Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
off the cruise dock, the kitchen is a local hangout. Try such dishes as the cook's bar-
becued tofu kebab or his callaloo with a
fungi
polenta. The house specialty is a tasty
mushroom lasagna. Everything is washed down with fresh tropical fruit juices.
King St.
&
340/772-5063.
Reservations not required. Main courses $10-$15. No credit cards. Daily
12:30pm-midnight.
Out on the Island
Duggan's Reef
CONTINENTAL/CARIBBEAN This is one of the most popular
restaurants on St. Croix. It's only a few feet from the still waters of Reef Beach and
makes an ideal perch for watching windsurfers and Hobie Cats. At lunch, an array of
salads, crepes, and sandwiches is offered. The more elaborate night menu features
the popular house specialties: Duggan's Caribbean lobster pasta and Irish whiskey
lobster. Begin with fried calamari or conch chowder. Main dishes include New York
strip steak, fish, and pastas. The local catch of the day can be baked, grilled, black-
ened Cajun style, or served island style (with tomato, pepper, and onion sauce).
East End Rd.
&
340/773-9800.
Reservations required for dinner in winter. Main courses $23-$39;
pastas $19-$30. MC, V. Mon-Sat 6-9pm; Sun brunch 11am-2:30pm. Closed for lunch in summer.
South Shore Café
AMERICAN Set in a simple, breezy building on an isolated
inland region (“in the middle of nowhere”), this is a charming and intensely personal
family-style restaurant. Decorating quirks (including a collection of umbrellas hang-
ing from the ceiling of the lattice-trimmed dining room) add a funky, offbeat note to
what are usually well-turned-out meals with a rural North American twist. Excellent
choices include ravioli stuffed with sweet potatoes and spring onions, a tomato-based
Sicilian clam chowder, baked brie with a rum sauce, local grilled fish with herb-
flavored butter sauce, and homemade grilled chicken lasagna with sun-dried toma-
toes and a sherry-flavored cream sauce.
6 Petrinelli Farm.
&
340/773-9311.
Reservations required. Main courses $25-$30. MC, V. Wed-Sun
5-9pm.
Sunset Grill
CARIBBEAN/AMERICAN This informal spot is on the west
coast, near Sprat Hall Plantation. It's the best place on the island to combine lunch
and a swim. The restaurant has been in business since 1948, feeding locals and visi-
tors alike. Try such local dishes as seafood chowder and the fried fish of the day.
These dishes have authentic island flavor, perhaps more so than any other place on
St. Croix. You can also get salads and burgers. The bread is baked fresh daily. The
owners allow free use of the showers and changing rooms.
Rte. 63 (1 mile north of Frederiksted).
&
340/772-5855.
Sandwiches $6-$13; main courses $17-$32.
MC, V. Daily 11am-9pm; Sun brunch 10:30am.
5
BEACHES
Beaches are St. Croix's big attraction. The problem is that getting to them from Chris-
tiansted, home to most of the hotels, isn't always easy. It can also be expensive,
especially if you want to go back and forth each day of your stay. From Christiansted
a taxi will cost about $30 for two people to Davis Bay, $24 to Cane Bay, and $20 to
Rainbow Beach. Of course, you can rent a condo or stay in a hotel right on the water.
The most celebrated beach is offshore
Buck Island,
part of the U.S. National
Park Service network. Buck Island is actually a volcanic islet surrounded by some of
the most stunning underwater coral gardens in the Caribbean. The white-sand
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