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St Maarten/St Martin
15 January 2005 Newsletter
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ISLAND
NEWS
Newsletter report:
My laptop went dark a bit over a week ago and the 8 Jan newsletter is
on it. Also, the latest updates to the mailing list are there. Apologies to those who should have received newsletters but didn't and bigger apologies to those who got them and no longer wished to receive them.
Weather and Beach
report: Sunday had lots of rain showers and clouds, Monday not as many
and humid, Tuesday fairly sunny but still breezy. Wednesday was pretty nice as
was Thursday until the heavens opened at about 5PM producing one of the most
intense rainstorms we have seen on the island. Luckily, it only lasted about
half an hour, so flooding wasn't bad. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were clear for the most part, and not
terribly warm, and still a bit blustery.
Sailing:
Neil on Celine has set up a charter on the
Saturday of the Heineken Regatta (5 March
2005). At $75 per person, it includes a complete day on the sea with all food
and drink. We start with a champagne breakfast as we exit the lagoon on the 9:00
AM opening. Chicken and ribs will be available for lunch. We return late in the
afternoon after a great day on the water among the boats. It is a long way off,
but the island gets pretty crowded and the charter boats fill up. If you want a
front row seat for the action, go to Neil's website, check out the regatta page,
and send him an email reservation. As his email is frequently lost in
cyberspace, I have included my address there, and I see him frequently.
Currently there are 10 confirmed signups and four maybes for a trip that is
being capped at 20 participants.
Photo feature:
This week's photo feature has some photos
from The Ironhorse Saloon in Simpson Bay and Philipsburg. There was a poker run
that started at Ironhorse. If you are not familiar, bikers meet someplace pay an
entrance fee, have a few brews, and get a few playing cards. They then ride off
to another bar, get a few brews and another playing card or two. They repeat
this a few times, seeing various sights, and usually return to the starting
point to see who has the best poker hand. The winner gets a percentage of the
entrance fees and the rest go to a chartable organization, in this case Tsunami
Relief. When they returned to the bar Ronald and the Bandits were playing with
Pedrin Pacheco's Orchestra. The link only goes to subscribers.
Driving: On 12 Jan there were nine cruise
ships in Pburg disgorging 27,000 passengers. Remind me to stay in the condo all
day! The merchants, as usual, complained that the tourists just milled about and
didn't spend enough money and, as usual, the next day Theo Heyliger's press
release said that the merchants were extremely happy, the tourists were
extremely happy, the restaurateurs were extremely happy, etc. Bridge openings
have now switched to the high season schedule Dutch side 9:00/9:30AM,
11:00/11:30AM, and 4:30/5:30PM, one way each time and the French side 8:15AM,
2:30PM, 5:30 PM, both ways. Keep these in mind if you are traveling and remember
the Cakehouse cutoff from Pburg to Cole Bay is now paved.
Drinking and Driving: A word on drinking and driving. There are no laws concerning driving
under the influence on the Dutch side, at least according to the Daily
Herald. I certainly have not read the entire civil code in the original
Dutch, so I rely on their report in this week's newspaper. As for the other
side, it's France and we were actually stopped by the gendarmes in a roadblock
in Nettle Bay a few weeks ago. They were waving Dutch side cars right on
through, but our rental car had French plates and they were looking for people
driving without plates, insurance, or licenses, in addition to drunks. When we
wisely spoke English and said we were tourists in a rental car, we were sent on
our way. Nonetheless, be careful. The roads are dark, not well-maintained, and
you may need all your faculties to avoid those who have lost all their
faculties.
CONTEST
The contest for the $100 gift
certificate at Rainbow Cafe was won by
Donna Lott. The entries for the Chez Pat/Tropical Wave contest that ran from 16 December to 6
January are trapped in the computer that Dell is repairing. The hard drive is
fine, so I believe that we will someday, probably manana, sort it out. Marci's Mega
Gym is sponsoring a contest from 7 January to
27 January 2005, giving away a week of gym usage for two Just click their
name to go to their website, find the link to sign up for the SXM-Info
newsletter and contest, click it, sign up, and you are entered. Obviously
everybody that is getting this email is already signed up for the newsletter,
but you are not automatically signed up for the contest. You
really do have to go to their website and click the email link to show you
visited their site. Just tell me you are already on our mailing list, and I'll
leave you signed up for the newsletter and just add your name to the
contest list.
