Greetings St. Thomas Blog readers! 

My name is Jenn, and I am an island newbie.  I first visited St. Thomas in February to relax and catch up with my former Boston roommate Nicci.  If you know Nicci and Scott, you know that they love to entertain and show their guests a great time.  Long story short, their hospitality ultimately led to my decision to pack my bags, rent out my condo, and leave California for the good life here in St. Thomas. 

I’ll be popping up on the blog from time to time with stories of my adventures as an island newbie.  Everything from opening a bank account, setting up a cell phone plan, and driving on the left. 

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Good morning! Island Girl here, popping in on Island Newbie’s first post to put a face to the Newbie:

This was taken during her February visit, at Skinny Legs in St. John.

And yes, she’s a Lakers fan, but we won’t hold it against her.

Welcome Newbie!

Sweet plum caviar. Black-seaweed hijiki. Jalapeno sparkle. White truffle potato foam. Pink peppercorn Thai glaze. Tamarind lime-zest emulsion.

Mouth watering?

Welcome to a tiny ‘taste’ of the menu at…

…a restaurant nestled right next to the Marriot.

Their vibe? A mix of Cuba cool and Island tingles. Their flavor? Spicy Latin American dishes combined with Caribbean lobster and local fish. Their view? Nothing you’d be interested in…unless stunning sunsets and sparkling ocean waves peak your interest. One visit and it’s easy to see why they won ‘Best Atmosphere – Fine Dining, St. Thomas 2008‘ from us, the St. Thomas Blog.

HAVANA BLUE joined the list of St. Thomas restaurants in 2004, and has remained one of a kind. Locals visit for a celebratory meal, to enjoy a few drinks with friends or to show it off to visiting friends and family. Tourists flock there as well; people staying at the Marriot will visit almost every night during their vacation while those staying elsewhere often find themselves at HAVANA BLUE through word of mouth.

Scott and I are no strangers to HAVANA BLUE. We’ve brought every guest we’ve had to the restaurant, and have enjoyed many meals with our local friends as well. We paid a visit to present them with their award and met with Steve Boswell, the GM, around 5:30. It was our first time there in the daylight, and the ambiance is totally different from the evening. We could see the horizon, and the brightness of the sun fills the restaurant with fantastic light. 

During the evening the restaurant is filled with light from soft blue lamps to candles burning in the hurricane glasses that surround each table. One restaurant, two atmospheres. (I borrowed this picture from their website…you can see more great shots here).

Steve came to the island from Houston almost two years ago. We asked him to tell us what makes HAVANA BLUE different from any other St. Thomas restaurant. He explained the work and thought that went into creating the environment, from the waterfall at the entrance, to the color blue that can be seen on the accent walls. They wanted to create a place that grabbed ahold of your senses…sight, smell, touch. He told us how long they worked on finding just the right color blue - a shade that would look sharp in the daylight, and equally as attractive as the sun dipped down and candles and lamps took over. As you walk through the restaurant you notice the blue walls are textured – this was done to match nature, the texture you feel in the water and sand. Along the walls and windows are soft white curtains, that are free to blow in the constant breeze.

It’s an elegant result, and you’ll be tempted to whip out your camera almost as soon as you’re seated. I urge you to grab a drink first, as their cocktail menu is as tempting as their food selection.

You can view their entire cocktail list here; but I’ll tell you now, their Mojitos are fantastic. The juices are fresh, and the mint is ground per drink. The ‘Tini’s are attractive, served in tall silver martini glasses. Gentlemen, looking to impress? Here’s a cocktail I know your date will love: 

Sapphire Blingtini Make it a night to remember /exquisite Pravda vodka martini / any style she likes /stunning GIA certified loose 1 ct sapphire stone / $125

They also list your favorite champagnes, and their wine list? Extensive. Steve is willing to challenge the wine list of any other St. Thomas restaurant  (trust me, when that challenge takes place we’ll be there…!).

Now that we have a drink in front of us, and you’ve snapped a couple of pictures let’s crack open the food menu and take a peek. The menu can be viewed here, but I’ll offer up a few of our favorite selections. I order the Tacos de Filet app pretty much the minute I sit down. The Latin Trio is also a must order, as is the Calamari Tamari. For entrees I’ve enjoyed the Havana Pollo, Scott’s favorite is the Langosta Uno. Our guests have tried the Ancho Filet and the Miso Sea Bass – both met with rave reviews. All of the servers are well trained in the menu, and after presenting the daily specials they will be happy to answer any questions you have. We asked Steve what the most popular dish was, and by a mile it was the Miso Sea Bass.

