St Maarten/St Martin
23 April 2005 Newsletter

GROCERIES

Food Fair in Madame Estate on the back side of the Salt Pond in Pburg has closed. This probably is not a matter of great concern to tourists, although it was on the way from the Airport to Orient. Then again, so are Ram's and Grand Marche. Grand Marche is a bit more upscale, Ram's isn't quite as nice, although they have the same owner. Nearby is Cost-U-Less, a warehouse store with a large inventory of a limited selection at pretty good prices. We did get a fabulous Guadeloupe melon at the Cole Bay Ram's and added some Dietz and Watson Virginia baked ham from Food Express in Maho and paired it with a Bregancon Rose from Vinissimo - wonderful.

WINE

On Monday we drove into a tropical rainstorm that featured several inches of water on the streets of Marigot to get to Vinissimo to see Marina. She just received some crisp Muscadet (Chateau La Bidiere "le moulin" 2003) that will be available for about $6 per bottle, some hand harvested old vine Muscadet (Chateau La Bidiere Vendangees a la Main) at a bit under $8 per bottle, and some very good Cotes de Rhone Villages Domaine St Benoit 2000 for about $11 per bottle. Benoit is how one says Benedict in French. Thus, this is a very timely wine. That, however, was not why we braved the raging flood. She had a CD of photos of her dance troupe: the Copacabana Dancers. Go look at the photos and you'll see why I risked my life. The first person who looks over the photos, guesses correctly which is Marina, and goes over to the Vinissimo site to send an email to the shop with the correct answer, gets their choice of a bottle of one of these three wines. Tell us which of the five dancers is Marina, which of the three wines you want, and when you'll be here to pick it up.

RESTAURANTS

On 9 April the euro was at 1.285 and today it is at 1.307. 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 Escapade, Bikini Beach, Restaurant du Soleil, California, Auberge Gourmande, and La Marine. Le France in the Marigot marina, Rainbow Cafe, Balaou, Santal, and Sebastiano were offering the same. 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.

It appears that Tamarind in Pointe Blanche is opening (once again) as low season starts. Good luck. Marlin's Cafe, Senses Garden, and Bombay Brasserie (all in Grand case) haven't been open in several weeks or months.

Dining: On Saturday night we went to La Marine for one last dinner at this lovely spot on the water in Grand Case. Chef Gilles was here about three seasons ago and has now returned to spice up French cuisine with Asian influences. By the time you read this, the restaurant will have closed for the season and Gilles will be heading off to Viet Nam - tax deductible research no doubt. Dominique of Saint Séverin rents the building and his son Camille runs this restaurant. Usually it stays open a bit later in the season, but Camille is heading back to France to be with Melanie for the birth of their first child. Enough chit-chat. The short report: valet parking and 1 to 1 pricing for great food and a sea view. The details: Camille explained the three specials Chicken in dumplings with crunchy veg (carrot strips and rice noodles) in a soy based sauce with cilantro ($9), a lamb loin in a lamb stock with several wafer thin potato slices and three endive leaves topped with sun-dried tomatoes ($19), and a scalllopini of salmon wrapped around tomatoes and shiitakes with a shiitake and smoked salmon risotto in a port wine and truffle sauce with pesto ($19.50). Anybody who claims that all the 1 to 1 restaurants have raised prices should look over these prices again. We ordered the three specials and a bottle of Pommard, which was no longer available, but Camille recommended the 2001 Cote de Nuit at $31. It was quite nice, esp at that price. Gilles creations were exquisite, a medley of flavors and textures on every plate. The lamb was very tender, and as I have reported that Dominique imports duck from the region around his native St Severin, Camille informed me that he also brings in lamb and quail. We finished with coffees and Armagnac from a vineyard belonging to a friend of Dominique. In fact the magnum has Dominique's name on the label. I hate to say it, but it was better than the 92 Laubade that we just bought! I'm sorry you won't be able to sample the fine cuisine, excellent service, and wonderful view.

On Sunday we went to Loterie Farm and visited Julie Purkis at the Hidden Forest Cafe. She used to be the chef at Konga Cafe and did a turn at Port de Plaisance, but she has really come into her own at this place. Loterie Farm originated as a scheme wherein several people bought tickets to a lottery. Enough money was raised to purchase this property in the 1800's and one lucky (?) person got the property. The question mark exists because though this may be the best arable land on the island, that is something like being the world's tallest midget. The property, like many other things on the French side belongs to a branch of the Fleming family. Another branch owns the land between Marigot and the border along the lagoon. BJ Welch, a Californian, had done well on the island in retail prior to Luis. His stores took a hit and his insurance company took a powder. Casting about for something to do, he made an offer to rent this abandoned property and started to put parts of it back together. There are hiking trails through a beautiful rain forest to the top of our highest peak and some Tarzan-type swings, but most tourists come to dine in the open air elevated porch overlooking nothing but forest greenery - and it is still green even after weeks without rain. The entire affair is more utilitarian than chic: galvanized tin roof (known as zincs here) held up by exposed 2 x 8s. The menu is extensive, eclectic, and inexpensive while the wine list is at least long and inexpensive. I find this a most unlikely and happy circumstance in such a remote part of the island. We were joined by Patricia and Timothy Young of L'Esperance Hotel and L'Esperance Car Rental so we could range around the menu without doing serious damage to our waistlines. We had aps of a chicken and parsley soup and a Greek salad. Lunches were a quesadilla, a salade Nicoise featuring fresh tuna, a vegetarian lasagna, and a duck breast and bacon salad. Julie tends toward vegetarian, but will gladly throw a lovely bit of tuna or some tasty and tender duck breast and bacon on some lovely greens. We had Bouchard's house wines: la Vignee red and white, however the white is real Chardonnay from Burgundy and the red is real Pinot Noir, also from Burgundy. The porch filled up with Deepti and family from DK Gems and Mario and family from Mario's Bistro and service slowed a bit, but we were on a lazy lunch date. Four hours later we ambled back to the cars after some good food, good wine, and lovely views across the valley.

On Monday night we had dinner at Auberge Gourmande in Grand Case. As both Alabama and Bistrot Caraïbes were closed (just for Monday - please no emails), Auberge Gourmande was fairly busy. We had reservations so we got our table on the corner of the porch and after the earlier downpour, it was rather pleasant in the cooler night air. We had the 99 Vosne-Romanee Domaine du Chateau de Vosne Romanee from Bouchard, not cheap, but at 1 to 1 it isn't totally extravagant and it was very good. Interesting breads and good butter arrived and we turned our attention to a tuna and sea scallop tartare. It's similar to the one at Montmartre Restaurant, but this is not on a round of bread and not spiced as much. It has grapefruit slices on the side and a light olive oil dressing. Florence said that it was made "a la minuit", essentially as it is ordered. The sea scallops and the tuna are not sliced until the order reaches the kitchen. It takes a bit longer, but it is sushi grade seafood, prepared essentially as sushi is, with different flavorings - hold the wasabi. Our dinners were a pork tenderloin stuffed with mushrooms in a peppercorn sauce - very nice. Martha had the Cajun (blackened) tuna. This time the chef had a bit heavier hand with the spices and it was quite zesty. I'm sure this is the same high quality tuna that went into my ap as it was perfect. If you like blackened fish, ask for this. I admit the Cajun craze peaked in the 80's, but it's still tasty. Coffee and armagnac led to long talks with Florence about the new baby and various other important occurrences.