Chris Booth took over the reins as chef and partner at AMA Restaurant in Cane Bay, St. Croix, on Aug. 1. A project of Neighborhood Establishment, AMA is the place for fine dining in its covered outdoor dining room, which sits just above the natural grotto, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 5 to 9 p.m.
The Sunset Bar, with its separate space, provides cocktails with freshly-squeezed juices on Fridays and Saturdays, 4 to 9 p.m. Expanded days are coming soon.
Beginning Sunday, Oct. 6, AMA will serve Sunday Brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
AMA, derived from the Taino language and pronounced Ah-Ma, means river or body of water. The oceanfront restaurant is located at the Waves Hotel, giving patrons endless views of the northern horizon and the soothing sounds of waves from the tide pool below.
Booth comes to AMA after five years as the owner/chef of the south side restaurant SALT near Salt Pond in Christiansted.
“This is definitely different from SALT. When one makes a change in life it’s always going to be fun and intriguing,” Booth said. “It’s been a good two months and we’ve been able to put out a good menu. We have a great staff here. Getting to know one another always has its challenges, and it’s going very well.”
Booth is very excited about this chapter. He looks forward to the future as their menu highlights the island and the beauty of it. It’s a unique feeling having the ability to move people just by the location and the surroundings, he said.
“I think one of the things that was intriguing about pairing myself up with this beautiful business was being able to utilize all the wonderful things we have here – the fish, the produce, and all the things we had at SALT. This island is a place of abundance when it comes to products that are hard to find. The produce and the agriculture that exist here, as well as the fish, are bounties we have at our disposal,” Booth said.
The restaurant’s direction is taking the menu that existed and adding local lobster and local fish. It was a little bit stagnant, Booth said. He has already seen quite a change in the last two months by utilizing a lot of local ingredients.
“We’re going to be doing Bush Cook over at Sejah Farms and using them for things we didn’t get to do at SALT on the south shore. I can get a lot more of what I need over here on the north shore. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s something we’ve already started to do and the feedback has been really cool,” Booth said with excitement in his voice.
“We did change the first iteration of the menu. I’ve changed my menu at SALT a few times. I did the same at Savant Restaurant in downtown Christiansted where I was the head chef. So, that’s one of the things I would like to do – use seasonal ingredients when we can. We’re in the time of season when we won’t have an abundance of fare, but moving forward toward the heavy growth season, it will be really nice to have those items on the menu and highlight it with a variety from our farmers and fishermen.”
Booth described a dish on the menu: “Local Lobster Fra Diavolo,” which is a butter-poached lobster tail, spicy tomato sauce, roasted red peppers, garlic, arugula, ricotta, linguine, and basil oil. “We make the sauce in-house from the lobster stock that we get from the shells, so it’s very rich and luscious,” he said.
“We’ve also been getting a lot of tuna from our local fishermen, and we are creating some mouth-watering dishes like our ‘Local Tuna Special of the Day.’”
“We have a beef curry on the menu that utilizes a lot of spices. Some local ingredients from Sejah Farms are their sweet potatoes that we use in our vegetarian ‘Buddha’s Feast’ with roasted portobello mushrooms, grilled asparagus, curried cauliflower, local mango chutney, basil oil and balsamic reduction. We also have a wonderful cantaloupe and prosciutto salad with mint, olive oil and goat cheese.'”
Booth spoke about the difference he enjoys in his new menu at AMA from what he served at SALT. He says it gives him the opportunity to be creative. He appreciates the feedback he gets from people. Some of the staples that were on the menu before are still here. “We continue to serve the filet that people have been coming to the restaurant and ordering for years,” he said. “It comes with a cherry demi-glace, fresh mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. We serve a big Caesar salad that’s shareable and really nice,” he added.
Dec.16 is on the calendar for a “Wine Dinner” event at AMA. It is similar to the “Wine Club” event at SALT, but it’s up a notch…it will be elegant. Booth promises it will be fun…they will change the wine glasses with each serving and it will be a “hoitytoity” event, he said with a big smile.
Sundays on the northside at Cane Bay: Brunch at AMA beginning Oct. 6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information:
info@amacanebay.com
neighborhoodestablishment.com/ama
For reservations, call 340-227-3432