Cigar fan? After dinner they invite you to sit at the bar and pick out a cigar from their selections. The bar is the only area where smoking is allowed, and you can enjoy people watching and conversation as you sit there.

HAVANA BLUE is also a great place for a wedding party, I haven’t seen a sunset from there yet, but I can imagine it would be a beautiful background as you take your vows.

This is definitely a place to put on your list if you’re planning a visit to St. Thomas. If you already live here then stay tuned, HAVANA BLUE is getting ready to introduce HAVANA NIGHTS, a monthly event. The first one is scheduled for June, we’ll bring you dates/details as soon as we hear.

Sometimes we get questions emailed directly to us. Here’s one that I wanted to answer on the blog:

We are coming to St. John June 16th to July 2. I intend to take my boys 8 & 13 to Coral World as a day trip. It closes at 4PM so I would like to take them to a nice restaurant with a view after Coral World….your blog says “Room With a View” wasn’t that great…how far is it from Coral World? Should we try it or can you recommend something else similar? The tram has a place at the top but is the restaurant open when the tram is not? (I prefer not to come to St. Thomas on cruise ship days.)
 
Thanks for any tips you can provide. A neat place for lunch after the Atlantis submarine is also needed for another day trip. We have been to the islands many times but have never dined on St. Thomas.Regina D, Forked River, NJ

Hello Regina, here ya go;

Coral World has a great activity “Swim with the Sea lions”, the kids will love it.

After Coral World I would strongly recommend Agave Terrace click here for some great info: http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=570. Ask to speak to Steve Nakata (the owner) and tell him Scott & Nicci from the St. Thomas Blog sent you. The food here is far superior to Room with a View and the view is killer. Right around the corner from Coral World, while Room with a View is in town. Here’s their website: http://www.agaveterrace.com/ag1.html.

Paradise Point (the tram) has a restaurant and is open all the time. Best day there is Wednesday’s when they have bands from 5-9. The food is casual and average, not fine dining. Think the 99 Restaurant. Good bar type food with an AWESOME view!

For lunch after the Atlantis I would recommend Fat Turtle in Yacht Haven Grande (outdoor marina) or Shipwreck Tavern (best hamburgers) in Havensight.  If you go to Shipwreck ask to be seated in Deanna’s section (great friend of ours).

Any other recommendations from our readers? What say you St. Thomas? And all of you reading from the Mainland?

Craig and Sally’s is officially our first St. Thomas restaurant advertiser. Whoop dee do! As we’ve discussed numerous times on the blog we are big fans of Craig and Sally’s restaurant. The food is consistently great and Robert, Eric and Craig always take care of us.

The one thing we love about Craig and Sally’s is that they change their menu every day. That’s why we go back so often.

You’ll be seeing their banner ads on the site shortly. As always we highly recommend Craig and Sally’s as one of the best St. Thomas restaurants (and we’ve been saying that long before they became an advertiser).

Lindberg Bay, aka Emerald Beach, is pristine. Nicci and I rate lindberg Bay a 3.5 out of 5 stars (the beach is actually located inside the airport, otherwise this would be a 4 out of 5 stars). So if you don’t mind planes taking off and landing all day it’s a super beach!

Palm trees line the shore and provide fantastic shade. The beach is not heavily populated and usually quiet and It’s a great St Thomas Beach for laying back, reading a book and limin’. The water is usually very calm; perfect for swimming, or floating around. The shoreline is great for walks on the beach.

This St. Thomas beach is home to Emerald Beach Resort and Island Beachcomber Hotel. Both have great outdoor St. Thomas beach bars for enjoying the trade winds and a frozen drink.

Several St. Thomas restaurants are available for having a nice lunch or grabbing a quick snack.  A water sports booth offers kayaks, snorkeling, diving, peddle boats & windsurfers among other fun activities.

Families with young children will enjoy the small playground located just past the end of the beach. It is common to see iguanas in the hotel gardens and along the rocky coast close to the playground.

Lingberg Bay Beach St. Thomas is inside the Cyril E. King Airport and a short drive from downtown Charlotte Amalie.

