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Bordeaux, Lucy’s are top Coral Bay picks

Bordeaux
Chateau Bordeaux
has been voted the top restaurant in Coral Bay by readers of News of St. John.  Perched high over Coral Bay with an astounding view of East End and the BVIs, its dinner offerings include Mahi Mahi, escargot, lobster tail.  Here’s the menu.  There are no prices on this online version of the menu, so beware – it’s not cheap.  The phone is 340-776-6611.

Second place goes to Miss Lucy’s, whose original owner was also a cab driver, whose island tours were the best! The restaurant is located way outta town along the south shore and is best known for its Sunday brunches with live jazz, Lucy’s is a long-time favorite.  There are a handful of tables on the beach – arrive early (very!) to get one. The phone is 340-693-5244.

Read moreBordeaux, Lucy’s are top Coral Bay picks

Bar Wars: The Video

You couldn’t be there?  "Alza317" was and posted this video, "Maho Bay Boys Dominate Bar Wars."

Beware, there is much screaming and one young female who really can screech.  Teams of waiters and bartenders have to deliver the goods through
obstacle courses set up on the beach and in the water there at the
Beach Bar at Wharfside. The late July event was all in good fun and the proceeds go to a worthy cause, the Animnal Care Center.

Lime Inn tops for moderate budget dining in Cruz Bay

Lime_2
The Lime Inn
is the best bet for a reasonable night out for dinner with your sweetie and/or the kids, according to results of our week-long poll on Cruz Bay restaurants.Specializing in seafood, Caribbean lobster, and known for its Wednesday night Shrimp Feast, the Lime Inn has been an island favorite for almost 20 years.

Other old reliables finishing near the top of the voting included Morgan’s Mango, featuring South American spicy specialties; Rhumb Lines, known for ‘Asian fusion’; the Fish Trap, specializing in, what else?, fish and some imaginative Asian-inspired treatments of old favorites; Banana Deck and its solid bar food, and Cafe Roma, serving up pasta and pizza.

Here are the results of our poll:

  • Lime Inn  24%
  • Morgan’s Mango
    13%
  • Rhumb Lines
    13%
  • Fish Trap
    13%
  • Banana Deck
    11%
  • Café Roma
    10%
  • Sun Dog Café
    4%
  • Inn at Tamarind Court
    4%
  • Happy Fish
    3%
  • Compass Rose (Pastory)
    2%
  • Satyamuna 1%
  • China Shack 1%

Vote for favorite Coral Bay restaurant

While Coral Bay is rapidly developing … ’cause that’s where the available land is … it’s still kind of laid back and relaxed.  Which explains why its choices for a meal are all over the map. From a fantastic budget breakfast at the Donkey Diner to a moonlit, waterside dinner at Miss Lucy’s, the variety is broad.

Frankly, Coral Bay is often a state of mind.  Its restaurants range from tacky to white tablecloth.  Enjoying Coral Bay is easy to do.  Sometimes you’re in a rock-and-roll state of mind, other times you’re looking for smooth and relaxing. So, in choosing a Coral Bay restaurant or bar, vote for the one where you have the most fun and the best memories.

Kenny Chesney alert!

Chesney
If history is any guide. Kenny Chesney may be on island soon.

His Flip Flop Summer Tour wraps up this weekend in Atlanta.  TicketsNow.com has seats in the 3rd row, center offered at $950.00.

But when Chesney does his last encore, watch out. Traditionally, that’s the time when he charters a plane and takes the band to St. John to kick back. Kycd05_2So, you might expect Kenny sightings at Woody’s or even in the alley in back, where Anderson Cooper interviewed him for 60 Minutes. (See the video.)

At the same time, a new Chesney CD will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 11.  It’s his first new music in two years. And Amazon is offering a deal on it.  Own it for $9.99.  You can order it through the Gift Shop. The online store has two other Chesney CDs at that price, too.Compose Post

Stone Terrace #1 for $plurging

Stone_terrace
The Stone Terrace
finished solidly at the top of a poll of visitors’ favorite high-end restaurants in Cruz Bay over the past week.  Zozo’s at Gallows Point came in second. While Tage comes in for much praise on various travel forums praise, it finished in third place, far back of the leaders. 

Almost 750 votes were cast. Here are the results:

  • Stone Terrace 41%
    La Tapa 9%
    Zozo’s
      25%
    Paradiso
    4%
    Tage  10%
    Equator at Caneel
    2%
    Asolare
    9% 
    Balcony at Wharfside
    1%

New restaurant poll: For a nice night out

In Cruz Bay,  there are almost a dozen restaurants offering a pleasant lunch or dinner at a relatively modest price.  Among these, which is your favorite for an evening out? (We’ll get to Coral Bay, next week)

Restaurant Poll – Upscale favorites

I figure there maybe close to 100 restaurants/bars/snack shops/food huts and wagons on St. John.  But which is best?  Depends.
Just as there are different strokes for different folks, there are times when you want to splurge, and sometimes you just want to eat and run.  Rather than asking ‘What’s your favorite,’ I thought it would be a good idea to develop a list of folks’ favorites, depending upon the time, the mood, your location and, yes, the dollars.  Here’s the first poll.  More to come.

Cheers: Win a liquor store.

Mixology
Gary Moses
is trying again to give away the Mixology Warehouse, his wholesale/retail liquor store located at the Lumberyard in Cruz Bay.  The business will go to the person who writes the best 100 to 200 word essay on why they are "ready to break out of a rut and start a new life in paradise," according to rules of the contest on its Web site. Moses plans to cap the entries at 8,000 which, with an entry fee of $100, would generate $800,000. He said the approximate value of the business is $500,000.

The winner gets the fully stocked store, serving more island restaurants and bars plus private parties, weddings and deliveries to villas.  Three months’ rent will also paid, and Moses will stay for a week of on-the-job training for the new owner.

Read moreCheers: Win a liquor store.

Summertime restaurant closings

St. Johnians need a vacation, too.  Living on a rock in the ocean has its own challenges. The simple fact is that everyone needs a break.

Many restaurant owners find mid-August and September to be good times to cut back hours, if only to try and lessen the odds of having their businesses affected by severe weather like tropical storms or worse.

Ruth Ernst, the owner of St. John Spice maintains a Web page which keeps track of who’s open and who’s closed, and when.  If you’re headed to the island, it’s a good idea to print this page out and them, as a last check, call before you go – just to make sure there hasn’t been a change in plans.

St. John restaurant closings schedule: www.stjohnspice.com/stjohnrestaurants.htm