|
St Maarten/St Martin |
|
ISLAND
NEWS
Weather and
Beaches: Super Sunday was a lovely day, but don't ask about the
sunset, as we were out watching the pregame. Monday was also pleasant with some
nice beach at the little cove on Cupecoy and a green flash from the cliffs. (See
the photos) Tuesday rained in the morning but otherwise was lovely. We went
to Pburg and I strolled the new boardwalk as Martha shopped. The beach is
fantastic and many new businesses have sprung up to rent chairs and umbrellas,
not to mention all the beach bars. It's not my favorite beach, but if you like
action, they have it. Wednesday and Thursday were also great, but the wind
shifted and Friday dawned cloudy and blustery with frequent squalls, some quite
heavy. By Friday evening it had calmed down a bit and, at times, the full
moon was visible. Saturday morning's whitecaps on the lagoon indicate at least a
12 to 13 knot breeze coming in from the NE, but the number of whitecaps suggests
even higher wind velocities.
Photo feature: There are some photos of
the week's activities at a secret location not posted here. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the location.
There is no link from any SXM-Info website and I won't post the address on any
bulletin board. The sunset from the cliffs of Cupecoy is there. We took the
shortcut over the mountain from Pburg (near Cakehouse) to Cole Bay, avoiding a
lot of traffic, but enduring a great number of potholes. there is a photo from
the top of the hill, looking through the cacti to Simpson Bay.
Restaurant and Pburg news: Last week,
we said Wajang Doll in Pburg is closing the restaurant on Front Street and
moving to Simpson Bay. It turns out that there are plans to redevelop that
location, although the architect said that the restaurant was not terribly sad
to be moving into the Royal Village complex across from Paradise Plaza Casino.
The paper announced that the next section of the boardwalk, from the Captain
Hodge Pier to Sea Palace, will commence construction in April and be
finished in about three months. That will tie the head of town to most of the
rest of Front Street. There are plans to connect all the way to the Great Bay
Hotel at the foot of town. Add in a nice walkway from the cruise ships and some
form of transportation, as it is about a three mile walk from the cruiseship
terminal to the foot of town, and they will have a world class tourist facility
in Pburg.
CONTEST
Scavenger's Beach Bar is
sponsoring the current contest. Just go to their website (www.SXM-restaurants.com/orient/scavengers),
find the link to sign up for the SXM-Info newsletter, click it, sign up, and you
are entered. Obviously everybody that is getting this email is already signed up
for the newsletter. Just tell me you are already on our mailing list, and I'll
leave you signed up for the newsletter and add your name to the contest list.
This contest is a bit different, as Scavenger's is offering a day at the beach
for four people. You get four chairs, two umbrellas, four lunches and four
drinks. It's still worth about $100 and it could be yours. In September of 1995
Hurricane Luis came in from the east and destroyed the Dawn Beach Hotel, one of
the most beautiful hotels on the island. Scavenger's is located in one of
the units and the bar and tables were scavenged from the wreckage. It's
still a lovely spot, partially because 900 tons of wreckage were carted away,
but also because of the superb beach and great views to St Barts. We've got
about 40 entries, so your chances are good, although they won't improve by
entering the same email address several times.
RESTAURANTS
On 31 Jan the
euro was down to 1.24 and today it's at 1.27. French side
restaurants with many costs in dollars and many American (or Canadian) clients
have been offering more favorable exchange rates. To our list of 1 to 1
restaurants that include California, Escapade, Balaou, Santal, Enoch's
Place, and Rainbow, we can now add Au Beaujolais in Marigot. I just saw the
ad, but have never been there. Many restaurants will offer you a
better rate than you can get on your credit card, so you can allow them to
convert and charge in dollars. Note that California only offers 1 to 1 on cash
purchases. As always, know what the euro is worth, what the restaurateur is
offering for an exchange, and what the costs are on the menu. Finally, you are
here to have fun and fine food, not complex financial calculations, so don't
worry about it too much.
On Monday night we went
to Thai Garden (www.SXM-Restaurants.com/sandyground/thaigarden).