Swimming: Calm
Beachside: Soft Sand
Food/Refreshments: Yes, Hotel/Restaurant & Bar
Water Sports Center: No
Accessibility: Public Bus, Taxi, Car
Snorkeling: No

Amenities: Bathroom/Hotel, Chairs
Child Friendly: Yes

Okay folks, we’ve told you like a thousand times that the St. Thomas Blog is open, honest and as transparent as they get. So here goes my first negative review of a St. Thomas restaurant, A Room With A View…

First let’s start with something positive…the view is spectacular! The drinks were great. Now for the not so good…

Last night we had dinner with a bunch of our friends (8 in all). So we were a pretty good size party. Two of our friends were 30 minutes late so we began without them. The waitress was nice but she was running around. It took her almost 15 minutes to greet us, get us menus and take our first drink order. In a fine dining restaurant this should happen much faster than that.

After she took our drink orders our late friends showed up. She took their drink orders and then removed all the menus from the table without taking our dinner order? I said “I think we’ll need those to order dinner”. She replied “You probably will remember what you want” and off she went. I guess so, since we were now coming up on 1 hour before our orders were even placed.

We ordered the crab cake appetizer and the “World Famous Garlic Bread”. The crab cakes came out like a fried potato. Like the McDonalds Hashbrown. It was not good, but what was worse was the “World Famous Garlic Bread”. The bread was so hard you literally couldn’t bite into it, then add that there was so much garlic that I still can’t get the taste out of my mouth this morning. Yuck!

I ordered the Lasagna and Nicci ordered the pasta with some type of creme sauce. There was a good size portion of the lasagna but the sauce was like it was straight out of a jar. I can doctor up a can of Prego much better than what I got for a $23.00 dollar piece of lasagna. Nicci said her food was okay.

There wasn’t a time in the evening that anyone of the 8 of us said “this food is great”. As a matter of fact no one even commented on the food.

Here’s where it goes horribly wrong. I ordered the Tiramisu for dessert. I LOVE Tiramisu and I know the good from the bad. A Room With A View should take this off their menu, it was that bad. It was so soaked with Kahlua that my eyes watered. I gave it to one of the other guys and he took one bite and put it down.

Now, Nicci and I have dined at almost all the St Thomas restaurants and we’re always very fair. Just read the blog and you’ll see. This was a bad day at A Room With a View for me. I’ve heard great things about them from many locals so I’m going to assume this was just a bad day. We’ll give them another try in a few months and see what happens.

Okay, so you’ve read my post on moving to St Thomas part 1 already. Right? If not click here.

1. Making Friends: Nicci and I are very outgoing people. So making friends was a must since we didn’t know anyone. We had some work done on the villa and we befriended our electrician. He invited us down to meet some of his friends one Sunday at Magens Bay. That’s all it took. We now have a great group of friends that keeps getting larger every year. St. Thomas is a small island, you need to get out and go to the St. Thomas restaurants, bars, beaches and meet people. Trust me they want to get to know you as well. Take the first step and get yourself out there.

2. Don’t fight the system: And by that I mean things are different on St Thomas. Get used to slow service and some attitude. Get used to the cashier talking on their cell phone while ringing in your order. Get used to standing in line at the post office for 45 minutes only to find out that they can’t find your packages. Get used to someone stopping in the middle of the road, getting out of their car to pick flowers on the side of the road. Get used to going to the movies only to find out they cancelled just that showing of Iron Man (yea that one just happened on Wednesday). That’s life. You’re not, repeat, not going to change it. The madder you get the more resistant the locals become. Nicci and I smile and say, cool have a great day! You moved here to relax, so start relaxin’!

3. Network: Find something you love about the island and get involved. Nicci and I started the St. Thomas Blog. We’ve met hundreds of people, business owners, tourists etc. through our blog. We love living in St. Thomas and this is how we give back. Find something you love about St. Thomas and do it.

If you have any questions feel free to comment on the blog and WE WILL RESPOND. Guaranteed.

Click here for Moving to St. Thomas Part 1 and moving to St. Thomas Part 3 and Moving To St. Thomas US Virgin Islands – Everything You Need To Know

December 3, 2007. Monday night. Patriots/Ravens football game, a big game if you were 1) a Pats fan, 2) a Ravens fan or 3) a fan of football in general.

St. Thomas Blog falls under category #1, and for that game we opted against watching ESPN at home. Instead we chose good food and a rowdy sports crowd – and made our way to Caribbean Saloon, at American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook. It was packed, for both dinner and the game.

