St Maarten/St Martin
13 May 2007 Newsletter

On Monday we went to Bistrot Caraïbes in Grand Case. We parked in the central parking lot a few steps away and as Joseph always reminds us, some restaurants will comp your parking. Bistrot Caraïbes is one of them. This was my last chance for the best smoked salmon on the island and I took it. They smoke it at the restaurant and it is a luscious, buttery slice of salmon with a pronounced smoky flavor. It's topped with the crispest of mild white onions and capers and accompanied by toast points for added crunch. It's great with the crisp Rully, a chardonnay, from the south of Burgundy. We had the 2002 Pommard Premier Cru from Champy, a bit cool to start, but it opened up as it warmed up and was truly wonderful (76€). Martha had a special: veal with a crisped mozzarella topping with a confit of tomatoes, eggplant, and more. I had the lamb chops around a bed of mashed potatoes with semi-oven dried (not to dryness, but a bit sweeter) tomato slices and zucchini.

Tuesday evening we went to Mario's Bistro for our last dinner on the island. Martha started with the carpaccio of portobello mushrooms with black truffle tapenade and St-Marcelin bruschetta, drizzled with Aged Balsamic vinegar and topped with Regiano shavings and I had a special with asparagus, more St-Marcelin, and crisp bacon bits. Both were lovely, with many textures and tastes that complemented one another (about 15€ each). The 2001 Beaune Grèves Premier Cru Vignes de l’Enfant Jésus from Bouchard was spectacular with these dishes (76€) and also with Martha's second ap, a grilled quail salad with fried foie gras ravioli and a tropical fruit chutney in a hoisin vinaigrette, and my main course special, a variation on the pork tenderloin wrapped in smoky bacon with garlic mashed potatoes topped with spinach and the ever-present half head of roasted garlic. It was all good. Combining fruit with a gamey quail is traditional and, of course, at Mario's, it would be tropical fruit, and not just tropical fruit, but a chutney and foie gras improves most anything. I can't decide which variation of the pork tenderloin I prefer. Both plates were so good with the wine that we ran out of wine. Martyne came over and offered a second bottle as our going away present. She mentioned a few and we choose an Auxey-Duresses. She was a bit disappointed in our low rent selection and returned saying that she made a mistake, they were out of the Auxey. She then placed three more suitable wines on the table: 2001 Cote Rotie from Guigal, 2002 Nuits St-Georges from the Domaine des Perdrix, and Drouhin's signature wine, the Beaune Clos des Mouches, also 2002. We have several bottles of Guigal's 1995 Cote Rotie in our cellar and had tasted both of the others at our last meal on the island last season. Last year, we found the Nuits St-Georges to be more powerful and the Beaune to be more graceful. Surely, the Cote Rotie would be even more robust than these. As I used to import Drouhin's wines into the US in the 80's and my stock of 85 Clos des Mouches is long gone, we opted for Drouhin's wine, although there was no wrong answer on this quiz. We tasted it against the last of the 2001 Beaune Grèves and while the older wine having been opened two hours earlier should have been more delicate and graceful, it was not. Fresh from the bottle, Drouhin's wine was lighter, smoother, and more graceful, but with a grace that lasted. Pardon me for going on about wine, we only do this once a season, on our final night. Mario's has one of the finest cellars on the island, drawing extensively on the knowledge (and contacts) of Benjamin at Cave du Marigot. It was a fabulous finale to a great season on the island. It did cost $202 before we were done, but we spent another $300 on cookbooks. Get one here and Mario will autograph it, one for you and a couple more for souvenirs.  

On Wednesday we flew home and during the four hours that we were hanging around Newark, we had a very nice herb roasted half chicken for $19 at Gallagher's Steak House. Martha had a steak salad and the steak required a steak knife, but as we were in the secure gate section, we were only allowed butter knives. We were told that this was a step up from the original insanity: plastic cutlery!

Reader Mary F who stayed at Oyster Pond and at Grand Case Beach Club says "We had great dinners at Tabba Khady and Auberge Gourmande." I'm not surprised.

Dino Jagtiani from Temptation Restaurant and Dare to be Rare, Mario Tardif from Mario's Bistro, and Cecile Briaud-Richard from Chanteclair, having just returned from thrilling diners at Daniel Restaurant in NYC, did a guest spot at La Samanna. About 80 diners showed up to have some fabulous food from three of the islands best chefs and wine from Eric Wente of Wente Family Estates of California.

A few nights ago, we were sitting down to a fine bit of venison loin and a 94 Nuit San George at about 8PM. As we gazed out into the darkening meadow that is our front "yard" nine deer trouped across, no doubt returning from the nearby farmer's fields to our woods for the evening. We thank the farmers for donating their alfalfa and corn to our deer, making them some of the tastiest we have ever had. On the island, we have had venison at Dino Jagtiani's Temptation Restaurant and Gerald Romani's L'Escapade Restaurant.

