Fresh Fruit and dining options for vegetarians

As you know, fresh produce isn’t cheap on St John.   We don’t have any producers of fresh fruit and what we do have is usually consumed and not sold.  The stand at the intersection of Centerline and Gifft Hill roads is going to be the best place to get local fruits.   Josophine’s Greens in Coral Bay has greens and sometimes veggies.  You can buy them directly from their farm and they are also sold at Starfish Market.  

Amore Arowako is an Ital all vegan spot for lunch/early dinner.   Great food.  The following places have vegan and vegetarian menu options. Sam and Jacks, North Shore Deli, Pauline’s Luncheonette, Shambles, Shaibu’s, STJ Speakeasy.  Most all places have at least one or two items for vegetarians or can make adjustments to a menu item to make it vegetarian. 

Nothing about St John is cheap.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are among the most expensive because almost all of it makes a long trip to get here.  Starfish Market runs sales and you can view their flyer online.  Careful of the dates in the flyer, they have a several day gap between sales where there is nothing on sale but leave the flyer posted.  It always falls on a weekend too when most visitors arrive.  Starfish and Dolphin markets have online shopping so you can get an idea on prices as well.  

@stjohnjulie Happy New Year! Thank you so much! That is great info, and very helpful.

Sorry, I had a typo, Paulie’s Luncheonette is the correct name of the place.  

There is going to be a monthly farmers market on STJ starting Feb 2 at Mongoose Junction from 10 - 2 behind Sun Dog Cafe.  Not positive that it is going to happen the first Sunday of the month or not moving forward.  But that should be worth checking out if you are here then. But don’t get more than you can consume while you are here because you will not be able to take any fresh fruits/vegetables through customs.  

Sounds like you will have more options on St Croix.  Check out St Croix this week magazine.  We have some farmers markets and farm stands.   Occasionally some of the grocery stores carry local produce when available.

Thank you everyone for taking time to respond. 

So... turns out we are going to be based in St. Thomas, and I'll have to take the early ferry to St. John for the race. Dinning suggestions on STT anyone? 😜 

You are going to have much better prices on STT!  I shop The Market and Cost U Less when I do my 6 week haul.  There is a stand that I pass between KFC and Procesmart on the roadside that probably would be worth a look.   Cost wise, fresh produce is about half the price on STT vs STJ.   Some items are a 1/3 of the cost.   The Market has online shopping so you can get a feel for what the prices are.  

@stjohnjulie Awesome! Thank you Julie!

For St. Croix, definitely check out Ridge to Reef farm.  It's a 200 acre organic farm in the rainforest.  There is NOTHING else like it in the USVI.  The caretaker Nate Olive is a great guy and will be happy to help.

If you have time, go to one of their Slow Down dinners.  Again, nothing else like it.

http://www.ridge2reef.org