Here is the list of future sponsors.
We urge you all to sign up ONCE for each contest. Our clients want you to see
what they have to offer. Go to their websites at the appropriate time, click the
link, and you could be a winner. Look for future gift certificates
from:
Celine Pub Crawl - 25 April
to 5 June 2005 - two tickets on the Lagoon Pub Crawl
WINE TASTING
The Thursday tasting at Vinissimo
included a 2003 Tokay Gris Vin d'Alsace from Boesch (11.50 euros), a good crisp
wine; a 2002 Marsannay Bruno Clair (19 euros), a lovely full chardonnay; and the
1998 Montus Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh-sec made from Corbu and Arrufiac grapes in the
SW of France (13 euros), a very aromatic white. The reds started with a 2003
L'Alycastre Cotes du Porquerolles. Sylvain had ordered rose, received bottles
labeled "white wine", and opened one to find this robust red. Bruno Clair's 2002
Aloxe-Corton was quite good with hints of cherry in the finish, but I still say
it is young.(27 euros). We took home three bottles of the 2001 Crozes-Hermitage
from Louis Belle (14.80 euros). It's made largely from syrah grapes in the warm
Rhone valley, similar to zinfandel, and similarly stands up to spicy meals, such
as the spicy pork with rice noodles that Martha made when we got home.
The website has a coupon good for 10% off and they deliver on case
orders.
GROCERIES
We got some ham from the
Magasin du Pont (US
Import) in Sandy Ground on sale at 6.90 euros. That's even cheaper than the very
good baked Virginia ham at
Lido. They did want about
$5 for a head of lettuce while Lido had Romaine for less than $2.
RESTAURANTS
On 22 Dec the euro was at
1.331, I saw it as high as 1.363, and today it is at 1.310. I'll take any help I can get. 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. We got that at California, Auberge
Gourmande, and La Marine. We
noticed Rainbow Cafe, Escapade, and Marlin's Cafe were
offering the same. Note that some only offer this rate for cash. We will let you
know about other places as we find them. 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 to do complex financial calculations, so
don't worry about it too much.
Dining: On 7 Jan we
went to Le Mambo for a French
dinner with some Creole highlights from Chef Eric. Maryline, Eric's wife, is the
front of the house and being from Burgundy, thought that our choice of the 2001
Rodet Chateau de Mercey Mercurey was a good one (42 euros), although there was a
pretty good Burgundy on the specials list for considerably less. The amuse
bouche was a small bowl carrot and ginger soup, essentially a velote velvety
from the carrots and with a bit of snap from the ginger. Continuing in this
fashion, we had the shrimp in coconut milk with lemon grass, more Thai than
Creole, but they have their similarities. Neither of these overwhelmed the very
large Burgundy, although a zinfandel, hard to find over here in France, would be
wonderful. The main courses were made for the wine, however: a lovely piece of
tuna, pink on the inside with kidney beans, some pickled veg, rice with a
topping of a few peppers, fried plantains, with X-rated sauce chien (only 17
euros) and tender sweetbreads and morels in a creamy, garlic sauce with salsify
and loads of chervil with a side of potatoes gratin (24 euros). We thought both
dinners were wonderful, great combinations of tastes and textures. Maryline
warned us about the sauce chien, and we'll pass it along: VERY HOT. Nonetheless,
we finished all of it. After dinner, Maryline offered two glasses of her rum
punch with passion fruit. If you have never tried this, it's worth the price of
admission. Our total meal came to $130 with almost half of that being our rather
expensive wine and water. If you can choose from the better values on the lower
end of wine list, you can have a very good dinner for under $100. There are
photos of all three dishes on the website.