On Friday we went to Saratoga Springs (home of John Jackson, chef/owner of Saratoga Restaurant in Simpson Bay) and had an amazing lunch at Moe's Southwest Grill. It was a mere $17 with two beers. Basically it was a cafeteria with all varieties of Mexican fast food. It appears to be a chain and if you like Mexican food, check it out. On the island, check out John's neighbor Jimbo's Rock & Blues Cafe for music and Mexican.

Changes: Carter at Turquoise Shell Inn reports that he spoke with Elena at La Guinguette. It appears they are there, just not returning my phone calls or emails. As Carter said, and I said after our meal there earlier this season, they serve pretty good French cuisine and their specials offer the cheapest three course dinner I've ever seen on the island, although the Blue Sapphire Cafe at Sapphire Beach Club and La Petite Auberge des Iles have specials that rival La Guinguette. While we are on the subject, Rock House restaurant in the Princess Casino is now serving a $10 buffet. I haven't seen anything that cheap in at least ten years.

Casablanca at Atlantis Casino seems to have changed its name to Dehlia's. I don't expect the change goes much further, as that is the name of the woman who owns the place. I'd expect the same good Moroccan food at good prices. They did ask me what I thought of the name, given that there is a house of ill repute over near Oyster Pond with the same name. I thought that most of the people who knew about the Oyster Pond establishment would not be their prime clientele, so the chances for confusion were slight.

There was a meeting in Grand Case and there will be some changes concerning the traffic flow. If you skipped the section labeled traffic, go back and read it.

An article in the NY Times entitled Remedies: Dark Chocolate Similar to Blood Pressure Drugs says:

I'm adding chocolate to my list of daily medicines. I intend to combine it with one of my other medicines, red wine. A luscious red zinfandel is a fine accompaniment for dark chocolate. Note that this is dark chocolate only, none of the wimpy and cheap milk chocolate.

Our condo: We came back to the US on 25 April. As usual, our loss is your gain. Our one bedroom condo will be available for rent at $1000 per week until we return in December. Several weeks are already taken by repeat visitors, but for those remaining weeks, I'll take $100 off the rate for newsletter subscribers. That's about $125 per night for a bedroom with views of the lagoon and a kitchen/living room/porch that overlooks the Caribbean out to Saba, Statia, and St Kitts. It's all included, there are no service fees, timeshare taxes, energy surcharges, or anything else that can add 20 to 30% to your bill. You also get coupons from several of our website clients to save you money and get you great service. Go to the website, check the calendar, and send in a reservation. Mention that you are a subscriber to get the unit for $900 per week and I'll get a Don at GCL Car Rental to rent you a Hyundai Getz for only $10 per day.

Wine & Cheese Party: Select Wine Cellar and Champagne Snack Bar are hosting a monthly wine and cheese tastings, usually on Fridays. We attended the first and it was pretty full. We left just before the second and Sylvain said that it was quite successful, with over 50 people in attendance. The next one will be on 1 June with wines from Languedoc Roussillon and cheeses from Roussillon and Pyrenées. Send an email to Sylvain for more details or a reservation (highly recommended as these are very popular).

Ti Bouchon Wine Tasting: Every Tuesday afternoon from 5:30 until 6:30, Ti Bouchon will host a small (ten people maximum) wine tasting on their porch. There is no charge, but if you would like to attend, please visit the website and call or send an reservation request no more than one month in advance. Be sure to mention a date and the number in your party.

Halsey's Friday Sushi: Friday night sushi and happy hour (from 4 till 6 PM) is still happening at Halsey's Restaurant. We had a great time when last we were there.

Bali Bar in Marigot's Marina Royale generally has live music or a DJ starting at 7:30 CST (Caribbean standard time) on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Roy Deep Sea Fishing is looking for two more people at $150 each to fill out a morning half-day charter on 1 June. Send an email if you are interested.

Coupons: Look on the SXM-Info website for a list of all restaurants and others that have coupons for some freebie or discount. There are several coupons there to make your vacation a bit cheaper. The easiest free welcome champagne cocktail from Auberge Gourmande, Montmartre, and Sunset Café is no longer available, but here's a list of what you'll find:

We have a car from Don at GCL Car Rental. They have always been good to us and you can read several testimonials on their site from others. He and Daniel are certainly worth an email when you want reliable, yet inexpensive, transportation. I've never tested them, but they say they will come and pick you up if you think you have over-indulged.

Those who like Club Orient might be interested in Club Fantastico. Check it out. Richard says "At Club Fantastico the Jacuzzi is percolating and the pool is a perfect temperature for skinny dipping late into the evening. The Caribbean Sea is aqua blue and warm as can be. Chef Antonio was here over the holidays and will be back, so stay tuned. Music and fine cuisine will be the norm."

The Mario's Bistro Cookbook is now available. They are shipped via UPS and cost $49 for one, $87 for two, and $123 for three, delivered. Delivery via UPS should take a day or two in the US.

L'Esperance Hotel has great rates and is conveniently located. It's quite handy if you just need a night or two at either end of your vacation because of the wretched flight schedules. They have a lovely pool and offer free wireless internet access.

Sandy Molloy at Molloy Travel offers personalized service to fit your needs and budget.

Regards,
Erich S. Kranz
www.SXM-Info.com
Click here to subscribe or unsubscribe