St Maarten/St Martin 14 July 2013 Newsletter Other newsletters Contests | Restaurants | Bargains and Happenings ISLAND NEWS

SXM-Beaches: We got an email from Elisa at The ORIGINAL Bikini Beach Restaurant. She reports that they still in operation and awaiting the anullment of the authorization for the business now run next door as another Bikini Beach. The ORIGINAL is on the left as you look out to the beach. The Bikini Beach on the right is the imposter. Elisa is having a live concert Sunday 21 July with Orange Grove (right) to celebrate our 21st anniversary at Bikini. Good band, good place to be that evening, starts at 7PM.

Beach reading: Black Irish by Stephan Talty - (Kindle $13 or $18 for the hardcover version) - This is the first thriller from the author of Empire of Blue Water. A brilliant homicide detective returns home, where she confronts a city's dark demons and her own past while pursuing a brutal serial killer on a vengeful rampage. Absalom "Abbie" Kearney grew up an outsider in her own hometown. Even being the adopted daughter of a revered cop couldn't keep Abbie's troubled past from making her a misfit in the working-class Irish American enclave of South Buffalo. And now, despite a Harvard degree and a police detective's badge, she still struggles to earn the respect and trust of those she's sworn to protect. But all that may change, once the killing starts. When Jimmy Ryan's mangled corpse is found in a local church basement, this sadistic sacrilege sends a bone-deep chill through the winter-whipped city. It also seems to send a message, one that Abbie believes only the fiercely secretive citizens of the neighborhood known as "the County" understand. But in a town ruled by an old-world code of silence and secrecy, her search for answers is stonewalled at every turn, even by fellow cops. Only when Abbie finds a lead at the Gaelic Club, where war stories, gossip, and confidences flow as freely as the drink, do tongues begin to wag with desperate warnings and dire threats. And when the killer's mysterious calling card appears on her own doorstep, the hunt takes a shocking twist into her own family's past.

As the grisly murders and grim revelations multiply, Abbie wages a chilling battle of wits with a maniac who sees into her soul, and she swears to expose the County's hidden history one bloody body at a time. With Black Irish, Stephen Talty stakes a place beside Jo Nesbø, John Sandford, and Tana French on the cutting edge of psychological crime thrillers.

Obviously, I did not write that. It's over-excited ad copy, but the book (at least the audio version) is quite interesting especially if you want a glimpse into the workings of a hollowed out city. In 1900 Buffalo had more millionaires per capita than any city in America. It was the home of the Larkin Soap Building, an early Frank Lloyd Wright building featuring steel frame construction. When I grew up 20 miles south of Buffalo, it was still a vibrant city with a half million people. My father ran the South Buffalo Railway. I worked there during the summer after my junior and senior years of high school. When I graduated with a master's and bachelor's degree five years later, he advised me to seek employment elsewhere. In 1977 Bethlehem Steel Corporation (the owner of South Buffalo Railway) started closing their steel plant in Lackawanna, as did Republic Steel. The ripple effect cut the population in half.

Sapphire Beach Club: We are in the US at this time. Our condo is available until our return in early January. The rate ranges from $700 to $1000 per week over the low season. You'll get a 10% discount from Unity Car Rental, one of the longest running and most trusted agencies on the island, and many more coupons as well, including the use of our 2013 SXM Privilege Card that gets you discounts on many restaurants. Check the calendar on our website for available dates. A recent visitor said, "Erich, We had a wonderful time at your condo for the third year in a row. We appreciated the coupons. Hope to be able to do it again next year." On the right is just another shot from our balcony showing a hazy Saba with a a couple sailboats gliding by.

For those of you who wish to sell or rent their week or unit, we have opened up the Sapphire Beach Club website for that purpose. We charge $25 per year. If you wish to rent or sell your unit, send us some text (and $25 to esk@sxm-info.com via Paypal). If you wish to rent or buy a unit without high middleman fees, check out the website. At present, there are several sales and/or rentals available directly from owners. Given a 25 to 35% standard rental commission, there should be some bargains in eliminating the middleman and dealing direct.

