Where to Eat: St. Thomas & St. John, USVI

As you may know I grew on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Since I have lived in Boston for the past 9 years I have had a lot of questions to as what to do when people visit St.Thomas. Mostly it's around food because the others are obvious, go to a beach, sleep in the sun, and snorkel.

Here are restaurants I have been going to for years and highly recommend to eat at if you are Tourist. Please note the STT economy is wicked fickle so some of these place may be closed but if they are open go there, trust me.

Where to eat & what to drink

Red Hook

• The East End Cafe (Italian)
• XO Bistro (wine bar, great apps)
• Island Time Pub or Caribbean Saloon (pizzas bar food)
• Robert’s (local tasty island fish and steaks)
• DO NOT EAT AT DUFFYS LOVE SHACK

Downtown – lunch

• Cuzzins (local food)
• Herve (French)
• Glady’s Café (local food)

North Side

• Sibs (boston bah)
• Magens Bay (Pizza and Painkillers – lunch)

St. John

• The Lime Inn (local tasty island fish and steaks)
• Asolare $$$$$
• The Fish Trap (local tasty island fish and steaks)

Drinks to Order

• Bushwacker
• Painkiller
• Rum punch
• Soursap (local fruit drink no liquor)

Wear SUNSCREEN

10 Public Transportation Etiquette Tips

This is the time of year when it’s cold, you have to wear many layers, and then cram yourself onto a hot bus or train. To make your commute, more pleasurable please remember these ten tips.

1. Your bags don’t need a seat.

Honestly if you pick up your bag and put it under your feet more people will have seats. Wouldn’t you hate getting on the train/bus that is overly crowded and come to find out there was a seat available but someone decided to use it for their bag!

2. Use your inside voice.

I know it’s really hard to wait to call your friend and tell them how great things are in your life. So if you are going to talk on your cell phone, please use your inside voice, you don’t have to shout.

3. Throw Away Your Trash!

Your mother doesn’t live on public transportation and won’t walk after you to pick your mess. There are lots of trash cans every five feet when you got off the train. Pick up your trash, take it with you, and throw it away.

4. Turn down your music.

Honestly I don’t care what you are listening to, nor do I care how loud your really cool MP3 player can go. Turn it down!

5. Bad Mood?

Don’t let it show. If you do, you might end up ruining someone else’s day.

6. Wait for others to get off the train before you get on. Get off the train to let other people exit.

Enough said.

7. Smile!

It could possibly cause a domino effect and make someone else’s day better.

8. Men and women, chivalry isn’t dead.

If you see an elderly person or a pregnant woman standing, give up your seat. If you see someone have a problem getting a stroller onto a bus, help them.

9. Try soap.

It works and it’s cheap.

10. Have a cold? Bring tissues and sneeze or cough into the tissue.

And then throw it away.

If you have any tips you would like to add please comment below, I would love to hear them.

2 Great Events in One Week

Ever since Boston Tweetup was created, I have found my calendar filling up really fast. Some people might not enjoy a full calendar but I really love it. Although I don't go to every event that I find or throw into my calendar, I try my hardest to attend them all. To tell you truth I don't know how Joseline Mane (@JoselinMane) and Rachel Levy (@BostonMarketer), creators of Boston Tweetup, are able to attend all the events!

Last week I attended 2 well hosted events, Mass Innovations Nights and a panel on Integrating Social Media Across the Big Brand hosted by Social Media Club Boston and Hill Holiday. Although they were two different types of events they had one thing in common, good networking.

Mass Innovation Night is held once a month at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, MA. This location is easy to access coming from Cambridge and there is inexpensive parking. MassInno night gives Massachusetts-based innovators the opportunity to showcase their products. The innovators this month were, AllFocus, Blitz Innovations, Inc., Clickhealth, IBM/Lotus, Hubunity, Mixandmeet, Nexiwave, Pixily, and WherePhone. These companies innovations were all very different from a social network available for school communities by Hubnity to a phone conversation transcription service by Nexiwave. One innovation that blew my mind was Clickhealth. This company provides cell phones to doctors in 3rd world countries allowing them to take photos of infections or conditions that they are unable to diagnose, upload the photo and information to a message board, where doctors who have Internet access and resources can provide consultation. Having been to an orphanage in South Africa, I have seen first hand the limited resources that doctors in these countries have, and I can see how this will be useful to them. I have a few questions for the company, I'm hoping to speak them shortly to do a longer blog post about this great idea. Check back here soon for it!


The night after Mass Innovation Night, the Social Media Club of Boston organized a panel on Integrating Social Media Across the Big Brand hosted by Hill Holiday. There were 5 panelists: Terry Lozoff – President, Street Attack, Ken Peters – Vice President, Text 100 Public Relations, Vicki Rellas – CMO, Mom Central, Mike Spataro – Vice President, Client Strategy & Channel Partners – Visible Technologies, and Sean Corcoran - Analyst, Forrester Research. The night started off with networking, presentations by the panelists, pre-written questions, and questions from the audience. A few takeaways from the panelists were, "mistakes in social media with big brands are really public and costly, this needs to be understood" and "to understand social you need everyone involved." "Are brands better off working with companies who specialize in social media marketing or with integrated agencies that have social media capabilities?" was a really good pre-written question, asked by panel moderator by Mike Proulx, Vice President, Interactive for Hill Holliday. The best panelist comment of the night was, "Social media is A1 sauce not the steak. It's a supplement not a substitute."

If you missed these events, don't worry, you can attend new ones, next month thanks to Social Media Club Boston and Mass Innovation Nights. Looking for other upcoming events? Check out the often updated calendar by Boston Tweetup.

The Best Restaurant Outside of Boston (for special occasions)

Two times a year in Boston and outer Boston, restaurants offer three-course prix-fixe lunches and dinners for less than $35 per person. The best restaurants to eat at are the expensive restaurants that you would never think to visit.

During Restaurant Week last year my fellow and I dined at Bistro 5 in West Medford, Massachusetts. After we sat down we were waited on hand and foot by an entertaining sever, Angus (not the meat that was his name). When Angus told us that everything on the menu was made from scratch, we knew we were in for a treat. We were allowed to try some of the wines from the extensive list before we were pulled a generous glass or two. I started my 3 course menu off with a melt in your mouth black lobster ravioli, followed by mouth watering salmon, ending with a pot of warm hot chocolate mouse. My counter part at dinner was able to soak up every last drop of his Muscles with their home made bread and dip his bread in the red wine reduction from his steak. Each course came out on time and the glasses on the table were never empty.

Last but not least that I would like to comment on is the ambiance in the restaurant. It was extremely romantic and beautiful. The walls are dark red with Jester art, dark chairs, metal butcher tables, and candles lit everywhere. The restaurant is not loud, allowing you to have a private conversation with the person sitting right across from you.

One tip I do have is don't try to dine here without a reservation, you will either wait or while or have to sit at the bar. The other tip I have is dine here! You will receive great service, great food, and a romantic dining experience. We loved it so much that this year my Birthday surprise was another night at this restaurant.