Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For groceries,
La Tienda Verde (Green Store;
Click here
; Calle Robles)
and the
Col-
mado Lydia ( Calle Almendro)
, near the baseball field in the center of town, are your
best bets in Esperanza, but that's not saying much. On Saturday, stop by the small
farmers
market ( 11am-4pm Sat)
at the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust for excel-
lent local produce, baked goods, honey and hot sauce. Some vendors will barter.
ELSEWHERE ON THE ISLAND
Next Course
FUSION $$
( 787-741-1028; Hwy 201; mains $22-38; dinner Fri-Wed, shorter hr low sea-
son; )
Another new upscale option, this one's cocooned away on Hwy 201 and serenad-
ed by a throaty chorus of frogs. Offering 'cuisine inspired by travel,' Next Course borrows
influences from Thai, Mexican and Persian kitchens, with an emphasis on fresh local food,
and some of its fruit harvested on-site. A sampling of choices might include poached lob-
ster with white truffle risotto and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus or tender barbecued ribs
that fall off the bone. After dark, orient yourself by its tiki torches and strings of patio
lights.
CHEZ SHACK
What do '60s psychedelic band the Mamas and Papas and Vieques' most bohemian
restaurant have in common? They both owe at least a part of their success to expat
impresario and restaurateur Hugh Duffy. In the 1960s Duffy owned a restaurant
called 'Love Shack' on the nearby island of St Thomas, where he hosted folk-music
nights with a quartet of spaced-out hippies called the New Journeymen. It was an im-
portant first break. But while the Journeymen changed their name to the Mamas and
Papas and headed off to LA for some California Dreamin', Duffy transplanted him-
self just 13 miles to the west, where he opened up
Chez Shack( 787-741-2175;
Hwy 995 Km 1.8; dishes $18-30; dinner Wed-Sun mid-Nov-May)
, a quirky
Caribbean hangout that quickly began to rival the luminous bio-bay as
the
place to
go on Vieques. Two decades later both Duffy (now pushing 90) and the shack are
still rustling up fine dinners that have become almost as celebrated as his erstwhile
protégées. Monday is the big night, with live reggae and an outdoor grill featuring
chicken, fish or steak. Make reservations.
