Thursday evening we ate again at L’Estaminet. We made our reservations for 7, and left the room at 6:15. It took us over an hour to get there, and along the way we encountered a couple of downpours. When we did arrive, the parking lot was almost full, but we were able to get a space. Walking to the restaurant is an adventure after rain…puddles, mud, and cars going by make for dirty feet when you finally arrive. Carole greeted us warmly and we were seated at our usual table. This time I sat facing into the restaurant, where David usually sits, and had a completely different view for the evening. It was fun to watch the goings on in the kitchen and to watch the other diners enjoying their meals. The restaurant was pretty much full the entire time we were there.
To start, we shared the special appetizer of the evening, which was lobster with purple potatoes, crabmeat seasoned with green tea topped with Mascarpone scented with lime leaves, and a tiny salad tossed with strawberry basalmic vinaigrette. Little slices of almond toast were served alongside. Everything was delicious, and Carole selected a wonderful Sancerre to accompany this course.
David chose the turbot special for his main course. It was a nice medallion of turbot, stuffed with a lobster filling. The lobster was not your typical Caribbean lobster, but smaller and much more flavorful. Accompanying this was fresh asparagus cut into thin rounds and topped with a yellow pepper gelee, along with small portions of veggies similar to mine. David had almost finished his meal when I realized I hadn’t tasted it, so I only got a teeny bite, and all the lobster was gone by then. David’s wine was a delicious Chardonnay, not nearly as oaky as California chardonnays..
I chose the duck breast from the menu. This is served with a balsamic and cocoa sauce. The meat was cooked perfectly medium rare (I asked for the rare side of medium rare and got exactly that), and the sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the rich meat. Every now and then I would get a taste of the duck fat used in the preparation, and it was oh so good. Truffled mashed potatoes were served with the duck, and the wonderful assortment of vegetables: Cajun seasoned red cabbage, parsnips with truffle oil, perfectly flavored diced zucchini, and the most flavorful smoked leeks I have ever tasted. Carol shared the secret of the leeks with me, and I can’t wait to make them at home. My wine was a blend of delicious red grapes, which unfortunately I can’t remember to share. Regardless, it was the perfect accompaniment to the meal, as her wine choices always are.
After our meals, we were both too full for dessert, and decided on a couple of decaf espressos, which of course were followed by the delicious tiramisu shot. It’s a layered shot, and I’m pretty sure it’s amaretto, baileys, and cream sprinkled with cocoa.
As we were leaving Carole motioned to us, and led us back to the kitchen, where we were able to personally compliment Chef Ina on her delicious creations. Ina is shy about her accomplishments, and her English is not as good as Carole’s, but I think she could tell from our enthusiasm how much we love her food.
Friday morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the Hideaway with a dear island friend. Their Spanish omelet is delicious; be sure to ask it to be made spicy! After the delicious food and delightful conversation, we headed off to Orient. Since there were five ships in port, we thought Kakao might be too busy and headed for Palm Beach. Just as we passed the main entrance to Orient Village I decided I really wanted to be at Kakao, and we gave it a try. As we arrived, it started to rain, so we sat inside and had a couple of cappuccinos. Soon the sun was out, and we headed off for our walk. We met Sue at Club O, and chatted with her for a while, and then headed back to our chairs. Of course, I had to have my last bloody mary of the trip, and enjoyed talking with GP as he fixed my drink. The weather was iffy all day, but the winds were strong and we enjoyed watching the kit surfers. We went in for lunch at 1, and both decided on the chicken and shrimp curry. It was quite delicious, with a spicy sauce and plenty of rice to absorb the goodness. With this we shared a bottle of Sancerre. Just as we were almost finished eating the skies opened up and it poured. Even though the waiters lowered the screens, the wind blew the rain into the dining areas, and we were soaked! Many folks moved indoors, but I wanted to be outside, so our waiter moved us to a table that was a little more sheltered and we weathered the storm there while we finished our wine. I have never seen such crashing waves on Orient! The winds and rain were just crazy, and it looked like we would be socked in for the rest of the day. But after about an hour the sun came out again, and we headed off for our after-lunch walk. When we got back, our towels were soaked of course, and we decided the best course of action would be to have dessert with GP. A BBC and a rum shot later, we hit the road to go back home. We decided to head back through Philipsburg, and stopped dead about halfway up the hill. However, after about ten minutes of creeping slowly, the traffic started to move, and we found that the construction on Welfare Road had indeed been completed and the detour was gone.
We had planned to go to Karakter for Jazz and Tapas, but since the weather was threatening and it was our last night, we decided to stay home. We stopped at Market Garden and picked up a box of pasta, and I made another of my pasta creations, using up the leftovers in the fridge and freezer. Of course, we also had to finish the two bottles of wine which had been opened earlier, and those chocolate truffles. The rains came down with a vengeance, and the waves crashed on the rocks below us, but we were dry and warm!
Saturday I woke early, with the realization that my sore throat was either a full-blown cold or a sinus infection. Bummer! I enjoyed my coffee on the balcony, and watched the ships, including the Queen Elizabeth, pass by on their way to Great Bay. Then it was time to pack. We left our suitcases in the luggage area at LaVista and headed over to the MaDouDou shack. Again the code didn’t work, but a car came out, so we snuck in the open gate, only to find that she’s closed on Saturday. Then of course, the gate was closed when we tried to leave, and using the code didn’t open it from inside either! Oops! Luckily a car was coming in, and we were able to get out that way. The traffic is absolutely crazy on the island on a Saturday, and I’m guessing rainy Saturdays are worse. It took us nearly two hours to circumnavigate the island. Returning to LaVista, we had lunch at the Hideaway where……., wait for it……….I had a cheeseburger! I don’t eat cheeseburgers, and certainly would never eat such mundane fare on SXM, but for some reason it was what I wanted, and it was delicious!
After that we dropped the phone off at Sharon’s and headed to Alain’s office to drop the car. Myra was on an airport run, and got there a few minutes after we did, checked the car, and we were off to the airport.
We checked in at the US Airways kiosk, which like all island computerized devices, timed out a couple of times during the process, checked our bags and headed upstairs. Even with the computer issues it was still the fastest we have ever checked in here. There was absolutely no line at security, and we were through in record time, leaving us nearly three hours to kill before our flight boarded. We headed to the Souliga Lounge, which we had not used before. It’s a nice enough space, and pretty quiet. For the $20 price of admission, they offer wine, coffee, and soft drinks. Beer and other alcohol are available for a cost. There are hot and cold snacks (wings, quiche, little creampuffs filled with sweet and savory fillings….) They also offer complimentary internet access, but I wasn’t able to get connected at first because the system was overloaded. After a while I did connect, but then lost the signal after about an hour, and was never able to get it back. Still, it’s a quiet place and worth the money if you have a long wait for your flight as we did.
Our flight boarded relatively on time, and the trip to CLT was uneventful. Even though the customs lines there were extremely long, they had six or eight agents working and they got us through quickly. We picked up our luggage but had to haul it up the escalator to re-check it at the ticket counter, since there’s construction underway where they usually check it downstairs. There was a line at the security checkpoint, but even with that, we had time for a stop at the rest rooms on the way to our gate, where our connection was boarding as we walked up. After the short flight to Richmond, we grabbed out bags, and caught the shuttle to the Doubletree where we had left our truck three weeks ago. After a reasonably good nights sleep there, we’re driving home today.
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