Does anyone know if Rusty Rockets has reopened? Thanks

15 April - 26 April 2024

Another great trip to St. Martin is in the books.
Great weather. Not one rained out day. A few island rains here and there but overall it was fantastic. Island was green and beautiful.

Our Jet Days.

Early morning wake up to catch the Delta Bloody Mary flight out of Jackson on 15th at 6am for flight to Atlanta and then down to SXM. The Delta Lounge in Atlanta is always busy but a great stop between flights as usual. Then just a few steps to the gate for our front of the bus seats for the flight down. Thanks Amex and SkyMiles points! Delta rarely disappoints.

We were worried about arrivals after all the discussions on this thread but it wasn't too bad. We were held getting off the 757 in SXM because of rain, but within 10 minutes we walked to the outdoor covered area and waited for our flights turn to enter customs and immigration. There was a Spirit flight ahead of us when we got to the covered area. I did not see that they let people with carry ons go ahead but they seemed to let locals skip ahead and go to customs. When it was our turn, we went through immigration and on to wait for our baggage. Total time right at 40 minutes from landing to getting to baggage claim. I went ahead and met up with the team from Unity Car rental while my wife and friends waited on luggage. When I got back in less than 30 minutes, my group was outside waiting for me. Almost perfect timing

Flight home was uneventful. Check in was easy. The departure area was awesome and just as quick as leaving many places in the states. AC was working great in the gate area. As soon as they get everything opened up it will be sweet. Right now there aren't enough food and beverage places. Eat before you arrive if possible. You'll be in a line of 50 for airport pizza otherwise.
Arrival was normal in Atlanta. If you go out of the country at all, you should get Global Entry. So quick Had a 3.5 hour layover in Atlanta. The Delta lounge in terminal F has a nice outdoor area with comfy sofas. Its a great place to chill before your flight. American Express also has a new Centurion lounge in Terminal E. Didn't make it through this trip but I'm told it's nice but a little small. Our flight was delayed because of weather for about 45 minutes. That certainly made for a long day. Arrived home at 12:10am.In the domestic air, I love Delta.



Our Sled.

We have used Unity many times when I needed a larger car or van. We got a worn Hyundai Sante Fe that served us fine for the trip. 11 nights with insurance not covered by American Express $973.00. I'm sure there are better deals but I don't want to discover a new guy. I used Michael the 1st time in 2004 and he is in the same place behind the police department. If I needed a small car I would use Leslie at Kenny’s. Just because I would not have to go offsite to get a car and Leslie is always easy to deal with.

Our Pad.

We always stay in Orient Village and last year noticed the renovation of Alamanda resort behind La Favala restaurant in the village. We booked through VRBO a 2 bedroom that was on the 2nd floor. With both bedrooms above with one full bath up and one full bath down stairs with a perfect size kitchen and living area with a balcony that would easily fit 4. Everything was new as expected and smelled fresh. The bedroom roof lines made them a tight fit. If you weren't careful when you raised up you would knock your head. By the end of the trip I felt like the Liberty Bell! We had friends that came in earlier and rented a studio on the ground floor. It was great with plenty of room for two and plenty of ceiling! Total cost $2700 US for the 2 bedroom for 11 nights. Expensive, yes. But all new and a great location.

We had no water issues the whole trip this year. Which has been an issue for our last three trips. Very happy about that.
One night after dinner the four of us sat on the balcony laughing and talking about our day. The time was 9:15. An elderly gentleman across the complex came out and told us to quiet down. We weren't playing Motley Crew Live Carnival Sins tour on the JVC speaker, we weren’t singing “Wagon Wheel '' for the 10th time. Just four 50+ year olds laughing about our day. And some guy acted like we were at the library. NOT COOL DUDE. Anyway we told him to chill and per usual went to bed around 10…..

Our Spots.

Orange Fever. The best days are beach days and other than airport runs and one day of shopping that's what we did. Some like to go to all the beaches, maybe sail around the island or go over to St. Barts and hang out with the 1% folks. I say to each his own. We on the other hand go to Orange Fever and plant or flag. Great service, cheap Presidente beers, and well the pizza is so good. Mimosas, Guavaberry colodas, Orange Fiz, BBC, yummy…
Introduced myself to ttol member Lurker there. Very nice to meet her.
Luke, Geronimo, JC and the guys are great. We’ve been coming here forever and will continue to. Just so damn good. 9.

Bikini Beach. Before dinner drinks are some of the best drinks and well sitting at this bar looking out at Orient Beach is really top shelf. They are usually rolling but they will get to you and after a day or two they remember you. Not the cheapest drink around but I love coming here every afternoon. 9.


Food.

