St. Croix Appy Crawl #2

For this evening’s Appy Crawl, we have decided to hit three of  Christiansted’s most established eateries. To make the crawl more lively, we are hitting the town in the teeth of tourist season the people  watching/meeting was SPECTACULAR! We meet a couple on their honeymoon, escaping the cold of Philly with an interesting toasting style (Cheers, Big Ears). Then, a woman who worked for Frank Zappa in the 70s a true Gypsy Nester she has just finished raising her son and now is an artist/botanist/traveler. Kudos! Overheard a foursome using a beautiful meal as a vehicle to whine about the horrors of bad domestic help. Accosted by a passionate Italian hell-bent on trading our condo for his sailboat apparently, he’s fallen in love with St. Croix.

Kendricks

David and Jane Kendrick have a beautiful garden of palm trees, innovative foods, and fabulous service. Candlelit, dreamy and a well appreciated menu with a large print! We sat at the bar tonight and tried out a few appys: Tuna Char Sui with Asian Slaw, Soy Wasabi Vinaigrette, A barely there char on a deliciously fresh tuna, nice wallop from the wasabi.

Alaskan King Crab Cakes with Lemon Habanero Tartar Sauce. Does St. Croix have crabs, you ask? Yep, and people eat them, too. But they’re land dwelling little fellas and these cakes definitely benefited from their Alaskan cousins. The consistency was crabtensive and juicy. The tartar sauce was yummy.

Wines.

A quick note on Italian whites watch out for the lighter alcohol content, you get that funny metalic “turned”  taste. As a wise Italian once told us,  Italian white wines should never cross over the Alps.  If you can’t drink it in Asti, then try to stick to 12% by volume at least, it handles the plane ride better than the by-the-glasses we had at Kendricks. We took a peek at the Kendricks wine list some really nice whites live there, they may want to rethink the reds. But who drinks red in the Caribbean anyway?

Bacchus

Hidden away upstairs past the sign that says “These steps are ancient and irregular.”These folks know their food! The staff is aware of culinary nuisances and are very willing to share their thoughts. The menu has a fun flair, naming gourmet dishes “Get the Duck Outta Here” and “Try This Rasta’s Pasta” keeps it casual. We didn’t miss snooty pretense one little bit.

“Still Dancing To Our Old Beet” Pay attention here: A salad of roasted beets, greens, candied pecans, gorgonzola with white truffle oil. Oh. My. God. Veronica has been seen devouring a piece of cardboard drizzled with truffle oil and a smile on her face, so this salad seriously rocked her world.

Ravioli of the Day
Tonight’s had lobster, garlic, leeks and other deliciousness. The pasta was so meaty, it was like eating a steak. The crème sauce was lovely.

Also, a wonderful spiny lobster bisque and a well rounded wine list.

Rumrunners

On the Boardwalk. A short stroll to the Christiansted Boardwalk and the romantic, on-the-water Rumrunners. We loved this place, complete with huge tarpons swimming right up to shore sniffing around for scraps. We came in a bit late, but our waitress was very happy to have us come in for dessert. We snagged a water-side table.

Flourless Chocolate Torte
Not messing around, this dessert. Dark, dark, dark and decadent.

Also see: The Appy Crawl Philosophy

David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com