Please stop in at Tuesday Happy Hour at the Crow's Nest to say ¡Hi! and have some free snacks. the webmaster
This is the lady that
writes this column every month and to whom I am extremely indebted.
Please stop in at Tuesday Happy Hour at the Crow's Nest to say ¡Hi! and have
some free snacks. the webmaster
Fiesta Patronales is coming July 14th
Greetings from Isla Nena!
Things slowed down a bit but still plenty of activity on the island and lots
of changes going on as well. Chef Tony Casino has returned to Boston to work in
a new restaurant and pursue some teaching opportunities. Tony got lots of great
reviews this past winter while working at Duffy’s “Chez
Shack”. Food and travel writers loved his menu and the rest of
the staff at Chez Shack. Tony and his food will be missed by many of us here but
we all understand taking advantage of great opportunities, best of luck to you
Tony! So with Tony gone Duffy is doing some remodeling to Chez Shack and when he
reopens there will be a larger bar in a new location. Duffy hates not having a
project! Last I heard was that they were going to scale back the menu, offer
lighter fare at Summer prices! Travis, who worked with Tony, will be taking over
the kitchen duties. In the 7 years that I have lived here several people have
worked for Duffy, regardless of whose menu is being served, Chez Shack has
always been a fun place to go and dine. Duffy was hoping to open in early June
so you may want to call ahead just to make sure.
Chef Michael is offering a Bistro
Night on Mondays at FoodSpace. Space
is very limited so you should make reservations. Every Monday the menu will be
different, and for those that know Michaels cooking, it will be delicious! If
you can’t get in for dinner be sure to stop by for lunch, in addition to the
great sandwiches they now have some great salads and ask if he is doing Sushi
Pizza. The Sushi Pizza is amazing, I thought it sounded bizarre and was not
enthusiastic about trying it until we had it at Sushi Night. It is so delicious
that my mouth waters just thinking about it! It is now one of the must dos in
Vieques, right up there with BioBay!
Barry and Diane have closed Posada Vista Mar
and are not sure when they are going to reopen. They are staying busy with the
delivery business and are still available for catering jobs. Hopefully they will
reopen this summer, the Italian Food was great and it was possibly the best
value on the island, hard to finish you dinner there.
Well if everything goes according to plan today
Amapola will be sold to new owners from the main island. Evita
and William should be signing papers as I sit here at my computer. I heard that
Amapola will be closed for 2 weeks and maybe reopen sometime the middle of June.
Evita has a catering business on the main island so will divide her time between
both locations. According to William, her husband, they will change the menu to
offer a more upscale Puerto Rican cuisine. That will be a nice change to the
variety available on the Malecon.
Finally had dinner at Mbar (the former Tropico)
with friends the other night. The menu is quite impressive and the food very
good. I had the shrimp appetizer and the sauce that it was in was wonderful, and
a really nice green salad with venison that was awesome. The guys had pork and
lamb and both said it was delicious. The prices are a bit high but portions were
good and the food very creative. I would not hesitate to eat there again. They
have done some really neat remodeling out there and soon will make it more of a
nightclub I believe. There will be live Latin jazz this weekend which should be
fun.
Tito Pena moved Island Hop Computer Solutions
to a new location last month. He is now located across the street
from Café Media Luna, much easier to find now! For those needing internet access
this is the place to go, with DSL service getting your mail is fast! The have
some refreshments there as well, great place to cool off on a hot day. By the
way, Richie Pena is back, and I believe is working at Island Steakhouse.
Richie used to own Amanchi’s Mexican Restaurant in Esperanza a few years back
and we all had a good time there! If you are looking for Lyman (infamous Vieques
Bartender/owned CrabWalk Cafe) you can find him at
Café Coconuts Saturdays-Tuesdays. This week is the premier of Two
Buck Tuesday, with $2 beer and drink specials after 10pm, I imagine that I will
be there as I can crawl home from Coconuts.
I had the pleasure of attending a lovely wedding at
Martineau Bay recently. Through an unusual family connection I
got to do some Ask Judy work for Jocelyn (the bride) and her folks. With the
help of Tom Venters (Vieques Flowers and Gifts) and Claudia (banquet coordinator
at Wyndham) they threw a fabulous party for their family and friends that
traveled for the wedding. The weather was not very pleasant the week that they
got married, it rained most of the day for the wedding, however, the bride was
so radiant that you forgot the sun wasn’t shining! Brian, the lucky groom,
looked pretty pleased with himself that he managed to get such a great girl.
Everyone attending the wedding seemed to really enjoy their Vieques Experience!
Congratulations Jocelyn and Brian, hope to see you back for an anniversary in
the future!
The Crow’s Nest recently was ranked the best
guesthouse in Puerto Rico by a mystery shopper from the Puerto
Rico Tourism Company. It scored a 95 out of 100 in the survey! It was judged
against 22 other similar properties in Puerto Rico that the tourism company
endorses.
Goodness how could I forget the Spam Cookoff
at the Mar Azul! This was one of the best years ever for the cookoff! There were
some amazing recipes, very creative and delicious. Judging again this year were
Chef Michael Glatz, Ben Tutt (manager of Wyndham Martineau Bay), Maria
Gastineau, Bob Clapper and Alex (from New York). These folks have all judge
before and I think Bob and Alex may have judged all the previous ones! Moose,
Ben’s dog, was guarding the tables to make sure nobody ran off with any of the
entries before he got to do his own judging! The bar was packed with the regular
Mar Azul crowd as well as curious visitors who wanted to witness a Spam Cookoff.
