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St Maarten/St Martin
21 February 2004 Newsletter
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ISLAND
NEWS
Weather and
Beaches: Sunday was pretty cloudy with a bit of rain now and
then. Monday morning had a cloudburst, but switched to clouds and blue
sky. The little cove at Cupecoy was lovely in the afternoon, but no green flash.
By Tuesday things had cleared out even more and we caught a green flash off the
balcony. Wednesday had haze on the horizon and a few clouds but was a beautiful
day. We were at Grand Case Beach Club for
lunch, and just as it was earlier in the year, there is beach on the right
(west) side of the point, but essentially none on the other side. Pburg's
beach is beautiful, in a crowded, happening style and Simpson Bay is looking
great in a laid-back, empty style. Early on Friday the air and sea became quite
still. It was fairly cloudy and there was rain on the horizon that cleared the
air allowing us to see all the way to Nevis from the balcony. Unfortunately, the
wind shifted, small swells became larger and when we came home from dinner we
could hear the surf pounding Cupecoy Beach from six stories up. A quick walk in
the morning showed that all beaches from Ocean Club to the north were
gone.
We use
Skyglobe to tell us
what is happening in the night sky. Down in SXM, where you can see so much more
sky, because of the lack of tall buildings and absence of light pollution, it's
interesting to know what is up there. It also gives you the time for sunset
and the phase of the moon and moonrise time. It starts with the date and time on
your computer, but you can move the date to your time on the island and change
the location to SXM (18.05 North 63.10 East) to find out what things will
be like when you visit. Obviously, you can use it at home also. You can
download the
Skyglobe program free.
It was shareware for a mere $5 that is now available for nothing because the
company is out of business.
Restaurant news: Next Saturday is
Le Mambo's seventh anniversary. Chef
Eric is putting out a 30€ Créole buffet that includes a planter's
punch.
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. There is a Guadeloupe melon, currently in season. We've picked
them up at Food Fair, Ram's, Grand Marché, and US Import/Export. If you don't
know where these stores are, we put a map on the
grocery page. Add some
proscuitto, Serrano, or Bayonne ham or on the Dutch side, rauwe ham, for a taste
treat. Squeeze on a bit of lime and add a glass of rosé from
Vinissimo (Cotes de Provence
from Brégançon).
Wines: Friday afternoon, being cloudy,
was spent on the balcony talking with our guests and the couple who had
rented
unit 254 next door.
The talking required considerable lubrication, including all my Chablis
from
Vinissimo.
On our way to dinner we stopped to get some more and even though the standard
wine tasting is on Thursday, we found Sylvain's counter littered with wine
glasses at about 6:40. Even though closing time is at 7PM, Sylvain opened the
white wine from Brégançon (Cotes de Provence). Before we could get down to the
business of buying Chablis, three Americans from Ohio who had rented a villa in
the French lowlands came in and declared that they were in heaven. They also
sampled the Brégançon, and purchased about four cases of very good wines and
packed them in styrofoam shippers for the journey back to the US. If you have
room in your weight allowance, the duty is only 10% and given the savings
available, it makes sense to ship it.
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 80 entries, so your chances are good, although they won't improve by
entering the same email address several times.
RESTAURANTS
On 14 Feb the
euro was at 1.28 and today it's at 1.266, although it hit an
alltime high during the week. French side restaurants with many costs in dollars
and many American (or Canadian) clients have been offering more favorable
exchange rates. Some restaurants offer a 1 to 1 exchange.
These include California, Escapade, Balaou, Santal, Enoch's Place, Au
Beaujolais, and Rainbow. 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 Tuesday night we experienced
Harmony Night in Grand Case from Le
Cottage. Originally, we had reservations for the
front porch, but when we returned early from the beach to get ready to pick up
guests at the airport, an email from them said they were still in
Charlotte. US Air 877 arrived about four hours late, so we cancelled the
reservations, knowing that somebody would be thrilled to have a four top on the
street. Our guests eventually arrived in good shape and said they were game for
dropping off the luggage and driving to Grand Case. About 40 minutes later we
were in the Grand Case Airport parking lot waiting for the jitney bus to take us
to the pedestrian zone. We walked past a band at the lolos and down past some
rather full restaurants. We stopped at Cottage and asked Bruno if we could have
a table for four. After much consultation of the reservations and reconnoitering
of the dining room he said five minutes. We went back to the street and enjoyed
some music coming from a band near Maëva and as some people cleared out of
Cottage, a table appeared. Stephane poured Skalli's Chardonnay "Futs de Chenes".