Ah, the food.
No really bad meals, mostly good service. About the same money as a meal at home as long as you are not comparing to a Quiznos.

Lol’s Cynthia's Talk of the Town. Ribs were on point, the lobster was not great, so says Debo. 7.

Good Morning Cafe. Always busy. Always good. Those croissants…. 8.

La Villa, Trigger Fish was a win, steak was good, my rigatoni was salty but I powered through. the raspberry sorbet was fine and the rest of the group had the dessert special that was devine. JC served us as usual. I made reservations using the Open Table app 3 weeks prior and the place was packed. Glad I made reservations. Bonus that it was Carnival night. Great evening overall. A solid 8, would have given it a 9 if not for the salt block in my pasta.

Le Piment. Wine, Pizzas and salads. Hard to go wrong with that. Service was great. They were very busy and if it takes a little longer, just order another bottle of Chateau Du Pont. Problem solved! Easy 8 here…

Yacht Club. Great breakfast spot if you are on the Dutch side. Great service, great prices. Solid food. Nothing fancy, just whats needed. So good we went twice. A real 9. More about its bloody mary to follow…

Dinghy Dock.Stopped in for drinks and some nachos to hold us over on the way back from Pburg. Power was out so no nachos till power came back on. No problem. Great cold beer selection, service was fine, the nachos were good. Nothing great but solved the problem. The roaches crawling around in the bathroom. Yuck but what do you do. Your at a old bar, on a dock, in the Caribbean. I see a roach every now and again at my bar here so…. Cold beer get high marks, nachos were fine, price was good, roaches looking at you while you take a leak, dings your score. 6.

Peter McCool Irish Pub. An Irish pub on a beach in St. Martin. But of course! Great beer selection. They had Carlsberg on tap. That helps your score in my book.Service was weak. Didn't do food. Might get a little buggy at dusk. The no see ums might take a bite out of you. 6.

Driftwood. Got there early on the way to take friends to the airport and then we were going home. Maybe we were there TOO early. 11am? They could have cared less that we wanted a beer. The beer was cold though and that view. 2 trips and the 2nd trip was told they weren't serving yet. 4.

Ocean 82. Location, Location, Location. Want to splurge? Need to impress? Get out of the dog house? Here you go. Make sure to time your reservation with a sunset. I made reservations online the day before and was surprised to get the time I wanted. The wine list is bad [censored]. The food was really good. Service was great. But again my pasta had as much salt as a pretzel at the airport. Everyone else's food and desserts were great. Hell I ate all of mine anyway. 8 all the way. Less salt would have been a 9.

Yellow Sub. Lots of discussion on here about the service. Its always been hit or miss. Sat at the bar and ordered their charcuterie board. It was good and so was service. But only time we ventured there. 7.

SAO. This place was BUSY. Had to sit inside. We were under a fan so it was pleasant enough but could be way too hot inside if not under the fan or a more humid night. Just had some sushi and a bottle of Chateau Tour Du St. Georges. Service was great and so was the food. Just sit outside. 8.

La Favala. You go to see Fwed the bartender. Because you should. My fish tacos were great. Debo’’s lobster bisque was nasty, she said. But Fwed is working the bar and that's what up. 7.

Sunset Beach Bar. I so don’t want to like this place but after Driftwood we ended up here on our last day. Sat at the bar had cold Presidents, Guavaberry colodas and nachos. Bar service was great, table service seemed weak by observation. Is it touristy? Is it expensive? You bet. But it worked. At the bar anyway. Oh look that plane is about to hit that van…. 7.

La Trattoria. No, they didnt add a salt lick to my pasta. Service was great. Food was great, we ate there twice and they had that raspberry sorbet and you know I like that. Good wine list as well. Deb and I agreed on the best dinner both times. 9.

Extracurricular Activities.

DK Gems. One of the many things TTOL has taught me is to spend my money with Deepti at DK. She will make you believe it's just monopoly money…

Juggie’s Whether you stay 30 minutes or 3 hours, sitting with the Philosopher King and having something cold to drink should be a must. Buy some of his spices as well. I am so very thankful to have gotten to visit with him again. So special.

One Love, One Life, One Island This little business that used to be in a closet in Orient now has a big new store and cafe a couple blocks from their old location.

Perch. Went down and had drinks with friends. Place was packed with people living their best life. While its not easy to talk to a neked man about property taxes, 401k or steel belted radials, its easier with a cold Presidente and well you get used to it…
Service was great. Very nice ladies at the bar.
Sad note, the afternoon we were there someone passed away on the beach. Several people attempted CPR but to no avail.
When I die, it wouldn’t hurt me if I had a heart attack butt [censored] neked right there. Well as long as my momma is already gone. She wouldn't understand running around neked… lol

Bloody Mary Hunt

Orange Fever I mean you are there, no matter what its at least a 7.

