St Maarten/St Martin
4 November 2007 Newsletter

It appears that Buccaneer Beach Bar is opening up again without Neil, but with the same workers. It is also rumored that L'Alabama Restaurant will not be reopening.

Zuzu and Alain have just returned from a vacation in France and Bali! They have shipped back furniture and decoration from Indonesia. It's scheduled to arrive in October and she'll be selling the furniture at Acropole, her villa above Orient in early November. She also seems quite excited to be able to take vacations as she and Alain are no longer involved in a restaurant on a daily basis. Their son Johann and his SO, Chantal, are running Rancho del Sol. They are still doing 1$ = 1 euro and have a two for 1 happy hour every day from 4 to 6 PM featuring tapas and a spectacular view of Orient. given that the sun dips behind the hills to the west in the late afternoon, this would be a great spot to end the day. Their daughter, Marina, and her SO, Koko, are running Kokomarina down on Orient beach featuring a smaller version of the menu that Zuzu and Alain made famous at California Restaurant, also at 1$ = 1 euro..

We had a kefta tajine based on a recipe in Paula Wolfert's Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, although we substituted some chorizo from the nearby Lewis Waite Farm. Kefta is lamburger made into spiced meatballs, but chorizo is pretty close. For the real thing in an authentic setting, go to Marrakech Restaurant near the stadium in Marigot or, in a sumptious setting, try Dehlia's at Atlantis Casino. This used to be Casablanca, which was also the name of a house of ill-repute near Orient.

On 14 Sep we headed to MA for a wedding the next day, stopping in Williamstown to visit the Williams College Art Museum and see "Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy". We had a nice lunch at Thai Garden. Yes, there is a restaurant of the same name in Sandy Ground on the French side, but they aren't related. Last season we had been closing out long days at Orient with an early dinner at Tai Chi Restaurant - good Thai food and good sushi. Another option is Mai's near the stadium in Marigot.

We went on to in Lenox, MA staying at the Village Inn. Our dinner was at nearby Bistro Zinc. In parts of France, bistros are called zincs because most of them had metal ceilings. We call it a tin roof or ceiling, the French and the people in the Caribbean call it zinc. I can't speak for every roof ever made, but two of the houses on my property, all three garden sheds, the wood shed, the garage, and one of the barns use galvanized steel, ie steel dipped in zinc, so the French are closer to being correct. But how was the dinner? The half dozen aps were in $10 to 15 range, there were a few interesting salads similarly priced, and the eight main courses ranged from $20 to 30. Martha and I split an ap of local mushrooms, quite nice, and she went on to a bit of grouper while I did the bistro thing with steak frites. Neither were breaking new ground and Martha thought that her saffron rice was lacking in saffron, but the fish and steak were good and well-prepared. The frites came with Heinz ketchup. Given a choice, I would take Heinz over any other store-bought ketchup, so much so that I bought the stock several years ago.

On 20 September we went up to Lake George for a spectacular day and dinner at the Sagamore Resort. Lake George isn't as large as Lake Champlain, but that merely brings the opposite shore (and the waves of hills rising in the distance) even closer. As this was the third Thursday of the month, the Sagamore was having a wine tasting dinner, this one featuring Burgundies, with an emphasis on 2005. The menu started with four seafood based aps served with a Bourgogne Blanc 2005 during a reception and moved into the dining room for a Foie Gras Paté paired with a 2005 Chablis. There were three meat courses, a veal roulade, braised short rib, and a tandoori game hen with a 2005 Chambolle-Musigny. The final course was cheese with a 2003 Nuits Saint Georges Premier Cru. The 2005 vintage is supposed to be superb and I have already laid away several cases, but they are not ready for drinking now. This tasting was informative, but close to infanticide. Last season on the island, the 2002 vintage was extremely drinkable, although the 2003 and 2004, which may be replacing it, are supposed to be quite good, with a slight edge to the 2003.

Where can you get a meal like this on the island? When La Samanna is doing a major tasting with guest chefs, I've seen meals this elaborate. On a smaller scale, Select Wine Cellar has done tasting dinners at Halsey's Restaurant and does wine and cheese pairings with Champagne Restaurant every month, usually on the first Friday. As for the various individual parts of the meal, we have always liked the foie gras dishes at Le Cottage Restaurant, Mario's Bistro used to have a braised short rib, but it is not on the current website menu, Dino's Temptation Restaurant hired the chef from Sitar Indian Restaurant and produces a tandoori spiced duck breast, with coconut-chile chutney, candied tamarind sauce, and vegetable biryani. I thought the veal roulade and the tandoori chicken went well with the burgundies, but the braised short rib could have used an even bigger wine.