I wouldn't have guessed that it was a French chardonnay, until Stephane
mentioned the name. The difference is the "Futs de Chenes" or oak barrels. The
wine was as heavily oaked as anything from California. We took two orders
of a special mushroom stuffed ravioli in a cream sauce that Stephane
accompanied with a light Bordeaux. Our dinners were the whole foie gras roasted
with white beans flavored with cocoa beans and aromatic vinegar. It is served
for two people because it is a whole foie gras and more than enough. It was
luscious and the dish is a well conceived blending of flavors and textures:
smooth, buttery foie gras on a bed of beans with a bit of crunch to them
suffused with a reduction sauce and a hint of cacao. The ladies had the cote de
veau, essentially prime rib on the bone, but from veal. When it arrived on the
plate, the ribs were separated, so each plate had essentially two veal chops
swimming in a sea of oyster mushrooms and a reduction sauce. There were several
mushroom caps stuffed with a mushroom duxelle scattered about. It was my kind of
meal and I was most grateful that Martha shared. Stephane brought out a larger
Bordeaux for the more flavorful main courses. We skipped coffees and dessert, so
Olivier brought over the bottle of vanilla rum and before we knew what happened,
it was 11:30. Luckily, the car knows the way
home.
On Wednesday we went
to Sunset Café for a lunch on the beach. They had a special of
moules frites, the national dish of Belgium, land of my ancestors. Steve Wright,
manager of Grand Case Beach Club, said that these were the best mussels on the
island, even better than those at St Severin, the
place where the locals go for seafood. I will not get caught up in this debate,
but my mussels in a creamy white wine sauce with parsley and onions were great.
Crispy French fries aren't so bad either. The ladies had healthy seafood salads.
The warm day with a few clouds in the sky above the lovely beach seemed to call
out for a rosé, actually two bottles.
That night we
had appetizers at a private home on the lagoon before heading for a light
dinner at Belle
Epoche on the Marigot marina. We split a beef
carpaccio sliced so thin that you could see the pattern on the
plate through the beef and a salade landaise for starters and then moved on
to two thin crust pizzas. Two bottles of the wine of the week, a pinot noir from
Henri Bourgeois, went well with everything. The bill with a bit extra tip was
only $120.
Thursday was a shopping day in Pburg with a lunch
at
Antoine Restaurant.
Trying to keep it light again, we just had two fish soups, thick dark red very
flavorful soup with the usual croutons, grated gruyere cheese, and rouille (a
garlicky cream sauce) and a gazpacho. I've driven the coast from Marseille
in the south of France to Marbella in the south of Spain. The car used about ten
gallons of gas and I went through about ten gallons of gazpacho in as many
different forms, each one claiming to be authentic. I've had them more like
bisque with a solitary crouton floating forlornly in the center and with
enough garlic to bring tears to your eyes. I've had gazpacho so thick with diced
tomatoes, onions, and peppers, you could walk across the top. If I had to
choose, I like a thick tomato sauce with plenty of diced veg. This version had
the thick, and tasty sauce, with plenty of veg on the side. We then split up a
red snapper filet in a beurre blanc surrounded by scalloped potatoes and a salad
Niçoise. We had a bottle of Sancerre and a great time for about $100 with the
included 15% service charge.
After lunch I was dragged next door to see Lawrence at
Mayfair Jewelers to see a rare 1.4 carat green diamond. Lawrence said it
cost very little. I said I had very little in my pocket and was willing to
trade. He still has the diamond. We have been taking friends there for
years and have found Lawrence quite pleasant to deal with.
Thursday night we stayed home, having Argentine beef from
Ram's. It was a tenderloin, presumably grass-fed rather than finished on grain
and steroids, maybe more flavorful, but certainly a bit tougher. Supposedly
Curaçao, the capital of the Netherlands Antilles, banned the importation of US
beef. How seriously this directive was taken up here in St Maarten (a duty-free
port that inspects nothing) is certainly in doubt. In any event, I have
been told the ban has now been rescinded. Nonetheless, there is a new
Argentine steak house on Pondfill (Los Gauchos) and even
Antoine Restaurant is offering
its steaks in both the US and Argentine version.
Friday night, after an impromptu wine tasting at
Vinissimo, we
went to
Hot
Tomatoes for a casual but quite tasty dinner. We split up some calamari
and conch fritter appetizers, a nice start. Brad had been touting some lamb
chops in a spicy sauce and the brisket is always tasty. Both came with mashed
potatoes and beets? We love beets, but we're not sure about the rest of the
world. We also ordered two wood fired pizzas and took half of each home for
breakfast. Eric, half of the group Cold Turkey, was playing and singing in the
bar. It sounded quite nice back on the terrace. All in all, a pretty nice night
in St Maarten.