The things that I sampled were amazingly tasty, hard to believe. This year’s
winners were:
| Appetizer 1st place – Bif Browning - “Pina Spamlada Dip” 2nd place – David Parker – “Pineapple Spamprize” 3rd place – Jim Cochran – “Mount St. Spam Pate” |
Entrees 1st place – Jeff Painter – “Spam Ratatoulle” 2nd place – David Kerr – “Silk Purse Green Curry” 3rd place – Richard Corbett – “Curried Spam” |
| Desserts 1st place – Bif Browning - “Deep Fried Peanut Butter Spam Sticks 2nd place – Hilda Castillo - “Spam Papaya Treat” 3rd place – Jean Fulwider - “Coconut Iced Yellow Cake with Spam Filling” |
Sculptures 1st place – Capt. Bill - “Puerto Mula Simplified” 2nd place – Jason Humphries – “Splight House” 3rd place – Terry Monaghan – “Internet Spam” |
Yeah. Jim Starke returns to Vieques soon! Jim is the real enchanted-isle guy
and helps me with Ask Judy thank goodness. He was kind enough to leave me his
truck for the past few months and it has really come in handy, I will miss it
when it is sold in July.
Jim is arriving in time to get me through the tough weeks of no longer smoking!
I ended up with such a bad case of bronchitis that it convinced me it was time
to break that nasty habit cold turkey. The first week was easier than I thought
it would be but it seems to be getting a bit more difficult now, the enthusiasm
of saying I am a recovering nicotine addict is wearing off! I am chewing on a
lot of little plastic straws when I am out! Oh well I am determined to break the
habit and it has been over a week now so……
For the fellow karaoke enthusiasts
that might be visiting Vieques this summer, Barefoot Joey is vacationing for the
next 2 months so not sure when we will resume singing. When we do I understand
that we will be doing it possibly at La Sirena so watch for it to begin again in
August maybe.
Well that about covers another month in Vieques, remember
Fiesta Patronales is coming July 14th
I think and will be held in the plaza. I heard through the grapevine that this
year they are throwing a great party, (it is election year!) and they will have
great bands from the main island coming over. It is always an experience!
Stop by and see me at the Mar Azul on Thursday or
Friday afternoons, stay for the awesome sunsets! Look forward to
seeing you soon.
Judy
| June Calendar | |
| Thursday, June 3rd | Old Movie (to be announced) at El Sombrero Viejo, 7pm. Call 741-2416 for movie |
| Saturday, June 5th | Art Exhibit featuring works by Eric Egas opens at the Fort
Conde Mirasol, 7pm Live Latin Jazz Music with the Karamba Band direct from San Juan. Music begins 9pm at Mbar. $10 cover charge |
| Sunday, June 6th | Caribes vs. Piñones – Baseball, on the main island. For transportation call 741-2999 |
| Thursday, June 10th | Old Movie (to be announced) at El Sombrero Viejo, 7pm. Call 741-2416 for movie |
| Fri.- Sun.. June 12-14th | “Magic Circus” performing at the Coliseum during the evening |
| Sunday, June 13th | Caribes vs. Rio Grande – Baseball game. For transportation call 741-2999 |
| Wed.-Fri., June 16-18 | Verizon selling cellular phones at Centro Commercial |
| Thursday, June 17th | Old Movie (to be announced) at El Sombrero Viejo, 7pm. Call 741-2416 for movie |
| Saturday, June 19th | Basketball Tournament at the Coliseum, evening |
| Sunday, June 20th Father’s Day |
“Jorge Gonzalez Tournament” – cockfights at Gallera Puerto Real. Begins around noon |
| Tuesday, June 22nd | Caribes vs. Indios de Naguabo. For transportation call 741-2999 |
| Thursday, June 24th | Caribes vs. Indios de Daguao. For transportation call
741-2999 Old Movie (to be announced) at El Sombrero Viejo, 7pm. Call 741-2416 for movie |
| Fri.-Sun., June 25-27th | Basketball Tournament at the Coliseum, evening |
| Saturday, June 26th | Health for Vieques, free clinic at the hospital. Begins
around 10am Gala Dinner at Wyndham Martineau Bay - $500 a plate dinner sponsored by the Comite Damaso 2004. For reservations call 435-3788 |
|
Monthly |
|
| Through June 11th - | Sea Turtles Exhibit at the Vieques Conservation and
Historical Trust All Month “100 Million Years of History” Exhibit at the Fort |
|
Weekly |
|
| Saturdays | Marine Life Talk at VCHT 1-3pm Paco’s Paella at Café Coconuts |
| Sundays | Cockfights at Gallera Puerto Real – afternoon Paella Special at Trade Winds |
| Mondays | Bistro Night at Chef Michael’s FoodSpace, reservations
suggested $1 Medalla Beer at Banana’s after 4pm Candlelight Dinner for 2 at Trade Winds |
| Tuesdays | Happy Hour at Island Steakhouse, chance to win bar tab
5-7pm Lucky Card Draw for discounted drinks, El Sombrero Viejo 6-8pm Italian Night at La Sirena Two Buck Tuesday, drink specials at Café Coconut from 10pm on |
| Thursdays | Steel Drum Music and Tapas Menu at La Sirena Old Movie Night at El Sombrero Viejo 7pm |
| Fridays | Lobster Special at Trade Winds Cockfights at Gallera Puerto Real evening |
| Coming In
July Patronales Festival July 15th – 18th in the Plaza |
|
PS: If there is anything you would like to see in the newsletter or have any feedback please email
Ask Judy. Thanks.
askjudy@enchanted-isle.com
If any of you would like to see something specific in this newsletter please contact the webmaster and I will do my best to investigate for you.
Email: whats_happenin@enchanted-isle.com