We both had xui mai, steamed dumplings with shrimp and pork. They come with
three sauces and as we use the soy-based sauce enhanced with the hot sauce, we
ordered a pair of Stella Artois beers. Martha had a tasty, slightly spicy, but
mostly coconut milk flavored shrimp and mushroom soup, tom yam koung. Vincent,
the owner, says that this is his favorite soup, so much so that he even new the
name in Thai. I had a nua pad pig, which is a beef and pepper dish with a major
bowl of rice. The bill was 48 euros = $60, so there's no bargain on the
conversion, but the food is inexpensive and I prefer beer with Thai food, so I
save a bundle!
We trekked over the hill
on Tuesday to take care of special shopping at the Grand Marché. they
have some things we can't get elsewhere (special cat food, in this case). We
also needed a notary. There are two at the head of town, one above the Diamond
Casino. We stopped for lunch
at L'Escargot (www.LescargotRestaurant.com) on
Front Street. Joel and Sonya serve serve authentic French cuisine, featuring
snails, but having almost everything. We had a shrimp salad and the swordfish
with a spicy sauce. A half bottle of chardonnay with a tip brought the bil up to
$60.
That evening we went to Les
Dunes (www.SXM-Restaurants.com/marigot/dunes)
on the Marigot Marina. Georges of Belle Epoque has taken over the old Rendezvous
des Artistes spot, added a lush tent, many wall hangings, fantastic furniture,
and lovely decoration to make something out of 1001 Nights. The food includes
Moroccan appetizer, cous-cous, and tajines, but also features cuisine from the
south of France. We tried a bit of both. Martha had a quail (fully deboned) in a
pastry pouch with veg and mushrooms. I had the lamb tajine: a lamb shank
long-cooked with prunes, raisons, carrots, a hint of cinnamon, and more. A very
nice bottle of Cotes du Rhone accompanied everything well. It's priced a bit
above the bistros/brasseries surrounding the marina but strives to be a bit more
refined cuisine (not to mention the interior decoration bill), equalling
Tropicana, approaching Chanteclair. The desserts appeared to be over the top and
two women stopped in especially for dessert. We only took pictures for the
website, but were assured that everything tasted as good as it looked.
Wednesday night we went out on the Celine Lagoon Pub
Crawl (www.SXM-Activites.com/lagoonpubcrawl).
It leaves from Turtle Pier across from the airport runway at 6:30 and sails to
Lal's Indian Cuisine directly across from the airport terminal (It's so
convenient, we've been known to use it as a departure lounge, although Cafe
Juliana upstairs in the airport is several levels above the average airport
restaurant.) On board drinks are free and everybody gets a free beer, wine, etc,
at each restaurant plus a sampling of the food. At Lal's we got a slightly
spicy somosa with a couple sauces to enhance it, if you dared, and some
deep-fried veg. After about 45 minutes we went out onto the moonlit sea and
headed for Peg Leg Pub. Another beer and some of the tastiest steak samples on
the island. They also were passing out mahi-mahi chunks. Forty-five minutes
later we were heading back to Turtle Pier. As it is Wednesday Lobster Night at
the Pier, there was a steel band playing. We got another drink and Al served
ribs and conch fritters. The cost is $55 per person which seems pretty good for
more than you should drink or eat plus a ride around the lagoon. Once a month,
Captain Neil throws in a full moon at no extra charge.
On Thursday we went next door
to Montmartre (www.SXM-Restaurants.com/lowlands/montmartre)
at Atlantis Casino. We are starting to treat this place as our dining room. We
started with a goat cheese salad, mixed greens with bacon, topped with a bit of
goat cheese and Roquefort in phyllo dough. We added a light Burgundy and were
off to a good start. I tried the roasted duck breast deglazed with honey and
raspberry vinaigrette. I'm not a big fan of fruit or sweets with meat, but
I'm starting to appreciate the combination with venison from our farm and
the earlier dinner at Les Dunes combining lamb with prunes emboldened me this
evening. Farm-raised duck isn't exactly wild venison, but it is a bit gamier
than the average boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken breast, so the
fruit and honey combo with the duck was quite good. Martha had the pork
loin stuffed with green sage, rolled in a potato crust with a medlay of veg.
Both were quite nice with the Burgundy.
