*Edit 2022: “Off the Grid” is now permanently closed.
I love watching The Food Network. Actually, my whole family does. A few years ago, there was a new show added to their lineup: The Best Thing I Ever Ate. During the course of the show, celebrity chefs are interviewed and asked what the best cheeseburger, pizza, salad, etc. they ever ate was. Each show has a theme and short segments highlighting some of the restaurants that are mentioned.
I think it’s amazing to see how different everyone’s tastes are, and to see if I could like the same things.
Fort the longest time, I’ve thought it might be fun to start a series about the food I eat when I travel. And since I just watched a few episodes of “Parts Unknown” with Anthony Bourdain, I figured it’s time.
As much as I love food, cooking, and watching cooking shows, I have to remind myself that this is a travel blog, not a food blog. So in a self-serving compromise, I thought it might be fun to highlight my favorite foods and venues that I’ve eaten during my travels, both domestic and foreign. I don’t claim to have the most sophisticated palate, nor do I consider myself to be the most adventurous eater. However, I’ve made it a priority when I travel to try something new, different, and/or local. And one of the main questions I get asked about my travels deal with food I’ve eaten. Hey – we all gotta eat, right??
With freezing rain outside, my mind wanders to a warmer climate and a tropical paradise. For my first installment of this new series, I’d like to tell you about the best thing I ever ate in St. Thomas:
The Truffle Bacon Mac & Cheese Burger from “Off the Grid.”
Oh. My. Heart. Attack! Do I even need to describe this? Okay, I will. Cheese dripping down your arm. The enticing smell of bacon creating a cloud of haze around your head. Eyes rolling back into your head. Oh yeah. That happened.
My friend Allison and I were on St. Thomas, USVI for our friends’ wedding and we found “Off the Grid” at the recommendation of our local host, and man! Were we happy we did! I love how finding the best local food is by actually talking to locals. Fancy that!
The restaurant itself was pretty awesome. Located outside under various umbrellas and awnings, your orders are taken by the bar tender, who writes your order on a ticket, hooks it onto a wire running above the bar, and slings it across the restaurant to the kitchen. Imagine my surprise the first time I saw this, especially as we were seated by the kitchen!
To be honest, I can’t even remember what Allison ordered. I was way too consumed with my delectable and calorie-filled-heart-attack-goodness-on-a-bun. Oh, and of course you have to get the sweet potato fries with the ginger ketchup. That’s right – ginger ketchup.
Even though there were plenty of great places to eat on the island, I just had to return one more time for a burger. Even to this day I still dream about “Off the Grid” and the best burger I ever ate: The Truffle Bacon Mac & Cheese Burger!
PIN ME
