OK, so the good that came out of St. Croix was I met my wife and found one of the neatest lil’ places in the Caribbean – if ya like cheeseburgers!
I lived on the East End of the island and would pass by a place called Cheeseburgers in Paradise. I think they had some legal issues with the name and changed it to American Chesseburger in Paradise after a while. Anyway, it was obviously named after the song made famous by Jimmy Buffett, and was operated by a local woman who started it up with a few dollars and a prayer, her idea was to sell burgers only. You could get a burger with or without cheese, and that was it. Of course, it came with a small side of chips and just about any cocktail possible. The concept was simple – keep the overhead low, keep the operational headaches to a minimum and focus on providing the best damn burgers possible – with all the alcohol you can possibly drink. She didn’t try to be everything to everybody and believed in the idea of doing one thing well, and doing it right. Her attitude was, “if you wanted a great burger, this was it, if you wanted something else, go somewhere else, and when you are ready for a great burger, you knew where to go”. It worked flawlessly.
The atmosphere was relaxing with nice tropical music, an ocean view across the street and a live band on the weekends. And when I say simple, it was picnic tables and $100 grill and a small abandoned real estate office to get out of the rain and lock up stuff at night. The only weak part (in my opinion) was it didn’t have a lush tropical atmosphere – I think that would have visually completed the experience. We missed this the most of anything in the Caribbean.
So, after a few years later, and traveling throughout many of the Caribbean islands, we never could find anything like it. I always tried as I am a Cheeseburger fanatic. We always seemed to be searching for that Cheeseburger in Paradise type restaurant, one that filled our expectations of a lush, tropical escape with a bar and grill on a breezy tropical island somewhere in the Caribbean. And this seemed weird as the songs Jimmy Buffett sings about had created visions of what we “thought” would be scattered throughout the entire Caribbean.
We DID find quite a few local down island style bars (many times referred to as Rum Shops), throughout the Caribbean…and although we enjoyed most of them, they don’t offer a real Cheeseburger. All the restaurants want you to eat their creole type food. And if they do have a burger, or what they may refer to as a burger, its some ole frozen thing that’s been there for quite some time.
Most local places can look rough (in appearance) at first, and they tend to be operated at a very basic local level. Yes, they want visitors, and they get the hardcore travelers who know how to “go local” on occasion. The prices are usually fair and the food is good (if you want creole food), but the local’s mindset is definitely very different. I am guessing they just don’t have the outsider point-of-view, experience or the vision of how a lot of people “think” an island style bar and grill should/could be. For me, I see island tee’ shirts and know what I am looking for.
But where are they?
There are the resorts with the ‘all inclusive” packages that cater to every whim of their guests. These places are upscale, have some really wild drinks, exotic foods and a lot of what I view as “over commercialization”, almost fake in a way…but very nice without a doubt. Also, the Resorts are not open to the locals, or any other visitors. Very expensive to say the least, but super beautiful for those who like to be pampered!
And in the middle of these tow formats there are bar and grill type places that try to attract the visitors (tourists bring money to spend). They offer fancy drinks, so-so foods, and typically located on the water, but they are not local-friendly, meaning, they are intimidating to the local people and typically too expensive, they want the tourism dollars.
In our minds, it seems that there is no real middle ground that appeals to both locals and tourists. Many visitors say they would like to socialize with the local islanders and seek out the proverbial tropical bar that’s reminiscent of the old world Caribbean culture. A place with a lush tropical environment, Birds, hand crafted bamboo, palm fronds, hammocks, and all the things one might expect if they could magically walk into a Jimmy Buffett song. Basically, a true down island rum shop that is comfortable, fun and accommodating to all. WE’RE CALLING IT A RUM BAR…yup that’s it. A place where EVERYONE is welcome – the people from the all-inclusive resorts who want to take off and visit something local, where the tourists would want to visit and the locals would be right at home…that’s’ exactly what is needed. See next chapter - A Rum Bar?
Speaking of luxury Resorts, check these places out…unbelievable!
www.JadeMountainStLucia.com
www.CoconutBayResortAndSpa.com
www.Landings.RockResorts.com
www.LeparadisStLucia.com
