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Felicidades
from Vieques!
Greetings folks,
I will apologize up front, this will be a long update! We are all gearing up for the season and there are lots of changes going on in the Hospitality Industry here. If you are planning a trip over the Christmas and New Years week this page will let you know where to eat and when. Also included will be some of the changes in the local restaurants for the winter.
Before I get to all the dining information I want to let you all know that Capt. Richard has rescheduled the sunset cruises to Saturday nights. The trip is now 2 hours long, leaving at 5PM and returning at 7PM, and includes live music and free Rum Punch and/or Pina Coladas! These trips were very successful last season and are included as a "must do" here in Vieques! The price is $25/pp and you need to call 787-741-1980 to make reservations as space is limited.
Another organization near and dear to all of us animal lovers is the Vieques Humane
Society. They have their own website, www.viequeshs.org
and I hope all of you will check it out. For those of you who will be here for several days or weeks I hope you will consider making a trip up to see what they do. You may even want to volunteer for a few hours, they can always find something for you to do even if it is just socializing with animals awaiting a new home. Johanna, Andrea and staff are working very hard to save animals and educate all of us on being better "pet owners". If you happen to see some of the donation cans at various businesses please make a donation to help them offset the costs of all they do. They work tirelessly for the community and we just want them to know how much we appreciate all they do! Please consider making a small donation to them or volunteering while here. We all thank you in advance!
Now I will attempt to cover the happenings of the restaurants. Things change here constantly so some information may not be accurate at the time of your arrival, look for flyers or make some phone calls for any additional information you may want. Remember that reservations are needed for many of the restaurants so plan ahead, if you are traveling in large groups you may want to call now for holiday reservations. For most nights you can make your reservations the day before and sometimes even the same day but to avoid disappointment phone early! You can get phone numbers off the Information page for most of the following establishments.
Al's Mar Azul will be closed Christmas, the only day they are closed during the year.
They expect to be offering food mid December. Happy Hour daily from 5-7 PM.
Amapola will be open 7 days a week serving lunch and dinner. They have a new chef and a very extensive menu featuring Italian food. Dinner prices range from $8-17.
Banana's will be closed Christmas day until 6PM when they open for dinner. It will be business as usual during the holidays but will offer free Champagne and party favors New Year's Eve!
Café Media Luna will be offering their regular menu Christmas Eve and will be closed Christmas Day. New Year's Eve will have a special menu offering a 5 course meal with Champagne for $125 pp. Reservations needed. They will be closed New Year's Day.
Chez Shack will be open 7 days a week during the holidays. Duffy is doing his famous Grill Night on Mondays and Thursdays with live music! He has a new Chef and they are putting the finishing touches on the new menu which will feature International fare including some Asian, Mediterranean and Southwestern items. Reservations are definitely needed for the Grill nights and Holiday nights!
Crabwalk Café will be open 7 days a week serving lunch and dinner. Lyman has lots of plans for a great season this winter! He is still offering Thai food on Wed. nights and there is some talk about doing a second night as it is so popular. The Mexican menu will be offered Th., Fri., Sat. and Tues. nights. Friday night Happy Hour will have raw oysters featured from 5-7 PM! Late Friday from 10 PM 'til closing will be SIN (Service Industry Night) Night! Not to worry these prices are open to all and they include Rum drinks and Kamikazi shots for $1! Saturday nights Lyman will be passing out free jello shots from 6 PM until closing. Let's all have fun but careful driving home please! Never know when there will be a horse or cow in the road!
Inn on the Blue Horizon also is going through some changes. Chef Michael has a new staff just waiting to serve you. As of this month they are going to have Café Blu and The Blu Bar open. Café Blu is casually elegant and will offer fine dining from 6-10 PM on the terrace. The Blu Bar will be more casual with lighter fare offered in the bar area, cocktails available at 5 PM with food being served from 6-10 also. Casual attire accepted however no bathing suits please. Chef Michael will be offering a special menu Christmas Eve and a more traditional menu Christmas Day. There will also be a special menu offered New Year's Eve and the regular menu offered New Years Day. Reservations are required. Call early if this is where you want to be!