On Friday we had a light lunch
at Greenhouse (www.TheGreenhouseRestaurant.com) in
Pburg. The Greenhouse is more known for its dancing and drinking, but
is upgrading its food. On Fridays they have fresh Saba lobster at $15.95
per pound, one of the best prices on the island. ?t lunchtime they get plenty of
cruiseship passangers, especially on bad weather days, as the tourists stay off
the beaches. We were happy to get a seat in the interior on such a blustery day.
The menu is exceedingly long (says the man who has to post it on the internet),
so you should be able to find something you like. Martha had a very tasty
Jamaican jerk chicken salad and I indulged in a Greenhouse burger (cheddar
cheese, bacon, grilled onion, lettuce, and tomato) with fries. No, you
probably won't find either recipe in Gourmet magazine anytime soon, but it was
still a pretty good lunch.
On Friday night we went
to Le Cottage (www.restaurantlecottage.com) in
Grand Case with another couple (John and Nancy). Our friends split a foie gras
plate that features a slice of fresh foie gras and two slices of foie gras pâté
with toast points. Martha and I split the frog legs which arrived in a
green parsley sauce with a dollop of long-cooked garlic purée in the center.
Amusing to look at and quite tasty. As usual we turned Stephane loose on the
wine front. we had started with champagne at our friends house, so we went rignt
to a 97 Ch La Garde from Pessac-Leognan, not the most famous of Bordeaux
regions, but a very nice wine, smoothed out by seven years of mellowing in cask
or bottle. As usual a red wine and cinnamon granité cleansed the palate between
courses. Our dinners featured two orders of the special langoustine
imported direct from Brittany and done in three different ways by Chef
Christophe: broiled, a tartare, and a ravioli with a creamy vegetable and
seafood risotto on the side. I had a cassoulet of seafood, grouper, lobster,
shrimp, and scallops on a bed of white beans and John had the rack of lamb with
artichokes in a light, tart sauce. Stephane poured glasses of a 99
Bordeaux for the main course. We finished with a praline soufflée with an
apricot granité. As soon as it was ready, Bruno rushed it to the table where
coffees and armagnacs were waiting. It was a wonderful end to the evening,
although converting the 223 euros to $240 (about 1.1 to 1) was a nice touch
also.
Parking in Grand Case is up to 4 euros or $4 (another 1
to 1 exchange) but many restaurants, including Cottage will reimburse you for
that cost. Note also that California and Chez Martine have their own free
parking lot.
After dinner we trekked into Friar's Bay for the monthly full
moon party. The drive is horrendous, the parking is a scene from Hieronymous
Bosch, a Carib was $3, the music was rap, not reggae, but the bonfire was nice.
Photos on the site.
Lately Martha and I have been discussing what makes a
restaurant good, and moreover what makes it profitable. We've both been in this
business. She was a chef and eventually worked as a consultant, designing menus
and getting restaurants started. We've come to believe that having hands-on
management by the owner is one key. I just scanned the list above and thought
back to last week's dinner at Mario's Bistro and every restaurant (save
one) had an owner on-premises while we were dining (including the three
stops on the pub crawl). The only exception was Les Dunes. Georges owns both Les
Dunes and Belle Epoque, about 100 feet apart on the Marigot Marina. Even though
they are that close, his wife is frequently at Les Dunes and he took one of his
best waiters from Belle Epoque and moved him to Les Dunes. We also think that
getting good staff and keeping them is critical. Pascal and Karen own L'Auberge
Gourmande, Sunset Café, and Montmartre. Karen is always at Montmartre and has
Olivier, one of the best waiters on the island. Actually, he was there before
Karen and Pascal took over Montmartre. Pascal divides his time between Sunset
and L'Auberge in Grand Case and one of the reasons that he can do this is
Christophe at L'Auberge, another candidate for best waiter on the island. Bruno
is always at Le Cottage and has had Stephane and another Olivier (maybe it's the
name) for as long as we can remember. The third requirement (possibly the first)
is a chef with imagination and a management that allows him to use it. We are
immediately turned off when we ask about specials and are told that everything
is special. Generally, it means that nothing is special; it's the same thing
that the chef has been preparing on auto-pilot since the menu was laminated
(always a bad sign) in the previous mellenium. Specials allow a chef to
experiment with his style, eventually adding the most successful dishes to next
year's menu. They also make our dining experience interesting enough that we can
return several times in a season and do it year after year.