Late-Night Eats at The Roach Coach St. Croix
How many of you can relate to this scenario… You’re on St. Croix. In Christiansted. It’s late. Very, very late. You’ve been partying. Really, really partying. You need some food. Tasty, filling, sobriety inducing home-cooked food. I’ve followed this script more times than anyone would care to remember. Trust me, there’s only one truly viable option: The Waterfront Food Truck, aka The Roach Coach St. Croix.
A Tasty Truck By Any Name
Now, you may have lived in St. Croix in the past. You may even live there now. Or maybe you’ve visited the island countless times in recent years. Either way, it’s a good bet most of you won’t know the spot pictured above by The Waterfront Food Truck name. It’s the one preferred by the owners, but they’re about the only ones I’ve ever heard use it.
The rest of us? We know it affectionately as The Roach Coach.
As authentic an institution on St. Croix as anything I’ve ever known, enjoyed or even heard of, The Roach Coach St. Croix has been around for more than 40 years! Real old-timers have another name for it: Miss Lucy’s Truck.
Trini Roots
Miss Lucy, along with a bunch of her siblings and family members, arrived in St. Croix in the 1960s from the San Fernando area in southwestern Trinidad. Like my parents, who also hail from San Fernando, Miss Lucy brought along her home country’s many varied culinary traditions. She then combined them with local Crucian and Continental fare to create some of the very best eats on the island.
We try to infuse the Crucian and the American cultures, so we’ll have something like baked chicken, baked macaroni, BBQ chicken, dumpling and saltfish, conch and butter sauce, stew goat, BBQ ribs, fried fish, stewed fish…
These are the words of Nichole, Miss Lucy’s niece.
She took over the sales and service part of the business in 2003, giving her aunt more time to rest at night. Everything you can buy at The Roach Coach St. Croix Waterfront Food Truck, though, is still made by Miss Lucy. So yeah, you can count on being well-fed.
Generous portions of lovingly prepared home-cooked meals and nice prices keep people coming back for more. They also once helped to keep Miss Lucy out of jail.
Miss Lucy Goes to Jail
Years ago, she was arrested for refusing to follow a new local ordinance forbidding food trucks from operating in the downtown area. The same downtown Christiansted area where she had always operated her business.
Local Crucians in love with Miss Lucy’s cooking, though, weren’t having it.
They rallied to her defense in court. Eventually, they facilitated her release and the return of the Roach Coach Waterfront Food Truck to its usual/rightful corner, where King and Church street meet.
The Roach Coach St. Croix Waterfront Food Truck Experience Today
Nichole is out there every Wednesday to Saturday, from 7 pm until about 1 am, or whenever the food is mostly gone. She’s got a full line-up of soft drinks and beers to go with all that nice food too.
Personally, I make a point never to leave St. Croix without getting a taste of the pates here. Lobster, saltfish, conch, chicken, veggie, and beef varieties were all available when last I stopped by. I wished I had room for all of them, but “settled” for the lobster and saltfish, the light, fluffy shells and nicely spiced seafood hidden inside punctuating my joy in being home like few other flavors ever could.
Don’t be Rude, Follow the Rules
When you go, be sure never to refer to the truck as The Roach Coach. (Seriously, they don’t like that.) Also, don’t even think about giving Nichole a hug.
Her smile and friendly ways, combined with her aunt’s incredible food and your inebriated state, when applicable, may encourage affection, but she’d much rather have your respect and continued business than anything frisky…
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