular in stateside metro areas, it’s the kind of healthy dish that could really shine here—we’ll have to go back to try it!

We tried quite a few dishes---stir fried tofu and vegetables, kung pao tofu (not on the menu, but cheerfully substituted), shrimp and veggies, beef and veggies, wonton soup. The serving sizes were large enough for our lady-tasters to make two meals of too. We liked that everything seemed freshly made and mixed together--nothing was overstewed or overwilted. It’s not the most ambitious menu but everything was solidly good and made good use of what’s available locally. One taster hit it on the mark. She said “My comment would be to not go there with expectations of ‘Your Favorite Oriental in the States’--this is not it! It’s different, but in a good way.”

by Sun Staff

The St. Thomas run-down

by Hayley Andrews Turner

Sunset Grille had their grand opening on December 10th. The elegant casual open-air establishment has taken over where Blue Moon Café left off at Secret Harbor resort. They serve American dishes with a Caribbean twist right on the water’s edge.

A stone’s throw from Secret Harbor is The Elysian Resort where a further two new restaurants have opened. The famous-for-his-pizza Ainsley’s is now Sangrias, a casual American-style restaurant and next door, previously Robert’s is now The Caribbean Fish Market, which is a restaurant serving up, yes you guessed it, seafood!

Chez Le Caribe has taken over the downtown space that Hervé used to occupy on Government Hill. It is an upscale Caribbean restaurant with prices and flavors to match. This is the new venture for well-known local Chef Elvet Carty, who is Executive Chef and General Manager. They have Caribbean dishes, numerous seafood options and some dishes are even prepared right at the tableside.

Moo Moo’s BBQ and Bar is a little off the beaten track at Compass Point. It is a pour-your-own bar with the coldest beer in St Thomas, complete with a few fresh-from-the-BBQ items including: smoked BBQ brisket, smoked local wahoo and smoked chicken. On Wednesdays they serve fi sh tacos and show local surfer videos. On Sundays they have an all day BBQ from 2pm for football.

Dog House Pub, once best known for allowing pets to the bar now has another reason for fame. The little red hut in the parking lot is their new kitchen. Phil DeNoma serves up fabulous bar food including burgers, hot dogs, $2 tacos, nachos and tater tots all made from scratch. He makes his own nacho cheese, hot sauce and even pickles.

Jacks Restaurant and their wings have taken fl ight and relocated from Tillett Gardens to the Point Pleasant Resort where Fungi’s once was. Same wings, different location.

Open for a couple of months now, Looney Bien is a casual, fun Mexican cantina in Frenchtown. It boasts the best tacos in the Caribbean and has daily fish specials, which have included local mahi mahi grilled and served over rice and a green gazpacho sauce and grilled chicken kabobs, marinated in fresh squeezed tangerine juice and tequila and served with rice, black beans and tostones (fried green plantains). Occasionally the resident 6 foot taco can be seen wandering around outside!

New but un-reviewed

The Spyglass location has always been a great place to see the sun set over the water. Sadly, sometimes the food and service just weren’t as amazing as the view. New owners Brent and Mona Wardlaw are serious about changing that and have revamped the menu with things we just can’t wait to try!

For one, there’s a REAL vegetarian menu section, for example: seitan roast stuffed with apple, mushrooms, and butternut squash, fi nished with a brandy mushroom reduction. The menu looks to be truly balanced and lunch seems very well thought out, not an afterthought. And! We saw French toast with sweet plantains on the brunch menu! Check out Cheap Sheet for all the happy hour deals. Review coming!

Driftwood David’s, in the old Find De Spot strip club, was still not open at press time, the Sun Times nevertheless got the grand tour and the overview of the grand plan from owner David Baysden. With the experience of owning two previous restaurants (both Caribbean, one in Charleston, SC and one in Anguilla), Baysden plans to offer fresh seafood and local West Indian fare. Plus a turkey burger and lobster mac and cheese! And prices look reasonable. Driftwood will feature a wine bar in one area, an open kitchen and live music every night in the other dining room. The stripper pole will be relocated to the outside deck…. Review coming!