Cultured Pelican under new ownership

The Virgin Islands Daily News :: Cristian Simescu

The Cultured Pelican restaurant recently re-opened at Coakley Bay Condos on St. Croix's East End with new owners, new chefs, new staff and a new menu. Mitchell Amarando, principal owner, opened the restaurant with Bob Cornish about three months ago as an opportunity to bring quality Italian American cuisine with Caribbean influence to the island. "I love the spot and the beautiful location that's been popular over the years," Amarando said. "I fell in love with St. Croix here, the first place I had dinner on the island." He moved to the island about six years ago from Brooklyn, N.Y., and also co-owns Zebo's Restaurant, located on Strand Street in Christiansted and is a partner of Fantasy Imports in Paradise.

Zebo's is a wine bar restaurant with eclectic cuisine and the other business offers wholesale wines, liquor and selected gourmet foods. Amarando hired W. Rob Cone Jr. as his executive chef, Jason Spesa as a sous chef and Bruno Moriti as pastry chef. Twelve other employees round out the rest of the staff. Amarando said most of the recipes on the menu are from his family and from the chef's family. "People come here for home cooking," he said. "Soups are made from scratch, pastas are handmade and the pizza dough is a traditional recipe from my family." The restaurant is open for dinner seven days a week from 5 to 9:30 p.m. On Sundays they offer brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In February, they will start serving lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They also offer sunset specials at dinner from 5 to 6 p.m. everyday with slightly smaller portions and lower prices. For reservations or more information call 773-3333.