St. John USVI food rteport

We were in St. John in early April 2010 and had some decent meals.

First night at Morgan's Mango...we had the jerk chicken & brie quesadillas, which were great! You can barely taste the jerk chicken, which would normally be a bad thing, but the brie was so flavorful that we didn't care. Also had the calamari, which was the opposite - no flavor. We didn'd do seafood, had the citrus chicken and the pork. Both were cooked perfectly, nice and juicy and full of flavor. Overall a very good meal.

Dinner at La Tapa the second night, it was fine - nothing earth shattering, probably would not return based on the other spots we went to, the food just didn't stand out.

Third night at ZoZo's for the sunset seating...the sunset was OK, but the food was probably the best we had on the island. We started with calamari, which had a great aioli sauce that made the dish, a bruschetta fancied after a philadelphia cheesesteak which was really tasty (even for a girl from Philly who is pretty particular about her cheesesteak), the pappardelle, which was rich but phenomenal, and the sweet potato ravioli, my only disappoinment. It's way too heavy a dish to be served in a location that has an eternal summer. It was good, but just too much and too heavy - probably not a good call on my part to order it. I didn't have any of the entrees, filled up on the first course, but there were rave reviews over the mahi mahi and pork. Really finely prepared food in a beautiful setting.

Fourth night was at Uncle John's bar-b-que shack, at the ferry dock. Not the best BBQ I've ever had, but the BBQ'd chicken and rice/beans really did hit the spot. It's a neat place to go for a lowkey dinner, and it's super cheap - I think two of us ate & drank for a total of $25 or so.

Last night was at La Plancha. You don't go for the veiw (there is none, it's in a shopping center), but a cool spot. They do a nice job with the food, and you can tell they know they need to serve top-notch food in order to survive on an island where most people pay more for the view than the food. We had the panko crusted brie to start, which was great. They serve it with pita-like chips...it probably would have been better with some nice, fresh, french bread, but the flavor in the brie was enough to make up for the lack of flavor in the chips. We also had the hummus, it was also very good. For entrees, we shared a duck confit salad and the churasso steak. Both were great - the duck was cooked perfectly, tons of flavor and very moist. The steak was also great - cooked to perfection and a ton of flavor. The red pepper sauce really added a nice, unexpected flavor to the steak. The portions were really large and the prices really reasonable. I think that may have been the best part - having a really good, quality meal and getting a check that was 75% that of most of the fine dining restaurants on the island. Great spot if you just want really good food and don't need to pay the premium for the view.

Overall, not an island for culinary masterpieces, but still charges the same prices as if they were. If you look hard enough, though, you can find a couple of meals that you don't feel bad paying New York prices for!

lxc191 in South & Central America & the Caribbean

Pittsburgh - Casual dinner in downtown area (or walking distance)

I'll be in Pittsburgh next week, staying at the Rennaissance, and will be dining with a group of 5 midweek. Any suggestions for nearby spots that fall within the following parameters? Entrees (generally) under $20; walking distance or short cab ride from Renaissance; new american, mexican/southwestern, asian, french foods all ok (no italian, please, unless it's super good); outdoor seating would be a plus. Thanks in advance for suggestions!

lxc191 in Pennsylvania

DeTerra Wine Bar - all I can say is wow!

Ate there Saturday night, and just felt like it was trying to hard to be something you'd find in the city - from the decor to the menu to crowd. The wine list was OK, but as others have mentioned, for a wine bar, I'd expect more by the glass and some offering of a wine flight. The menu is way pricey for entrees, and if I'm going to pay $40-45 per entree, I'm going to do that downtown at Lacroix or the Fountain! Luckily, though, there are plenty of appetizers and pizzas to choose from. The pizzas are a good size, too, 2 could easily share a pizza and an appetizer. I had the one with prosciutto and fontina cheese, which was good, although a little heavy on the cheese - it overpowered the other flavors. Had the risotto cake as a side, which was really quite good, although when sides are priced from $6-8, I'd expect them to be enough for two people to share...not the case. Service was a little slow, but we didn't mind as we were in no rush. Overall, I'd go back, but probably to sit at the bar, have a glass of wine and a snack. If your looking to spend $100 or $125 on dinner for two and have great wine, some inventive apps and gourmet pizzas, though, spend a few extra bucks on gas and head down to Osteria! On a final, positive, note - I think it's a great addition for Ambler, and if they can get the prices down on the entrees, it will likely stick around!

lxc191 in Philadelphia