We take making meals out of appetizers very seriously. Having them at multiple eateries is even better. For one thing, it forces us to walk off some of the food between stops, for another, we get to try several different places without destroying our credit rating. We decided to hit three brand new restaurants on the evening of the St. Croix Christmas Parade in Christiansted:

Zebo's Strand Street For starters, a fantastic gem with an innovative menu. We were greeted by the very French and beautiful hostess/owner. She went out of her way to make sure we were seated at a nice outdoor table in view of the jazz quartet. Our waiter was very knowledgeable. Entrees are nightly specials, dependent on availability of quality ingredients. Tonight, one involved ostrich, we didn't ask, but we're pretty sure that ISN'T one of the local ingredients. Peacock could be, Mongoose perhaps, but not Ostrich.

Scallops with Fried Risotto
Also delicious. If there's a bivalve involved, we're all for it. Very innovative, the accompanying sauce drizzled about was fantastic.

J. Lohr Riesling
So good Veronica almost cried. Perfect with the food. The wine list is one of the best on St. Croix. We think Riesling will be the new Pinot Grigio. Kind of like 50 is the new 40, or 60 is the new 52, or 70 is the new 65, 0r 80 is the new 78 or whatever.

Zizzlers
Strand Street

Zizzlers bills itself as "Cajun-Cruzan Fusion" and the beautiful decor is right on the mark. An open-air second story space lends itself to a fun view of the goings-on in Christiansted. We staked a claim to a corner table. It was the perfect vantage point to watch the people watching the parade. Usually a better show than the parade itself. Good fun. We were told upon entering by the hostess that the menu was limited to cold appetizers, salads and sandwiches, as this new establishment was having the customary troubles getting the permits and inspections maneuvered through the maze that is your typical Caribbean government. Our waitress was fun, attentive and helpful.

Shrimp Remoulade
A surprising large portion for a ridiculously low price.
Nice and authentic. Great shrimp is hard to come by on St. Croix, and this was no exception, but it was certainly passable, even above average for these parts and the sauce was wonderful.

Hummus Plate
A huge portion
Three types--Black Bean, Sun Dried Tomato, Traditional. Nice and cool. Served with pita.

Blue Fish Riesling
Seems to be becoming a staple on St. Croix. From one of the fine wineries in Germany going for the American market with goofy, nonsensical names. See, we told you Riesling is the new Pinot Grigio. Anyway, the wine list at Zizzler's is limited, but in keeping with price point and atmosphere.

Angry Nate's
On the Boardwalk

Nothing beats a romantic walk on the Christiansted Boardwalk before dessert and coffee. The boats in the harbor, lights on the water, music and laughing from the bars and restaurants, hand in hand with someone you love. Then on to--Angry Nate's. Hmmmmm...doesn't seem quite right. We thought of asking to see Nate so we could inquire as to what had gone so awry that he now was in a permanent state of anger....but then the...

White Chocolate Bread Pudding arrived.
This bad boy was SWIMMING in decadent caramel sauce (as far as Veronica is concerned, the more caramel sauce -- the better the dessert). The pudding itself was great and sopped up the caramel sauce perfectly. Did we mention the caramel sauce?

Our waitress was a doll. She put on a fresh pot of coffee for us. The coffee was a perfect accompaniment to the caramel sauce laden pudding and just enough sugar and caffeine to get us home.

Also see: The Appy Crawl Philosophy