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Great New(ish) Market in Coral Bay!

I have to be honest with you all, I’m a little late to the party with today’s post. But that doesn’t make it any less exciting! A great new market opened up in Coral Bay, and I think you’re all really going to like it!

Coral Bay Fresh Market opened up exactly two months ago today, and it’s a great addition to the island. It’s located out in Coral Bay (hence the name 🙂 ), and it’s in the same complex as Salty Mongoose, Surf Club Cantina (formerly Wok on the Beach), Jolly Dog and more. Now you might be thinking, why is a grocery store so exciting Jenn? Well it’s because this spot isn’t your typical grocery store. There’s so much more to it.

For starters, it just feels nicer as you walk in. It’s small, but laid out very well. The fresh fruits and local produce are displayed in cute wooden crates, and there is an entire wall of items imported by The Italians on St. Thomas. (Not familiar with The Italians? They sell gourmet Italian foods and wines, and they even offer a fun little wine and dine option in St. Thomas on Saturdays where you can sample items before you buy them. It’s pretty incredible.) But back to the Fresh Market…

Coral Bay Fresh Market also offers hand-cut meats, a variety of seafood items, and, of course, wine among other things. Homemade Meals To Go, which is delicious by the way, operates out of the space too and offers delicious daily specials. Check out a few pics:

Doesn’t it look great?!

Coral Bay Fresh Market is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. Breakfast items, such as veggie wraps and French toast, for example, are served beginning at 7 a.m. Lunch, which features a variety of items including prepared foods for the beach, comes out around noon. Dinner pickup is available beginning at 4 p.m. The dinner to go menu typically features two daily specials. The day I popped in to take a few pics, they were offering a pork chop entree stuffed with cream cheese, spinach and sun dried tomatoes, as well as a shrimp scampi dish. Entrees are around $20 to $25, and they can be reserved in advance.

Looking to dine in? You can do that too! Poolside in fact! For those of you looking for a relaxing spot to enjoy your takeout meal, you can opt to dine poolside, although actually swimming is not allowed. 🙂

Image credit: Coral Bay Fresh Market

Coral Bay Fresh Market even offers wine tasting every Friday night from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. They hope to start offering evening dining with table service, as well as Sunday brunch by the pool next month.

Want to see exactly where its located? Click here to check out Island Tidbits’ Logistics Map, which includes markets, gas stations, dumpsters, public restrooms & more. You can find that map online at www.islandtidbits.com/logisticsmap.

Great things are happening in Coral Bay, folks, and I am super excited to share it all with you. That’s all I have for today. Have a fantastic day everyone!

 

Vote for Your Favorite Caribbean Beach & Beach Bar

The view from Honeymoon beach.

Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday! Today it’s all about beaches and beach bars…

USA Today is conducting a pool, and they want to know which Caribbean beach & Caribbean beach bar is your favorite. Unfortunately none of our beach bars here on St. John made the cut, but two over in the BVI did!

Soddy Dollar Bar and Hendo’s Hideout in Jost Van Dyke are both vying for the title of Best Caribbean Beach Bar in USA Today’s latest 10 Best poll. They’re up against some other fun spots like Sunshine’s in Nevis and Elvis’ Beach Bar in Anguilla. Both are great places to relax and indulge, but which one should take the top spot? Click this link to vote for your favorite Caribbean beach bar in the poll. 

The view at Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost van Dyke

One of our beaches did make the cut, however, when it comes to the best Caribbean beach. Honeymoon is in the running against some other great spots like Grace Bay in the Turks and Caicos and Seven Mile Beach in the Cayman Islands. I’m pretty surprised that Trunk Bay didn’t make the list when it’s clearly one of the most beautiful beaches in the world! Click here to vote for your favorite Caribbean beach in the poll.

Ok, since St. John wasn’t represented as much as we hoped in USA Today’s 10 Best poll, we decided we’re going to conduct our own poll! Vote for your favorites below! We will announce the winner at the end of the week. 🙂

[yop_poll id=”1″]

[yop_poll id=”2″]

New Store Opens in Cruz Bay!

Rebecca Reinbold & Lindsey Soper recently opened Golden Hour at Mongoose Junction. Image credit: Sarah B. Swan

A brand new store opened in Cruz Bay last week, and I am super excited to share all of the details with you.
Golden Hour – a wellness, apothecary and feel-good lifestyle store – opened last Friday in the former R&I Patton space over at Mongoose Junction. The store, owned by Rebecca Reinbold and Lindsey Soper, features a carefully curated selection of products to help you live well and thrive. R&I Patton closed its doors earlier this year after being in business for 49 years.

“To live well is to live happy, fulfilled, and healthy,” Rebecca recently told me. “Our goal (in creating Golden Hour) is to help make wellness part of your every day, whatever that looks like.”