La Campesina will be offering dinner New Year's Eve and possibly a special menu. They were discussing doing a pre fixe, price per couple, meal including drinks and wine. Reservations will be required so you can get more information when you call. Because they are closed Sundays and Mondays they will not be open Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year's Day.
The Oasis at Water's Edge will be offering their new Sunday Brunch Christmas Eve Day and dinner Christmas Eve night. They will be closed Christmas Day and New Years Day. New Year's Eve will offer a pre fixe (hope I am spelling that right!) menu from 6-10 PM and they will be having a Steel Drum Band playing from 8 PM until about 1 AM. The new Sunday Brunch is offered from 11-2 and I am sure it is wonderful! Jason and Mary Alice have a new partner/Chef named Owen and I heard through the grapevine that he was voted The Best Seafood Chef in Boston last year. I do know that we had an excellent meal there a few weeks ago! The food prices have gone up a bit however the menu is more extensive than in the past and the food is wonderful. They are offering Ostrich on the menu this year and although I have not tried it yet it is getting a thumbs up from all my friends who have! Reservations are needed for New Year's Eve and as a reminder they are closed Wednesdays this year.
Trade Winds will be open 7 days a week during the Holiday Season. They are serving breakfast, lunch and dinner these days. For those of you who miss Café Coconuts and Everett stop by Trade Winds Wed.-Sun. for breakfast and/or lunch and say hello to him! David is still offering great dinners at the Trade Winds and it is one of the loveliest dining rooms on the island. Please call for dinner reservations and see what he will be offering for the Holidays!
Trapper John's at The Crow's Nest will also be open 7 days a week as usual for them. Barbara told me that in addition to the local lobster they will be offering Maine Lobster Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! As of now that was the only change from the usual offered for the Holidays.
Tropico is a new establishment located across the street from the main entrance to Martineau Bay Resort. Through the grapevine I heard that he is hoping to have all his permits/licenses in place by the middle of this month. It looks lovely from the street and I hope to have more information for you next month. Maybe when you get here stop by and check it out if the gates are opened! Who knows, they may have something special planned for the Holidays if all goes well!
I am sorry to say that this year there is no celebration in The Plaza for New Year's Eve. I checked in the Tourism Office and in the Mayor's office and was told that nothing had been planned. It is unfortunate as the celebration was quite popular last year. Oh well! However with the local Viequense you never know if they will organize something wonderful at the last minute! Keep your eyes and ears open when you get here and maybe there will be some news as to something else being planned.
The last that I heard Martineau Bay is expecting to be open mid February. I got a brief tour the other day and it looks lovely. The landscaping is in place and blooming and it no longer looks like a construction site! The rooms are spacious and nicely decorated, they look very comfortable! The pool is magnificent and there will now be a swim up bar available on Vieques!
Just a reminder to those of you returning and for newcomers please make sure you bring your sunscreen with you! Nothing can ruin a vacation faster than the discomfort of a bad burn. Use caution at the beaches, do not leave your things unattended and do not take valuables or anything that you would hate to lose with you. Most of us do not have problems with things being taken at the beach however it does sometimes happen. Also remember that you will often encounter large animals, horses and cows, in the roads, drive slowly, especially at night, they seem to enjoy the vegetation offered along the side of the road!
Thanks for bearing with me through all the restaurant happenings! As usual please feel free to contact me with questions that you don't see covered in articles, past and present. Hope to see you here this winter when you escape from the cold or just daily life! Thanks for reading and hope you all have a terrific Holiday Season!
Judy
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
askjudy@enchanted-isle.com
If you have read some of the past letters by Peggy you will be familiar with the "must do" things here. If you have not read them I suggest that you take a few minutes to browse through them to become better acquainted with life here on the island. She has filled her columns with lots of "things you need to know" and I don't want to pass on the same information month after month!
<click here for the archives>
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.
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