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Westin Opens New Restaurant & Marketplace

westin lemongrass

The Westin just opened its newly renovated beach restaurant and we have to say, it looks pretty darn good.

Lemongrass served up its first breakfast dish last Monday while dinner service began Wednesday. The space looks great – fresh, modern and clean. See for yourself:

westin inside lemongrass

westin new bar 1

westin outdoor lemongrass

In addition to Lemongrass, the Marketplace also recently opened. The Marketplace replaced the old Mango Deli and serves up Starbucks coffee, breakfast items like bagels and muffins, wine, pizzas, snacks and more.

westin marketplace

westin marketplace coffee

In addition to a new look, Lemongrass also has a nice new menu. The restaurant offers typical breakfast fare, and serves up both small and large plates during dinner service. We’re pretty excited to try some of the items. Here’s the dinner menu for those of you who’d like to take a peek:

lemongrass menu

Lemongrass serves breakfast daily from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and offers dinner from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. every night. Its bar is also open seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The Marketplace is also open seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Both Lemongrass and the Marketplace are open to the public.


Delicious, Grab & Go Local Fare

Etta
Etta Samuel grew up in St. Croix but has called St. John home for the past 34 years. She is married to Mr. Nevil Samuel.

Last week, we told you about a great new authentic restaurant in Cruz Bay – De’ Coal Pot. Today we’d like you all to know about another great local spot, but this one’s more of a grab and go place. It’s called Etta’s Place and I’m not sure what’s better – the food or dear, sweet Etta herself.

The idea for Etta’s Place came about last year around this time while Carnival was happening over on St. Thomas. After tasting what she described as subpar food during the event, Etta Samuel decided it was time for someone to offer flavorful, authentic West Indian cuisine on St. John.

“I said if this is what they’re doing, then I’m going to start cooking. So I opened the restaurant and realized I had a gift,” Etta said.

Etta’s Place opened up on the second floor of the Marketplace about three months ago. She serves a variety of dishes including stew chicken, salmon balls, fresh local catch, veggie platters and more. Most dishes are between $8 and $14 and include peas and rice, sweet potato stuffing, sweet plantains or banana fritters, cole slaw and potato salad.

Here’s a peek at her full menu:

ettas menu
Click to enlarge

And here’s a look at how good her food is (I wish we had some kind of smell-o-vision because this all smelled amazing!):

ettas food

For those of you who like conch, Etta sells a great dish of conch in butter sauce. But you need to grab it quickly, because it “sells like hotcakes,” according to Etta.

Etta’s Place is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. She is considering expanding her hours in the future.

Ettas sign