Yacht Club If you want it spicy, they do spicy really well. 8.

La Playa It was warm under their tarp the morning we went, but that fella running that bar does a really good one. Best of Show. 8.

Wai Great location. Not too strong, not too spicy. Just about right. Plus its less than a 100 yards from our front door. Best Overall. 8

Bikini Beach I am told its the best but the long haired french bartender wasn't there when we went by 3 or 4 times. I hear he is a wizard at them. n/a


Another great trip. Thanks again to this forum. Its always been a big help when we are getting ready for our next trip to SXM.

Anyone have recent experience or news about AA to EIS from Miami?

I am considering it for our Feb 25 trip. Memory tells me this route was having issues.

It is currently docked in Simpson Bay Lagoon. Great view of it from Skipjacks. Now if I can only figure out how to get on board.

Another fun afternoon at Rendez Vous' Jazz Brunch. Bobby Jagger was our lunch guest and he got up and sang a couple of songs which is always a treat. And it was great seeing wendyk again. A nice way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. And I included one sunset pic from the day before. It was nice to finally see the sun.

Hey y'all, it's been a long time. Posting this because I just ran across some sad news related to the island.

Bernie Poticha who owned and ran Bertines Restaurant and 5 bedroom inn up on the top of the hill overlooking Grand Case with his wife Christine, died last December in Madison, VA, Bernie died peacefully at home with Christine at his bedside. After leaving the island Bernie and Christine owned and operated Bertines North in Madison County VA for many years. One of our most memorable island experiences is all about fellow Chicagoans and St. Martin restauranteurs, Bernie and Christine Poticha.

We dined at Bertines twice in the years just before the Poticha's left the island. It was one of our favorite dining spots. Our first time we were the only customers in the place, where Bernie did the cooking and Christine operated and served in the open air dining room, with that great view of Grand Case. I remember I had Bernie's wonderful "Steak On A Hot Rock", and Rosemary, the Creole Shrimp. We struck up a friendly conversation that night, and toward the end of dinner we mentioned to Christine that we were from metro Chicago. We were unaware that seven or eight years before, Bernie and Christine had moved to the island from Chicago. Bernie came out of the kitchen and joined us after dinner and the four of us spent several hours chatting over a couple of glasses of wine. We got the sense that as their kids were growing up, they would probably be heading back to the States, mostly due to educational concerns for the kids...and they ended up relocating to Madison County Virginia in 1992. The most wonderful part of the discussion was Bernie's story of how they became restauranteurs and innkeepers on St. Martin.

Back around 1981/82 Bernie and Christine were vacationing on the island and had dinner one night at the location that was to become Bertines. Bernie said they were the only diners that evening and the owner at the time (I cannot recall the name) ended up sitting down with them for an after dinner drink. During the conversation, the owner mentioned that he wanted to retire and he was going to be looking for a buyer for the restaurant and inn at some point in the near future. Bernie told us that he was so taken with the place, it's location, the view, everything about it, that at one point he just blurted out, "This place is just great, when you decide you want to sell, here's my number, call me!" What Bernie apparently didn't understand was that Island business was often done by oral contract. And that when he made that comment, the owner interpreted it as a deal. A little less than a year later, the Poticha's phone rang and the owner let Bernie know that it was time for them to come back down to the island to close the deal. Bernie said, that when he got off the phone, he and Christine just looked at each other and said, "What the hell!!! Why not???" And that is how the little restaurant and inn up on top of the hill overlooking Grand Case became Bertines.

We only met them twice, but Bernie and Christine Poticha were two of the most remarkable, wonderful, unforgettable people that Rosemary and I have ever met. We cried when we learned he was gone.

Yes we went back AGAIN! Great time and always. You can read about it here. Enjoy!!

https://susannj.com/2024/05/05/a-little-bit-of-everything-key-west-4-13-24-4-20-24

Last night, Great place and atmosphere had 6 ppl for dinner bill prob about $400 paid cash accidentally dropped some change on the floor and didn't realize it and waitress actually came back and said we were short 15 cents, 20%tip was included, tacky

Being a drummer for 60 years , wife and I miss all of the oldies music that used to be at a lot of clubs around st Maarten.
Really nothing like that anymore. Maybe just getting old but miss Bob Craig and a lot of the other bands that use to play at the clubs.
Oh well I guess that is just a thing of the past..
Seems everything now is just reggae music 🥱

Are there any roadside eateries on the Dutch side where you can get food to go? After a long day at the beach or a snorkeling cruise these were always a good option.
Thanks, Mike. Wheels up Monday morning!!