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Eat and drink the St. John way

The island boasts some world-class restaurants. La Plancha del Mar, Zozo's, La Tapa, and Asolare jump to the tip of a well-used tongue.

Lately, some of the island chefs are "lifting their aprons" to reveal some of their recipe secrets.

Ovceangrill At Mongoose Junction's Ocean Grill has posted a small number of recipes.  Boasting that it offers "Contemporary cuisine with a fresh tropical flair," its web site offers how-tos for Crustless Quiche, Lemon Vichyssoise, and Banana Cake.  Each recipe is on the site and available for download via PDF. The site says there are more recipes available via a link to an Archive.  Not true.  Click it and you get the same three recipes.

Fishtrap Another source for recipes is the web site of Virgin Voices magazine.  Aaron Willis of the Fishtrap Restaurant in Cruz Bay is featured in two videos showing how he prepares Red Snapper.  The audio and video quality are a little rough (Looks like this might be an experiment by the magazine to see if it's a popular). See the video here. 

Read moreEat and drink the St. John way

Old Time Fish Fry Saturday

Cases_logo A long time ago in a land not so far away, Fish Frys were the focus of community gatherings on the island.

In an article on the St. John Source, one local describes a Fish Fry as "an event where Virgin Islanders (of all colors, old and new residents, born here, and naturalized) meet, discuss, debate the issues of the day, share ideas, while socializing and breaking bread."

They once were common, now they are few and far between – but one is scheduled for this weekend featuring St. John's reggae ambassadors to the world, Inner Visions.

The Fry is being staged by Owen's Cases by the Sea, the liquor store in Coral Bay that opened last fall.

The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m and goes until 11 p.m.  All are welcome, locals and visitors (who owe it to themselves to attend, too). A good time will be had by all who attend.

Talking dogs

The 11th annual island dog show, Wagapalooza, 'barks off' at 5 p.m. next Saturday evening, the 21st, at the ball field next to the Sprauve School in Cruz Bay.

Pets will be judged in many categories, including the newest … "Best Doggie Talk." Like Mishka, on YouTube.

With a Wild West theme this year, you can expect many contestants to be wearing hats, scarves, bolos, kerchiefs while perhaps dragging ropes and lassos and who knows what else.

Thanks to Jeff and Jen Donnelly of Jolly Dog and Moe Chabuz and the late Doug Sica of Skinny Legs, Wagapalooza has become the major fundraising event for the Animal Care Center.

NewsOfStJohn.com is proud to be a co-sponsor, for a third year, of the official Wagapalooza T-Shirt.

It was the Easter Turkey

Just because you're on an island doesn't mean you don't observe holidays.

At least that's what Maho Bay, the eco-friendly campground, says and does. The wonderful blog, MahoBayCamps has lots of stories and pictures about it.

You want an Easter egg hunt? They did it on the beach. After almost 50 kids colored almost 200 eggs!

You want a sand castle contest? On the beach? Done.

"Fluffy the Magic Dragon" was one of the finalists. (Photo via Maho's blog.)

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You want food, too?  How much? Crispin, assistant manager of the restaurant at Maho, oversaw the preparation of many, many turkeys.

5 new restaurants – all you need to know

No fewer than five new eateries have opened their doors on the island in the past four weeks.
Now, that's a lot of new businesses developing, reason enough for the St. John Sun Times to bend its rules on reviews.  

Samnjacks No time to give the place time to find their groove while the ST's foodies sample the fruits of three visits. So, the Sun Times broke its rules to 'serve' is readers.  

Here are a few notes from the article.

  • Fatty Crab, across from the ball field in Cruz Bay

    "It isn't just dinner, it's an experience … It has a nightclub vibe, with people making the scene, dressed in that island fancy style that must cost a fortune …  The chef, Zak, had actually hooked and pulled in the king fish, mackeral, and mahi that were being served …" 
     

  • Sam & Jack's Deli, 3rd floor of the Marketplace

    "Paradigm shift in the St. John sandwich world … The menu is a New York deli dream … Gourmet take-out comes to St. John … The real star of the shjow is the homemade bread.
          

  • Black Sand Bistro, 2nd floor of the Marketplace

    "A pretty spot-on incarnation of the classic French bistro … Serioiusly good food at neighborly prices … Steamed mussls in a spicy marinara sauce, perfectly pan-roasted chicken breast on a bed of penne with carmelized onions."
     

  • Lone Star, 2nd floor of the Marketplace
  • Buddy's Hurricane Hole at Wharfside Village