Monday we had a great dinner at
Spiga Restaurant. The
place is as pretty as ever with new artwork on the walls. We dined inside rather
than on the porch as the weather has been hideous, cool and blustery. Lara
Bergamasco runs the front of the house with able assistance from Laurent. Lara
is Livio Bergamasco's daughter and Livio is the original Livio of Da Livio's on
Front Street in Philipsburg. She is married to Ciro Russo who spends his
evenings in the kitchen. Lara pointed out some wines from Alois Legder from
northern Italy, near Venice, that included a 2001 Pinot Nero (Noir, in French).
It was rather nice at 32 euros, smooth and tasty but not so large as to endanger
delicate shrimp, scallop and prosciutto appetizer that Ciro created. It was
lovely to look at, two shrimps surrounding a scallop bound up in a tasty, salty
slice of prosciutto. There were two of these creations and a "bowl" of salad
formed by two extremely this slices of cucumber surrounding some very tasty
salad greens with a sun-dried surprise in the bottom (tomatoes). Ciro's
sashimi-grade tuna had a pepper crust and a pink center with ratatouille. The
lamb chops arrived medium rare standing guard over a bed of arugula mashed
potatoes topped with ratatouille. They were surrounded by a balsamic reduction
sauce and a forest of thyme. We finished with decaf coffees and a lovely Grappa
di Moscato. Some grappa can be a bit harsh, but the collection that Lara and
Ciro have assembled is wonderful. Our dinner came to $125 based on a 1.2 to 1
rate for the dollar, considerably better than the real rate. Martha notes that
although I skipped over the vegetables, calling them ratatouille, the eggplant
in the mix was perfectly cooked, making it delicious.
Tuesday night we went to La Vie en Rose
on the waterfront in Marigot. It is one of the oldest restaurants on the island
and given the recent revamp of the Marigot waterfront with new market buildings,
a new marina, and the West Indies Mall, it is still in the center of everything.
Be warned that it is one of the most expensive restaurants on the island, but
the high quality ingredients and the detailed preparation coupled with a
beautiful restaurant, nice view, and superb service, justifies the price. During
the day, they serve breakfast and lunch in a lovely sidewalk cafe under rose
umbrellas. At night the action moves up to the second floor and on warm night
with soft breezes, the view of the revamped downtown and the boats in the marina
can't be beat. The table was set with Villeroy and Foch china, lovely napery,
and heavy hotel-plate silver. The wine list and the dinner menu arrived and
contained some fantastic items. We started with a bottle of the 2002 Jaboulet
Crozes-Hermitage at 30 euros. It is a wonderful wine, not as powerful as its
Rhone neighbor, Hermitage, but possibly better suited to enjoying with food. The
breads were delivered and the attention to dining details started to show. There
was a crispy mini-baguette and a slice of the wonderful walnut bread from the
nearby Sucrierie. Our appetizer choice was Le Croustillant d'Escargots a
Barigoule d'Artichauts, Sauce Paysanne (14 euros), escargot with artichoke
and bacon wrapped in a phyllo dough beggar's purse floating in a creamy sauce
loaded with more bacon. Our dinners were Le Magret de Canard et sa Sauce
Foie Gras (28 euros) and Le Carre d'Agneau et
son Filet en Crout aux Pleurottes et Truffes (30 euros), Roasted Rack & Filet of Lamb served with a Mushroom
& Truffle Sauce. Note the duck breast paired with foie gras, but not
mentioned were the mound of mushrooms supporting the tender tent of sliced duck
breast. Also note the lamb dish includes not only chops, but a bit of the loin
in a pastry crust surrounded by oyster mushrooms in a truffle sauce. Desserts
were tempting, but not a possibility, so we ended the night with espressos and a
snifter of Armagnac. Altogether, we spent about $150 for a delightful
evening.