SXM-Activities: Captain Neil leads the Lagoon Pub Crawl aboard Celine. This spring he regaled me with stories about Celine II, a bigger, better, and faster catamaran that he and a partner were refurbishing. It's still being refurbished. Look for it in December. Furniture Shopping: We noticed that Plantation in the Orange Grove Shopping Center had closed as had a couple other places that we visited when shopping for furniture. We were especially saddened by the demise of Plantation as our teak dining table and chairs (right) were purchased there. I did some internet searching and found Arthur Lauer. They have fine teak furniture, including chairs, outdoor lounge chairs, benches, and umbrellas. The tables page has a 60" round teak table that closely resembles ours at a reasonable price. Moreover, they offer free shiping to the contiguous 48 states. That would include Florida. Miami is the home of 4 Star's shipping facilities. If you can deliver something there, they will ship it to the island at a reasonable price.

Groceries: On the left is a shot of our dining room table here in NY with a pile of chanterelles. We had the rainiest June in weather history and have the chanterelles (and boletes and oyster mushrooms) to prove it. We have been collecting so many mushrooms that even mushroom omelets for breakfast, bacon and venison burgers (ground bacon ends from our hogs mixed with ground venison) with mushrooms for lunch, and dinners with mushroom gravy isn't enough. We have been half-cooking the mushrooms in lots of butter with some shallots and freezing them in bags for later use. On the island Simply seems to have the best bulk selection of interesting mushrooms. The prices are generally better than those that Grand Marché charges for their tiny little packages. Traffic: The French side has closed the Rue de Hollande and rerouted traffic into the center of town. This will add some time (and excitement) for those coming from Simpson Bay to Marigot or Grand Case. Reports say that it is quicker to use the roundabout at the airport to head back west to Mullet and through the lowlands to reach the western end of Marigot.

Head north out of the cemetary roundabout and follow the seashore route through Marigot to Gallis Bay. It's quicker than fighting through the bridges and Simpson Bay traffic only to reach the backup creeping backwards from the closed road in Marigot through Bellvue to the border!

Alcohol: For Burgundy, we have been drinking the 2005 vintage from our cellar, but I am missing the 2009 vintage that is currently available at many places including Select Wine Cellar on the island. I generally like wines with age, but the 2009 seems better. Both 2005 and 2009 were rated at 8 out of 10 by Berry Bros & Rudd.. However, 2010 got a 9 and the 2010s are available at many places. 2011 dropped back to 8 and 2012 harvest (currently unrated) was problematic. The time to buy Burgundies may be now, stocking up on the 2010 vintage.I did bring eight bottles of wine back from SXM this spring, including Chantal Lescure's Vosne-Romanee. That's more than the duty-free limit, so you have to declare it and pay duty, but I have been waived through 90% of the time. Sign up for Lot18 and you'll get some interesting offers. Not exactly French Burgundy, but they currently are offering a half case of California Pinot for $100. Special for Bastille Day, they are offering some great deals. Check them out.

	Nature: On the right is a lion fish, an invasive species in the Caribbean. If you see one, let the local authorities know as they will try get rid of it. It is poisonous and will eventually dominate the reef if left unchecked. The venom of the lion fish, delivered via an array of up to 18 needle-like dorsal fins, is purely defensive. It relies on camouflage and lightning-fast reflexes to capture prey, mainly fish and shrimp. A sting from a lion fish is extremely painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties, but is rarely fatal. Photo from Leland Harms. Our office is well over 100% solar-powered and our hosting company servers are about 130% wind-powered.
Small Island story: Some homes being constructed by the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) reached their highest point recently, initiating the rafter-wetting ceremony. The SMHDF sent an email to various public officials requesting their presence. When Maurice Lake, the Minister for Public Housing, replied that he would not attend, the ceremony was canceled. Neither the media nor the Prime Minister's representatives were informed of the cancellation. The resulting story was the lead on the Daily Herald's website and probably didn't make any friends in the government.