We spent the next late morning on the terrace at the Sagamore with coffee and moved on to an early lunch looking up and down the lake. You can have a similar experience (hold the mountains) in Grand Case at any place on the water side open for lunch. We like Restaurant du Soleil and nearby Il Nettuno Restaurant - both across the street from the Grand Case Parking, which is free at lunch. A bit further down restaurant row is L'Escapade Restaurant, also lovely inside with great views. For a complete day at the beach with a great lunch away from the crowds, consider Grand Case Beach Club with gated parking, a lovely little beach, Sunset Café for a lunch with fantastic views, and Sebby at the Actitites Desk, featuring great guided snorkel tours of Créole Rock.

We went to JT Baker's in Cambridge, NY in late October. The summer menu is still on the website, but the restaurant was serving fall fare: flat iron steak, pheasant, pork tenderloin, and duck. The flat iron steak was created by researchers at the University of Nebraska and University of Florida as they studied undervalued cuts of beef. It comes from the shoulder and a large bit of connective tissue running through the center of the muscle led people to believe that it was tough. However, by cutting around the muscle a flavorful and tender steak can be produced. Jason Baker used to be a chef on megayachts out of the Virgin Islands, but has moved back closer to home. His restaurant is small, having about 15 well-spaced tables seating about 60 with a tiny bar. His wife Suzanne is the pastry chef and helps out with service. The menu has six to eight aps, six to eight main courses, and six to eight desserts. The wine list has six to eight reds and six to eight whites. I'd say it was like a French Bistro, but the tables are more widely spaced and the menu goes beyond typical bistro food. I did have the flat iron steak and it was definitely not the typical steak frites. Jason's inventiveness rivals Mario at his eponymous Bistro or Dino at Temptation or Dare to be Rare. I don't recall any flat iron steak on the island, but Ti Bouchon has served a hanger steak at times. It's also a relatively unknown cut of beef, mostly because there are only two per animal so they rarely make it past the butcher. It hangs off the diaphragm and is connected to the kidney, not doing a lot of work, keeping it tender, while picking up a hint of kidney for flavor. Martha's pheasant was spectacular. I've never seen one on an island menu. Our tablemates had duck, a staple in island restaurants. We had a great duck offering at Ti Sucrier, Rainbow always had a great West Indian duck and Mario, who worked there in the 90's has had a honey roasted glazed duck on his menu ever since. His cookbook has the recipe, if you can't wait. Mario also makes one of the best pork tenderloins I have ever had. I did remember another one and with the help of Google's search feature on the SXM Info site, I found out that it was at Auberge Gourmande in 2005.

Fleur has said that after taking a break for a year (well deserved, she believes, after 26 seasons), she is re-opening the Rainbow in December for breakfast, brunch, and light lunch, taking the restaurant "back to the beginning" offering a casual atmosphere and affordable prices in her seaside dining room and second floor open terrace in Grand Case. I remember when that when I first saw the place in the early 90's, the side of the building said open for lunch. As a lover of lazy lunches in waterfront bistros, I was thrilled, at least until David told me that they were no longer open for lunch! The side of the building was painted over in the late 90's.

Philippe at Tabba Khaddy explains his reasons for closing his restaurant in his blog, specifically here. It is somewhat for personal reasons and partially because of the euro. While food and oil (which is transformed into electricity) can purchased in dollars, most other costs on the French side cannot. At a 20% premium 1 to 1 pricing can be maintained - for a while - but at 1.4 to 1.5 it becomes impossible. He also found it ironic that Jeff Berger has chosen to mention his restaurant again. According to Philippe, Tabba Khaddy was a recommended restaurant on Jeff's site that "accept[s] no advertising from any St. Maarten / St. Martin restaurants -- never have and never will" until Philippe rejected a proposal for a website from Jeff. It gets worse, but read the second and third entries here.

Don at GCL Car Rental also announces that if you rent a car for a week from him, you'll get free week of chairs at Boo Boo Jam on Orient Beach. 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.

Wine & Cheese Party: Select Wine Cellar and Champagne Snack Bar are hosting a monthly wine and cheese tastings, usually on the first Friday of the month. We attended the first and it was pretty full. 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.

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.

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:

Azure Guest House has essentially finished their rebuilding and has just posted new rates. They are quite attractive for a waterfront location. Given traffic problems, it would be quite nice to be on Simpson Bay Beach and be able to walk to many fine restaurants.

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.