TRAVELTRAVEL ++ LEISURE LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 / JANUARY 2017 113111
with modern technique and gastronomy. “They used salted
codfi sh because that’s all they had. But what happens when you
do local steak with maubi bordelaise? Chlorophyll soda over
citrus-cured wahoo? We’re part of America, but a diff erent part
of it.” We pulled over at a nondescript spot on the northern
shore and made our way down to a jagged outcrop, where we
dodged rushing waves while peeling whelks off the rock. “When
I came back here three years ago, there was no farm-to-table in
the restaurant scene. Now I’ve watched twenty farms pop up in
the last couple of years. A farmer is more powerful than an
army. You control your life because you control what you eat.”
In Balter’s gleaming prep kitchen, he laid out what he’d
foraged, adding ingredients as they occurred to him: yucca
fl owers, sweet peppers, pungent leaves of Spanish thyme, and
green garlic from Art Farm, a small property owned by Luca
Gasperi, who was born and raised on St Croix, and his expat
wife, Christina. (The couple, who also have an art space ,
welcome visitors.) What was he making, I asked. “I don’t know
yet!” he replied. That was the way it went for the next hour, as
the whelks went into a whey broth on one induction cooker and
ginger began steeping in sorrel juice on another: I would ask,
and Stridiron would still be fi guring it out.
In the end, Stridiron served grilled mahimahi steaks in a salty-
sweet mix of plantains, pork belly, whelks, white wine, butter, and
many of the plants, herbs, and spices I had watched him lay out,
along with Art Farm escarole and dandelion dressed with ginger-
infused sorrel juice. Patrick Kralik, Balter’s co-owner and
sommelier, who runs a farm-to-glass program to complement the
cooking, dreamed up a gin-based cocktail with mint, sea purslane,
shaddock, yucca fl ower, holy basil, and tarragon from the garden.
The three of us ate at the bar, the shutters closed against the heat,
the crunch of wheels echoing down the street, and the sound of
passersby calling good day to one another.The rise of eco-minded farms and
restaurants on St Croix makes it easy to
forget that some local farmers have been
working the land responsibly for decades.
“This is a big word today, organic,” said
Violet Drew, who farms papaya, sour
oranges, and more on three acres in a
neighbourhood near Upper Love. (St Croix
has the best neighbourhood names in the
world—Upper Love is surrounded by
Jealousy, Hard Labor, and Hope.) Her stall
also off ered golden-apple juice and cassava
bread. “I grow what I eat,” she said.
“I would come here just to hear ‘Good
mornin’, darlin’,” Kraeger said as we
watched fi shermen hack and sell fresh catch
on pickup beds for half the supermarket
price. “People from up north will turn their
noses up: ‘Fish from the back of a truck?
How do you know it’s good?’ I buy from
these people every week, that’s how.”
What thrilled me was that I was
beginning to recognise the items in the
market stalls. That milky-yellow beverage
was unfi ltered ginger beer, as bracing as a
mouthful of the root. That was maubi
juice, from the bark of a tree. In my
farmless New York life, this kind of
aptitude had always seemed reserved for
the select. No—you just had to spend time
in a place that lived by the soil.S
t Croix is home—the people,
the culture, the beaches, the
food,” Stridiron said when he
showed up for our foraging
session. “Everybody cares about
everybody here.” Born and raised on
St Croix, Stridiron joined the Air Force,
then studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta
and worked under Florida chef Norman
Van Aken before returning.
Our fi rst stop was the beach at Judith’s
Fancy, where I had been staying in a
friend’s guesthouse without the least idea
I was near a forager’s paradise. Stridiron
gathered sea grapes, miracle grass, and
sea purslane, at once briny and sweet.
“I just ate the beach!” he exclaimed.
“When you want fi ne dining, the Virgin
Islands has everything,” he said as we
drove away, “but it’s not local. When I was
thinking about Balter”—the name tweaks
a Danish word that means to dance without
particular skill but with joy—“they said I
should do it in St Thomas, where the fi ne
dining is. But then I’d just have to fl y the
food over from here. St Thomas is the
energy. But St Croix is the motherland.”
Stridiron’s mission with Balter is to
cook the way Mom and Pop used to, butHOTELS
The Buccaneer This luxe property,
which will celebrate its 70th anniversary
next year, has an 18-hole golf course,
eight tennis courts, three beaches, and
more. Christiansted; doubles from
US$299; thebuccaneer.com
Starfish Cottage at Judith’s Fancy
A cottage with a thoughtful aesthetic,
a full kitchen, a wraparound porch, and
pool privileges in the gated community
of Judith’s Fancy. Doubles from
US$100; +340/690-6616RESTAURANTS
Balter A contemporary West Indian
kitchen that epitomises Crucian haute
cuisine. Christiansted; entrées US$17–
US$34; balterstx.com
Galangal A white-tablecloth temple
of French–Southeast Asian fusion.
The couple who run the place spend
part of each year hunting new flavors
in Asia. Christiansted; entrées US$24–
US$36; galangal stx.com
Savant This lovely haunt has been
serving creative cuisine, like baby-back
ribs marinated in blackstrap rum and
root beer, since 1998. Christiansted;
entrées US$18–US$39; savant stx.comZion Modern Kitchen Serves the
island’s most consistently satisfying
food and drink, including house-made
pasta, bread, and mozzarella. Try one
of the cocktails infused with local
fruits. Christiansted; entrées US$25–
US$42; zionmodernkitchen.comACTIVITIES
Historical Tours Choose from a
variety of hikes or sign up for a walking
tour of Christiansted, Frederiksted, or
the Works at Butler Bay, a former
sugar factory. chantvi.org
La Reine Farmers’ Market Arrive
around 4:30 on Saturday morning
to find the best on offer at one of
St Croix’s thriving local markets.
You’ll find soursop, breadfruit, and a
variety of homemade hot sauces and
jams. goto stcroix.com/farm-stands.
Slow Down Dinners at Ridge
to Reef Farm About once a month,
local chefs use Ridge to Reef’s
bounty to prepare multicourse,
all-organic meals. The farm also
offers educational tours, off-the-grid
lodging, and wilderness-survival
workshops. Frederiksted;
ridge2reef.orgTHE DETAILS