Hello ravens, Amy here, freshly back from vacation on St. Croix and desperately trying to get back into the groove. This trip couldn’t have come at a better time — after months of working to get Ravenous launched, freelancing, and otherwise trying to endure the horrors of human existence, I desperately needed some time away from my computer. St. Croix delivered that in abundance, and amid the trips to world-renowned beaches and hanging out with beer-drinking pigs, I also enjoyed some excellent food.
In this newsletter, you’ll hear more about what I ate — and the simple joys of unplanned dining on vacation — along with some of our favorite reads of the week, both on Ravenous and elsewhere on the web.
Despite being disorganized and chaotic in basically every other aspect of my life, I am a meticulous planner when it comes to travel. Anyone who’s ever gone on a trip with me is extremely familiar with my love of an itinerary, especially as far as dining is concerned. I usually spend months searching out must-hit spots, and back-up options if those restaurants are booked, including the best markets to find locally grown snacks for eating in between.
On this trip to St. Croix, though, I was too tired and burned out to even think about it. I had only one place in mind, the famed rotisserie chicken spot La Reine Chicken Shack, and just assumed everything else would fall into place. By the time I boarded my 7 a.m. flight to the island, I didn’t care if I had to subsist on saltine crackers and bottled water for a week; I just needed to look at the beach.
Upon arriving at the airport in Christiansted on a late Sunday afternoon, I was starving after six hours in the air and only a pitiful airport sandwich on my stomach. My traveling companions and I stumbled into the nearest restaurant — a tourist trap situated right on the historic town’s boardwalk — for dinner. It was one of only a few spots open, and I admit that its cheesy, beach-themed decor did not inspire much confidence. Then the conch fritters came.
Conch, which is a staple of Crucian cuisine, can be found everywhere on menus on the island, whether battered with aromatics and fried into fritters or stewed with peppers in a rich butter sauce. It’s a little bit rubbery but pleasantly bouncy to chew, with a lightly briny canvas for absorbing flavor. These conch fritters reminded me of a seafood-spiked hushpuppy, perfect for enjoying alongside a pointedly strong rum cocktail.
Throughout the rest of the trip, we just sort of ate where we ended up. I had fish tacos drizzled in ginger-citrus aioli at Mt. Pellier Hut Domino Club, an open-air rainforest bar known for its beer-drinking pigs, because that was the only option on the menu that day, and they were excellent. The coconut shrimp at the cheesy beach bar on Rainbow Beach, near the Fredriksted Pier, wasn’t anything to write home about, but the Lime in De Coconut, a Virgin Islands favorite mixed with three different types of rum and coconut cream, then showered in a cloud of fresh lime zest, was just right for sipping in front of the serene turquoise waters.
As travelers in this era of abundant information, it can be easy to feel like you need to optimize every single moment of your trip. Every meal has to be the best meal you’ve ever had, every experience has to be life-changing. But there is something equally compelling about relinquishing that control, and just letting yourself be surprised by what comes your way. There’s also a freedom in rejecting the abundance of choice that we are confronted with every single day, and just accepting what’s there.
Four days into the trip, my planned meal at La Reine Chicken Shack finally arrived. I first ate there 10 years earlier, and it was the best rotisserie chicken of my life — juicy, perfectly spiced, and served with impossibly fluffy fried johnnycakes. It’s rare that this kind of meal, the type you vividly remember a full decade later, can live up to your expectations, but La Reine absolutely did. It was, in a sense, an anchor in my otherwise freewheeling week of dining across the island.
I am sure that in planning future trips, I won’t be able to resist the urge to rigorously research and select a restaurant for each meal, just because of who I am as a control freak person. This strategy also probably won’t work in places like New York City or Tokyo, where restaurant reservations need to be secured weeks or months in advance.
But for those trips where I’m in desperate need of a little relaxation, my week in St. Croix was an excellent reminder to embrace a bit of spontaneity in my approach to dining, both at home and afar. It was nice to remember that things can be enjoyable — great even! — without an absurd amount of research and obsessive menu-checking.
We’re now almost two months into Ravenous’ fledgling existence, and we’re still hustling to raise cash so we produce the fun food writing and incisive analysis you’re already seeing on this here website. If you have a few extra bucks, toss ‘em in our tip jar — even $5 helps us get closer to our goal, and we’re hoping to do some cool shit in the coming months with your support.
And, if you know someone who would love reading Ravenous, consider gifting a subscription — you’ll be helping us out, and giving your friend (or enemy, we don’t judge) the best gift they’ll receive all year long.
🐦⬛Bird Droppings:
— ICYMI: Jaya spoke with workers at Attaboy, who are accusing the owners of the acclaimed cocktail bar of retaliating against an organizer by firing him, in part, for taking a club soda from behind the bar.
— Also this week, Courtney looked at the impact that cowboy fantasy purveyor Taylor Sheridan, creator of the cultural juggernaut TV series Yellowstone, is having on the Fort Worth restaurant scene. Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of beef within.
— We were happy to see our friends at the Condé Nast union reach a settlement with management over the “Fired Four,” including Bon Appétit writer Alma Avalle. As part of the settlement, Avalle’s firing was rescinded, she was allowed to resign, and received two years of back pay. There is power in a union!
— Copies of The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2026, edited by our own brilliant genius Jaya Saxena and chef José Andrés, are now available for pre-order!
— If you're in Chicago for James Beard Awards weekend, don't forget to RSVP by June 8 to Ravenous' launch party.
Raven Nickname of the Week:
This week’s nickname comes courtesy of Ravenous Regular Tait S., whose choice was inspired by his 5-year-old nephew: Aden! According to Tait, Aden likes birds, so it was only fitting. [Editor’s note: Aden seems awesome!]