Winners of the contest that ended today:
Caribbean View Condo - half price summer rental (May-October) - Donna Turnbaugh
Lagoon Pub Crawl - two for one ticket - Robert Ross
Skipjack's - $50 off a dinner for two - Robert Ross
Marci's Mega Gym - Two for One week with a shake - no entries
Random Wind - $40 gift certificate - Nancy Nowakowski
SXM-Privilege Discount Card - One free monthly card - Randy Jenkins
Select Wine Cellar - Wine tasting and a bottle of wine - Randy Jenkins
Piazza Pascal - $50 off dinner for two - Robert Ross
Escargot Restaurant - $50 off a dinner for two - Donna Turnbaugh
Pizza Galley - $25 off on a dinner for two - Yvonne Robert

Current Contest: now to 13 October 2013

Caribbean View Condo - half price summer rental (May-October)
Lagoon Pub Crawl - two for one ticket
Skipjack's - $50 off a dinner for two
Marci's Mega Gym - Two for One week with a shake
Random Wind - $40 gift certificate
SXM-Privilege Discount Card - One free monthly card
Select Wine Cellar - Wine tasting and a bottle of wine
Piazza Pascal - $50 off dinner for two
Escargot Restaurant - $50 off a dinner for two
Pizza Galley - $25 off on a dinner for two

Read our rules, visit the websites of these sponsors, find their contest codes, and enter them on our entry form.

One of the rules is that you should enter each contest only once. You can enter five of the drawings on one entry. Thus, you could win a rather nice vacation at a considerable savings by combining accommodations with dinners and activities. I really check and while DiscoGolfGoddess entered 11 times, instead of increasing her chance of winning eleven-fold, she decreased it to zero as I deleted all of them. She did account for about half of the entries that were discarded.

Here's some comments from a past winner:

Future Contests:
13 October to 15 December 2013
same cast of characters as current contest

L'Oizeau Rare Restaurant In the week before we left the island we have to get Princess Lilly inspected by a vet. We always go to the Belgian vets up in Concordia. Afterwards, we like to celebrate at Oizeau Rare (exterior view below left). Actually, we'll take almost any reason to have a lunch at Oizeau Rare. The food is good, the prices are reasonable, and there are owners and family in the kitchen and dining room. The cool breeze from the harbor (assisted by overhead fans) usually makes it a pleasant place for people watching in the heart of Marigot. Lilly (below center) seems to like the greenery (below right) that fills two sides of the open-air dining room. We started with a bottle of Badoit red extra-fizzy water and the 2009 Beaumes de Venise at 26€ from Jaboulet (as always). It's a Rhone, but a bit better than the average Cotes du Rhone and a good year. We then wrap and nice meal around this flavorful wine. In this case Martha had a croustillante de crabe, a very tasty crab in an asian-inspired sauce with arugula and pickled onions. I went with the burger formidable, an eight ounce Angus burger with lettuce, tomato and onion accompanied by some of the best hand cut French fries on the island.

Les Toqués Wendy K writes: Earlier in the 2012/2013 season, we were worried that the chef at Les Toqués, was splitting with his partner, and would be leaving the restaurant. The deal did not go through, and we are very happy that he is still at the stove. He grew up and trained in Lyon, France, and the menu reflects the cuisine of the breadbasket of France. There is a pizza menu (served during lunch and dinner), a lunch menu, a dinner menu, and a special menu which changes weekly. Today's special menu particularly catered to our tastes, and we will likely go later this week to try something different. Tony chose his usual Boeuf Bourguignone with "legumes" - an assortment of fresh, sautéed vegetables, served in a large bowl (below left, 14€). I had the lapin sauce moutarde (rabbit with a mustard cream sauce and lardons) with frites, because I LOVE frites. (below center, 15€). We drank a bottle of flat water and a bottle of the house Bordeaux (right, 19€). The total bill was 51€ for a very relaxing and enjoyable lunch. The restaurant is on the road along the water heading into Marigot, essentially across form the market. There's a bit of a view (below right), but the main attraction is good food at good prices.

We processed 73 chickens since the last newsletter, selling 55 of them, but we kept the livers, gizzards, and hearts from almost all of them. One of our first meals was a chicken liver salad (left) reminiscent of the one on the menu at L'Auberge Gourmande in Grand Case. The photo on their menu page is flambéed with Cognac and served with s some puff pastry in a creamy shallot sauce on a bed of mixed greens. We have been getting whey from a nearby goat farm for our pigs. If the whey is particularly fresh, Martha uses it to make mozzarella. On the right is mozzarella gnocchi with a tomato sauce and some pork sausage from a previous year's pig. On the island, one of the best uses of gnocchi in a tangy tomato sauce is under Mario's fabulous grilled tuna with bleu cheese.