Little more St. John restaurant news

cptnkirk · Post by **cptnkirk** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:56 pm

Well I just have to say people are feeling poorer now and even if they can afford it many won't pay that kind of money for food. Heck I think anything over 20 bucks for a meal is highway robbery. It's one freakin meal

Anyhoots I hope they can make a go of it but people in general are tightening there wallets. Now if ya told me Uncle Joes, Woodys or Skinnys were closing I would be upset. Little off subject but no one should feel guilty if they do nothing other than enjoy the beaches and beauty of St John and spend just a little money and never go out to eat. It's up to you it's your vacation. We go for the beauty of the place not the fine dining, bet ya twenty years ago there was no fine dining. Probably none of those fancy smancy villas we love either

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:17 am

I happen to agree with Kirk. It's Darwin...evolve or die.

Long before this economic down-turn hit, we grew weary of most of the STJ "upper end" restaurants. We had a joke...if the waiter says that the special is "herb encrusted," we knew that the meal will be a $100 at a minimum for the two of us. "Asian fusion" is another code word for a $100 meal.

While I don't wish businesses to fail, I also have no pity for those that fail due to their inability to perceive that their market is changing. You can make the best horse buggy in the world, but, hello, people prefer cars.

msgcolleen · Post by **msgcolleen** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:12 am

Hey Pete! No wonder my "Asian infused, herb crusted lobster tail" at Zozo's cost so much last year!!
No fancy restaurants for us this time around~

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:31 am

After our last trip, John and I crossed a bunch of the upscale places (and many of the cheaper places, but that's a different topic) off our dining list permanently.

My problem with many of the upscale St. John restaurants is that their menus and cooking styles are just too similar. In my mind, Balcony/Waterfront Bistro/Paradiso/Equator, and to a lesser extent Asolare (I've never been to Chloe and Bernards) are pretty much interchangable.

I remember one time where we did a bunch of the upscale places in a row and saw butter poached lobster as an entree on at least four of the menus! We had serious food fatigue by the end of that trip.

I will definitely pay for an upscale meal, but not multiple times for what is basically the same food. If it's not unique, I don't feel like buying it at that price point anymore. I'd rather just go to the Lime Inn or cook for myself.

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:11 am

My feelings mirrored Liamsaunt's and Marcia's for the past several trips. (Although I was pleasantly surprised last trip on one or two occasions.)

I generally don't cook dinner on vacation, I do enough of that at home. In light of recent news, our upcoming trip should be interesting. We are planning on eating out 7 of the 8 nights

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:54 pm

Pete it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when you talk like a Capitalist

Of all the high-end restaurants on STJ we've only been to three of them in 7 trips. We normally eat out for dinner about 6 out of 10 nights so that's around 42 times we've eaten out for dinner on STJ.

We went to Paradiso on our first trip/honeymoon, ZoZo's on our third trip, and the Equator on our fourth trip. Apparently we weren't impressed enough by any of them to keep paying such a steep price. We always talk about going to Asolare but never make it. After all, we're there for the beaches. But we're also always sure to stop at the Lime Inn (usually twice), Morgan's Mango, Rhumb Lines, and Cafe Roma.

We'd be much more likely to patronize the high-end places if they had more reasonable prices. If they're suffering, perhaps make-overs are in order.

ClevelandDave · Post by **ClevelandDave** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 5:21 pm

I thought that the number of high-end restaurants on STJ was kinda weird...out of place. I'm an Uncle Joe's kind of guy and Shipwreck was as fancy as I needed. A big part of why I come to the islands is to eat "island fare".

We did plan on a special dinner at Sweet Plantains (but didn't plan well enough and tried on an off day). They intrigued me because of the unique nature of their offerings which I felt justified the likely tab (still far below many others).

After seeing the food porn and reading the descriptions of the grub at the high-end menu clones, I concluded that the only thing they serve that I can't get back home is the scenery. For that price, I'll pass and go to the beach with a pattie from Hercules.

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 6:06 pm

Dave, have you tried Sogo's? Very good West Indian food for not a lot of money.

ClevelandDave · Post by **ClevelandDave** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:38 pm

Pete - Sogo's was absolutely on my list but the closest we got was when we picked up & dropped off our car at Sutton's. I know I wold love that place! We only had 5 days and were so focused on the Coral Bay area that we never made it back to Cruz Bay for dinner.

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:57 pm

You really should give it a try. We had a great time there.

Will you be on island this year?

ClevelandDave · Post by **ClevelandDave** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:19 pm

2010 will be an "off" year for us unless I can sell my honey on camping at Ivan's.

toni · Post by **toni** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:37 am

Second the Sogo's recommendation, it's a must stop for us, and another plus is the drinks are big and a good price!

mdcoles1 · Post by **mdcoles1** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:29 am

September 25, 2009;

source: http://barnako.typepad.com/news_of_st_john_usvi/

Still no comment from the folks who own/manage the Balcony, Paradiso, Asolare and Chloe’s.

First word the eateries were “in trouble” cropped up a week ago, courtesy of Anthony Finta’s Virgin-Islands-On-Line posting. An e-mail to the company brought no immediate response, nor anything since then.

However, the Inquiring Iguana's publishing the story this week has brought more information.

One commenter alleged some employees of the restaurants are owed “thousands” of dollars in back pay and have been afraid to stop working for fear they’d never see a penny.
Another reader found that the company’s Web site, stjohn-restaurants.com, is now off line. The site is apparently maintained by Andy Clausen at Savant Media Group in Coral Bay.
September 25, 2009 in Restaurants | Permalink | Comments (0)

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:36 am

Can someone tell me where Sogo's is? We know only a few landmarks...only our second trip coming up. Thanks!

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:38 am

Sogo's is next door to Conrad Suttons. If you were to walk out of the Lime Inn, go left for about 50 yards. It is on the right. The place doesn't look like much, but the food is good.

usvi-on-line