Caribbean Saloon was founded about ten years ago by owners Terrie and Frank and is one of the better St Thomas restaurants. The couple, who met in Atlanta, visited St. Thomas together for the first time, and loved the island. In the midst of fine dining restaurants they opened the Saloon, a casual steakhouse with a couple of Happy Hours and food until 4AM. It’s also known for being a great sports bar and the Saloon is undeniably enjoying some good times. We were happy to award them with Best Sports Bar St. Thomas 2008.

The Saloon, open 17 hours a day, enjoys a lunch crowd from Red Hook businesses and follows that with a late afternoon gathering of people coming from the harbor boats in search of eats and drink.

Dinnertime kicks in next, and both tourists and locals come in to enjoy the vast menu. The late night throng is next to invade, and the party doesn’t stop until the doors shut, at 4AM. It’s safe to say Caribbean Saloon has something for everyone.

Let’s start with the Happy Hours, there are two; Monday Thru Friday 4-7PM, Bar Only, 1/2 priced Apps and $2 U-Call its! Happy Hour #2 is late night: Monday Thru Thursday 10PM-1AM $2 U-Call its! From their fully stocked bar they have some cool Frozen and On the Rocks concoctions, which you can check out here.

Their food is tasty, and the portions are large. You can check out their menu here. On the day we paid a visit Scott ordered the filet, and pretty much licked his plate clean before surrendering it to the waiter. We found out from JR, the daytime manager (and long-time employee), that the philly cheesesteak is one of the most popular items. You also have your choice of apps, sandwiches, BBQ chicken dishes, salads, soup, steaks, ribs, pasta…you name it. The late night pizza is often enjoyed by those looking for a carb fix after over-enjoying the Happy Hour U-Call its!

So, back to the sports, and if you’re a fan of anything this is the place to go. A TV is visible from pretty much every seat in the place, and on game nights there’s a large projector screen that drops down from above the bar.

The Saloon crowd is mostly locals, but tourists will find their way there, as did a couple from Boston who was hanging next to us on that Monday night. Caribbean has four dishes, including DirecTV and DISH, and if you don’t see the sports event you’re looking for just ask someone and they’ll find it for you.

Like to dance? The Saloon has it covered, with DJ Rob on Wed, Fri and Sat nights. There is ample dancing space to start a sweat, or you can remain at the bar and people watch. Feeling lucky? Have a seat at one of the many slots and try your luck.

Can I describe the Caribbean Saloon in five words or less? Nah. Will I tell you it’s a sports bar with a loaded menu and great atmosphere? Yep.

We’ll be there next year when the Pats make their next Superbowl run…but don’t get me started on that.

Congratulations Caribbean Saloon!

We’ve just completed the new St Thomas web design for Craig and Sally’s Restaurant. It features a backend system where Craig can change his menu online everyday. Their daily menu changes are the real selling feature to Craig and Sally’s and the reason why locals and tourists return.

The new site also let’s users leave comments on their experience and opens up the channels of conversation.  Good luck to Craig and Sally’s (one of Nicci and I favorite St Thomas restaurants).

The busy season on St. Thomas is behind us.  And so goes the wonderful trade winds we enjoy. Nicci and I live on the North side of the island and we enjoy a constant breeze which really helps as we don’t have to use AC (don’t get me going on my electric bill, I’ll save that for another post). But as summer quickly approaches the breeze we so love has gone away.

That’s what happens every year around mid April. The temperature hasn’t risen tremendously but the breeze is gone. And I’m sweating my butt off. We’ve actually had to run the AC this week, it’s been sweltering.

I can only imagine what June-August will feel like. And how much our AC bill from WAPA (Water and Power Authority) will be. WAPA is the evil devil on the island of St Thomas. We’ll get to a post on them soon enough.

So as I sit here typing with sweat rolling down my chubby cheeks please think of me. I’ll be accepting all comments of concern and encouragement. I can’t wait for November!

Every week on Sunday we head to Magens Bay. We meet up with all our friends, BBQ, drink, lime and have a great time. We’ve been doing this for two years now and there is nothing more we look forward to.

There is usually a group of 20 of us but sometimes it can swell into 35-40 people. What’s great is there seems to be new people brought into the group all the time. It’s how Nicci and I met all our great friends here on St. Thomas.

If you’re on St. Thomas make sure to visit us at Magens Bay on Sunday!