(Rebecca and Lindsey also own Lulee, an island-inspired clothing and accessories boutique, with locations at Mongoose Junction and over at the Westin resort.)

Golden Hour offers offer a range of products that feature powerful, time-tested ingredients to support increased energy, better sleep, stronger immune health, and more. Manuka honeys, functional beverages, and polyphenol-rich olive oils line the shelves along with sea mineral eye serums, antioxidant-rich facial oils, hand-poured candles, organic essential oils and more in this re-imagined space. Golden Hour also carries fine jewelry, featuring select designs from the iconic R&I Patton jewelry collection as well as resident Katherine Stuart’s “Honey” line of 14k gold jewelry.

Check out a few images from inside the new store:

Image credit: Sarah B. Swan

Image credit: Sarah B. Swan

Image credit: Sarah B. Swan

Image credit: Sarah B. Swan

Image credit: Sarah B. Swan

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited about this spot.

“We believe that living well means making a conscious shift in our thoughts, intentions, habits and rituals, and making mindful choice to prioritize health and vitality,” Rebecca said.

Golden Hour is open on Sundays and Mondays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Golden Hour is located at Mongoose Junction near Just Beach and Portico.

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Island Tidbits would like to welcome our newest advertiser Holiday Homes of St. John. Holiday Homes has been specializing in St. John real estate since 1960. You can visit their storefront at The Marketplace or visit them online at www.HolidayHomesVI.com.



Kick Off the Holiday Season Today at Mongoose Junction!

A great event is happening today at Mongoose Junction.

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving celebration yesterday! There’s a great event happening at Mongoose Junction today. If you happen to be lucky enough to be on island, you’re not going to want to miss this!

Mongoose Junction will kick off the holiday season at 4 p.m. today with their annual evening in the courtyard holiday event, which will feature live music, delicious food, cold drinks and, of course, some fantastic shopping.

Musical guests will include steel pan from the Love City Pan Dragons from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., From Broheem with Love, and Lauren & Bo from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and there will also be a special guest – Moko Jumbie Yisreal Petersen.

Participating businesses include Arawak Expeditions, Bamboula, Bajo El Sol Gallery & Art Bar, St. John Brewer’s Brewtique, Caravan Gallery, Imperial Dynasty, Island Fancy, Little Switzerland, Lulee, Made on St. John, Just Beach, Portico, Sugar Birds, The St. John Experience Gallery, Virgin Abis, 1864 The Restaurant, Greengo’s Caribbean Cantina, Sun Dog Café, The Tap Room and St. John Scoops.

Mongoose will continue with the holiday spirit next weekend, as well. On Saturday, December 3rd, the Animal Care Center of St. John – an organization you all know I absolutely love – will offer gift wrapping onsite from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Sing St. John’s children choir will be performing starting at 3:30 p.m. on December 3rd. Broheem and Pam will be performing as well.

And mark your calendars because the All Island Holiday party, also known as the Prom, will be returning this year. That event is scheduled for December 17th. And we hear Santa is going to make an appearance closer to Christmas. We will keep you all posted on that one!

In the meantime, have a great day, and happy shopping!

 

Island Eats: Mexican Night at the Tamarind

Today we’re talking food, folks. I’d like to let you all in on a lesser-known spot that serves some pretty darn good food – the Inn at Tamarind Court.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Inn at Tamarind Court, it’s located in Cruz Bay on the one-way stretch of Southside Road, or Route 104 on the map. The Tamarind is a simple and affordable place to stay on St. John with rates that start under $200 a night. Rates are less than $100 for those of you who don’t mind sharing a bathroom.

In addition to affordable rooms, the Tamarind has a quaint little restaurant and bar that serves breakfast seven days a week. But today, it’s all about Mexican night.

The Tamarind serves Mexican food Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. You can eat in-house in the courtyard or at the bar, or you can call ahead and order it to go. I finally was able to try it last week, and I have to say, it was very good. The flavors were great, the portions were huge, and the price was affordable. It was a win-win on all fronts!

As you can see below, the majority of the entrees are priced under $20. It’s honestly a great value for the money. Check out the menu:

The kitchen is headed up by longtime resident Paulie Humble. And I have to say, he’s doing a great job. Check out a few pics from last week’s dinner…

Queso, guacamole & margaritas… yes, please!
I had the steak fajitas, and they were very good.
My friend had the burrito and really enjoyed it.

We finished it off with an order a Mexican doughnuts, which were covered in cinnamon and sugar, and drizzled in chocolate. We ate them so quickly that I forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

If you’re looking for some good Mexican food with a casual atmosphere that’s affordable, please do yourself a favor and swing by the Inn at Tamarind Court for Mexican night. I promise you’ll enjoy it.