On Wednesday evening we went back to
Montmartre Restaurant. We believe that Montmartre is getting better and better. The
landscaping and awning outside allowed the addition of outdoor tables (although
the weather does not). Nonetheless, the view from inside is considerably
improved. the menu has been upgraded over the summer and many of the comments
from La Vie en Rose apply to our meal at Montmartre. Our appetizer was a scallop
and tuna tartare, two expensive ingredients, on a brioche. The brioche had a
layer of thin-sliced scallops atop it, followed by small pieces of tuna tartare
with onions and herbs, followed by another layer of scallops, drizzled with
olive oil, and sprouting a sprig of rosemary with tasty greens on the side. It
was a wonderful dish with two different tastes and textures of seafood laced
with the taste and tang of onions with a bonus bit of pastry. It takes time to
do this and it can't be done days before because the brioche will be mush. Our
dinners were the braised pigeon with foie gras and fresh figs and a capon breast
with morels and foie gras. Both dinners had a combination of several expensive
ingredients and both included an astounding array of veg: potatoes gratin with a
hint of black pepper, broccoli, mashed potatoes, roasted garlic. broiled tomato
with a seasoned topping, a dollop of squash, and ratatouille. There are photos
of all three dishes on the website and they tasted as good as they looked. We
apologize to dessert lovers as we ended the evening with espressos and snifters
of Armagnac again.
Friday evening was a considerably cheaper expedition to
Paris Bistro in the
Maho Complex. The fresh fish sits in a cart of ice on display at the entrance to
the restaurant, so you know that the seafood cannot be any fresher. There is a
photo of the cart on the menu page and photos of the tempura shrimp appetizer,
the freshwater shrimp dinner, and the ocean platter that we had. It was all good
fresh seafood in tasty preparations coming in at about $120.
Saturday evening was our anniversary, celebrated at
Mario's Bistro. We
started with flutes of champagne to accompany the lobster tempura on a bed of
wakame seaweed and haricot verts. It was a very pretty dish and the delicate
lobster in a crunchy tempura was a most interesting contrast. Our dinners were
the tuna on a bed of feather-light gnocchi in a light tomato sauce and a filet
mignon topped with camembert on a bed of mashed potatoes flavored with truffle
oil. Martha had the tuna quite rare, such that the inside was still quite red
and cool. Martyne noticed and asked if this was OK. There are several things to
note about this. First, Martha had asked for rare tuna and Mario had, indeed,
prepared rare tuna. Whether one likes rare tuna or not is a matter of taste, but
communication from patron to server to chef is absolutely necessary in order to
get what you want. Martyne allowed that she liked tuna a bit past rare and
wanted to make sure that Martha was perfectly satisfied. That's far better than
the perfunctory, "Everything OK?" flyby that gets demonstrated at some
restaurants. My filet was also done to my complete satisfaction and fabulous,
from the crunchy topping on the camembert on top of an extremely tender filet on
its bed of mashed potatoes. Our 1999 Pommard from Drouhin was not cheap at 58
euros, but it was great, smooth, large, and long-lasting. Again, we finished
with espresso and Armagnac, but this time we included a major portion of gossip
with Didier. The bill was high, but if a reasonable bottle of wine were
substituted and the champagne were dropped, our dinner could easily have cost
about $120 given the 1.25 to 1 rate that they were using.
BARGAINS
Look on the SXM-Restaurants
website for a list of all restaurants that have coupons for some freebie or
discount. There are several coupons there to make your vacation a bit
cheaper.
L'Esperance
Hotel in Philipsburg is bargain at $80 per night for a 1BR suite with a
kitchen. It's not on the water, but they have a pool.
Turquoise
Shell Residence in Simpson Bay is
bargain at $100 per night for a 1BR suite with a kitchen, all taxes and service
included. It's across the street from the water and they have a pool. Make a
reservation and get a $50 coupon to Ama Jewelers and a $25 coupon to Hot
Tomatoes.
The Banana
Cabana, a one bedroom studio on
the lagoon in Cupecoy, is only $695 for the week all taxes and service
included.
California has two apartments for rent that are right on the water in
Grand Case. The one bedroom, sleeps four, is $750 and the two bedroom, sleeps
six, maybe more, is $1100 for the week.
Sandy Molloy at Molloy
Travel says that she has negotiated a great
deal at Alamanda and has can't beat rates at Le Petit, L'Esplanade, Maho. and La
Plantation.