You know that hunger that creeps up on you sometimes? The craving for a tangy marinara sauce, poured over a perfectly cooked lasagna paired with a great wine? It’s a mouth-watering thought, and if you find yourself in St. Thomas we have the perfect place for you to kill that craving – East End Cafe in Red Hook. Winner, Best of St. Thomas 2008, for Best Italian Casual Dining.

Here’s a look at their menu - much like the King Crab legs at Agave I pretty much have the same thing each time we dine at East End – Penne Alla Vodka, tasty! I dare you to look at their menu without your mouth watering at least three times!

We went to this St thomas restaurant and chatted with Jay, the manager. He’s an island newbie, here just shy of three months (welcome Jay!) so we told him to check out our blog and get caught up on the island. Jay comes to the VI from Denver (brrr!) so he’s glad to be here! Like the other Best Of winners we asked him to talk about his restaurant and tell us what makes it tick.

He told us that the chefs at East End Cafe are culinary trained, making the food both delicious and consistent. The staff on the floor are trained to be attentive to timing, and if you sit down to dine you should be enjoying food within 15 minutes of ordering. Have some hungry little people? East End is family friendly, with a kid’s menu and some crayons and coloring books to keep the little ones occupied.

East End Cafe is one of those St. Thomas restaurants that enjoys both a tourist and local following. Jay told us it’s common to have tourists dine there two or three times during a week of vacation, and the local businesses enjoy both lunch and dinner quite often. The most popular dish at the restaurant? Breaded cutlets of veal or chicken stuffed with ricotta and spinach and smothered with mozzarella…their signature dish. And my new craving! (who am I kidding, I’m totally penne-whipped…)

Still hungry? Let’s talk dessert, and oh yes, their pastries and cheesecakes are homemade! They also have creme brulee, which Jay tells us is better than sex. Or maybe you’d prefer to linger over coffee or one last glass of vino while you slowly digest.

This is definitely a St Thomas restaurant to put on your list if you’re planning a trip down here.

Congratulations to East End Cafe!

Nicci and I just got back from a week vacation in St. Maarten/St. Martin. While there the St Thomas Blog had to go to Maho beach where the big jumbo jets land. At first I was seriously stressed as these massive planes came right at me as I lay trembling under my beach umbrella. Meanwhile back at the ranch Nicci was running around taking pictures of this (she’s whack-o).

Here are our pictures but make sure to watch the YouTube videos below them:

We first introduced you to the Agave Terrace in this post. It’s no secret that it’s one of our favorite restaurants on the island; our booking them for our wedding dinner last year should be your first clue!

Today I’m writing about them again as they are a winner of our Best of St. Thomas 2008 - they won for Best Seafood Dining.

I’m from the school of “I’ve had it before, it was awesome, and that’s what I’m getting forever more”, and I’m referring to their Alaskan King Crab legs…OH MY GOD. So good. Lucky for us the people we spoke with have opened their Agave window to the other seafood choices on the menu, and had nothing but great things to say.  

We showed up to meet with Steve and present his award, and as we came up to the entrance he was rushing down to check out a fresh Mahi that was just reeled in. He had a knife in his hand and told us he’d be right back after cutting up the fish. I bet the Mahi was delicious that night! 

We waited for him at the bar, and had a drink with Desmond – the longtime bartender. He posed for a picture behind his bar:

Not a bad view to have at work right?

Steve met us at the bar and sat with us for a few minutes. He told us how he has been working with the University and local farmers on growing and producing local ingredients. He loves to feature territory ingredients in his dishes. Steve won’t offer hollandaise sauce, he offers passsion fruit hollandaise - twisting in an island taste to an common topping.

Agave Terrace has been around for twenty years, pleasing both tourists and locals alike.

Planning on visiting St. Thomas? This is a restaurant to plan on visiting, they are located at Paradise Point just past Smith Bay near the Wyndham Resort.

Many thanks to Steve Nakata at Agave Terrace for all the great memories.

Nicci and I get lots of questions about St Thomas snorkeling and St Thomas scuba diving. The waters of St. Thomas are crystal clear and warm. Home to all kinds of great fishes and creatures. Here’s a picture of Nicci and I  (wink) scuba diving in Magens Bay (always nominated for the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world). Before you view our latest dive make sure to check out our snorkeling tips here.

As you can see, even the big fish are friendly in St. Thomas. So remember, grab your snorkel gear or rent some scuba equipment for a memorable time…don’t forget your camera