Either seated at the outdoor canopied tables or hanging at the indoor bar, you meet visitors and locals, mostly Americans, in a laid-back friendly inexpensive atmosphere. The food ranges from a great chili, sandwiches, and of course cheeseburgers. We have gone there for dessert, a couple of drinks, and just visited with whoever was there listening to the entertainment. There is an indoor bar area which always appears to do a good business, and has the feel of your neighborhood taproom, just a little nicer and no shuffleboard.

My wife and I met Captain Heinz and his wife one evening. Captain Heinz has a roomy catamaran charter which sails out of Green Cay to Buck Island. I would recommend using his services. Cheeseburgers in American Paradise is a place we always visit a few times, and suggest when on St. Croix you make it a stop one evening. It closes at 11pm.

The parking lot on this place is huge. The advertised Live Entertainment on Thursday through Sunday nights must justify that much land exclusively for parking. We simply did not see large parking lots as a norm on this island and I was surprised to see it for a burger place.

We all order the cheeseburger. You can select American or Swiss cheese, and get your choice of slaw, potato salad, and something else with your sandwich. Bacon and other topping are extra. The burgers are large and one was enough to fill me up, although I did take a few bites of my daughters' after they had finished. The slaw was good, crispy vegetables without too much dressing. Like most restaurants, the food was a bit pricey. This is the first time I paid $8 for a cheeseburger for lunch.

My beer was cold and my wife had the restaurant favorite drink of 'Lime in Da Coconut'. She's not sure what all was in it besides rum, but she thought it was an excellent drink for that hot day. Since this was our last day on the island, we ordered a piece of rum cake to share. It was a light cake with a sweet icing, having a slight taste of rum. I was surprised as I expected rum cake to be more like a Christmas fruitcake. I guess that’s why I held off having some until the last day. I wish I had known better because I would have had more cake during the week.

The tables are underneath an awning, on a gravel surface. There’s plenty of the ‘tradewinds’ blowing off the ocean to keep cool in the outdoor facility.

Driving directions: This one is actually easy to find as it’s on highway 82 about 3.5 miles east of Christensted. Go through the downtown area of Christensted, past the fort. Keep following that road as it winds it’s way outside the city. There are actually a few signs stating "82" and one sign pointing to Divi Casino. Just past the intersection with highway 60 (where the road will curve to the left and highway 60 is to the right), the parking lot will be on the right. Remember, you will be crossing traffic when turning right into the parking lot. Be sure and look for oncoming cars first!