St John - The Food

So rather than post where we ate day by day I decided to run a separate post just focused on where we ate, with a few general thoughts. All prices are for the two of us.

We ate every breakfast in, which made sense being as far away from either Coral or Cruz Bay. This worked just fine for us.

Deli Grotto - An old favorite with specialty sandwiches. We love their "Trunk Bay Chicken" sandwich and took it to go both visits. We took this to go on a couple of trips, and had a very good blueberry scone on our way out. This place represents an excellent value on the island. One split sandwich for $9 and a couple bags of chips and two drinks, we're out the door for about $18. (Cash Only)

Sun Dog Cafe - I was happy we got a chance to visit this place up the stairs and in the back of Mongoose Junction. My wife greatly enjoyed the veggie quesadilla that filled her up. The sauce that came with it definitely 'closed the deal' and made this special. I had the BBQ sandwich, and was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. My wife has a coke, I go with tap water, and with tip this meal was $31.

Vie's Snack Shack - Ok, so you want to talk about local food, good value, and high quality, this is the place. The drive out the East End takes awhile, without a doubt. But it was worth it. For $12, you get a tea, a huge piece of fried, garlic chicken, a side of beans and rice, fried plantains, and a "johnny cake", which is a quite decadent biscuit/donut like bread drizzled with honey. I just can't imagine a better value on the island. I haven't been everywhere though. With tip we're out of there for $27. (Cash Only)
Vie's Garlic Chicken

Banana Deck - Ok, so wasn't too impressed with this place. The location is decent, as was the service. The offering made this place feel touristy to me. The drink menu was ice blended, overly sweet drinks, which we each tried. On the positive side we both enjoyed the conch fritters and the sauce on the side. Should've stopped there. I had the mahi from the menu, sauteed with butter and topped with crab meat. It was too rich and nothing special. My wife had the Caribbean chicken, covered with cream sauce. Again too rich and a bit decadent but didn't impress. The sides were huge disappointments, basically a steamed stalk of broccoli and rice. No imagination there. The specialty here seemed to be steak, so I'll take it we missed out, but we had that the previous night so we went other directions. With tip, $96. Didn't get real high marks on the value proposition.

Rhumb Lines - A favorite. We're addicted now to these fritters, so we tried the shrimp and corn fritters here and enjoyed every bite. We tried the 'special' drink which was a mojito with champagne rather than sparkling water. Not the highlight of the night, wish we had passed on this. I had the "ultimate" pad thai, mixed with steak, shrimp, and chicken. The chef knows what he/she is doing. My wife enjoyed her asian glazed salmon. The service and atmosphere has a different vibe, and Rhumb Lines has a professional feel to it that you don't always find on St John. With tip, $100. If there is a restaurant on St John worth the splurge, this is it to me.

Joe's Rum Hut - After a day at the beach we were targeting the Beach Bar, but it was jammed. Joe's was busy but had some room, and I had their specialty burger while my wife had another veggie quesadilla. Both meals were very generous in size. The burger is like a gourmet Big Mac, with two patties, cheese, thousand island, and shredded lettuce. Although about 10x better than a Big Mac. Good fries too... Dinner with a couple happy hour drinks was about $36. Again, I'd give this an "A" for value.
Joe's Pain Killer

Maho Bay Camp Ground - This is off the beaten path, but with us staying in Francis Bay, it was the closest place to eat. We didn't really intend to go here but ended up with two meals from this place. The first was a pesto chicken breast with asparagus and potatoes. Felt like home cooking, and we were both happy with our dinner. The second visit was Prime Rib night, and they do a phenomenal job here with a generous portion of prime rib. Wife had fried polenta with black beans instead this night, it was even plated professionally. I love this place. You sit on this huge deck overlooking Maho, getting a chance to see the sunset. They offer beer and wine at fair prices, but with your meal you can have tea or lemonade. In addition you get a small salad to make on your own with each meal. Ok, so no tip, but you have to bus your own table and clean your own plate. But we got hearty, amazing meals on the cheap. Meals cost $46 and $48, respectively. On a side note, it would just be a huge shame if this place is gone one day, as I understand the lease is up next year.
Maho Sunset (too many clouds!)

I think what we found this time was that you don't have to spend $80-100 for two to eat out every night. To the contrary, eat a meal or two in, have Vie's for a big lunch and a light dinner later, you really can get some of the best food on the island and spend not much more than you would at home.