For 25 years, Chef Maya Gurley has been bringing her Creole vision of “clean, simple” food to St. Barts. No less than Jean-Georges Vongerichten has called her the "best cook on the island." Indeed, this palm-fringed, open-air beachfront restaurant could slip in to any major food scene and do just fine. The limited, constantly changing market menu is built around the freshest ingredients available, much of its produce shipped in daily from the loamy soil of Guadeloupe. Dishes have an elegant, unfussy directness, from the grilled daurade to the red curry shrimp to the tamarind-spiced pork. All that freshness, on an island that must import much of its food, comes at a price, a sore point for some who require a busier plate to justify the high costs. Beachgoers know to get their pique-nique fixin's at Maya’s To Go (www.mayastogo.com; tel. 590/29-83-70), one of the island's celebrated traiteurs (takeout shops). Located across from the airport, it offers snippets from Maya's culinary playbook, including shrimp and papaya salad, sesame chicken noodles, tuna tataki, meatloaf sandwiches, and more takeout deliciousness.