Today’s weather was not what we’ve been used to lately. It wasn’t bad just that we had lots of clouds covering the sun on and off all day. And it was fairly windy as well. But never to the point that I’d say it was cold. When the sun was out it was “WOW” hot. Still way better than were most of you are.
Tonight we went to a restaurant none of our group had ever been to before. Five of us snuck off to Marigot to Le Chanteclaire on the marina. We had a table at the water, just thought why would we want to sit inside when one could people watch and be along the water. Your table is right along a four foot wide sidewalk that butts up against the marina. So there is plenty of people watching if you like that sort of thing. If not inside should be your choice. Drinks were fine except the Cosmopolitans, two of the ladies ordered them and did not like them. Appetizers were cesaer salad which was average, two of our group had the roasted prawns entrée split in two as an appetizer. One said it was OK, the other did not like it(more on this later), the “Fresh Goat cheese with multicoloured peppers diced on a tart with eggplants « caviar » way, baby lettuce with Tarragon oil” was Very Good and finally my “Little Cheese Raviolis cooked in a creamy Mushrooms sauce and green vegetables” were the hit of the table. Everyone tasted them and to a person Loved them and a couple said they wished they had ordered them, I thought they were just Perfect. I also loved soaking up the mushroom sauce left with bread and the perfect little herb muffins that came in our bread basket.
Now for the entrees. I ordered the “Roasted Prawns on a risotto Paella way, broth from a fish soup with Saffron flavour and virgin olive oil emulsion”. This gets an absolute thumbs down. In fact not only were the prawns taste off but the risotto was not risotto(at least not the way anyone had ever had it if it were). So I give a BIG THUMBS DOWN for this dish. Another of our group had the “Angus beef fillet mignon topped with a slice of sautéed duck liver » « Rossini »style, « maxim’s » crispy potatoes and baked potatoes with bacon” . She actually shared this with me and I thought the beef was wonderful including the dipping sauce it came with, loved the duck liver and the potatoes. A really good meal. Then there was the, “Lobster  Tail in a crust of Coconut and Caribbean flavours, crispy filo roll of Lobster and Vegetables bisque sauce with Citronnella scents”. Another hit. You get 2 lobster tails with this and I got a taste of one and it was really good with the coconut shaving crust. Now we get to the Veal Chop entrée which Wally asked if he could have the garlic mashed potatoes instead of the vegetables listed and was met with a “sure monsieur” Wally loved everything about this wonderful entrée. And finally there was the “Shredded Duck leg « confit » with mashed potatoes flavoured with Mustard seeds « Parmentier » style, pear cooked in spicy red wine sauce” which was part of the Discovery Menu, a price fixed meal. Which was absolutely loved . She also had prawns which were very different from the other entrée which she also said was great.
And now for the deserts. OH MY GOD! The deserts were beyond imagination. If you like deserts this is without a doubt a don’t miss. Even if you stopped in for a desert with coffee. This is DON”T MISS!! Two of us had the “The Unnammable Chocolate dessert  The unforgettable dessert of Le Chanteclair”. This was possibly one of the BEST desserts I have ever tasted. It’s kind of hard to describe but it’s three flavors melded together. You get four zeppoli type pastry with a hot chocolate syrup in it, on top of a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cookie type basket that sit in an incredible sauce. This description does not do this justice. It was FANTASTIC! Two others had the, “Assortment of “Grand Mother’s” Creams: vanilla Crème Brûlée, Chocolate little pot, Crème Caramel and crispy egg roll of rice pudding” This was “smack your momma good” to say the least. The crème brulee was Superb as was the chocolate part of the desert. The caramel was good and the rice pudding OK, but all in all this was REAL GOOD!
We had ordered a bottle of Sancerre and all 5 of us agreed it was really nice. The atmosphere here is really good, the presentation of the food was great including some really interesting dinnerware in every possible shape. I think we must have had at least 10 different shaped plates and bowls. The staff, and owner were very friendly(for anywhere, let alone the French side) and attentive.
If there was a drawback at all here it was the $1.38 to 1 Euro conversion. Our meal came $115 per person with tip. I give this a resounding 5 of 5 even with the fact that the Prawns did not meet the standards of the rest of our meals.
Two groups of 4 of our large group went to Saratoga last night so I’ll have some more info on that tomorrow. We are also planning to go over to Karacters this morning. Hope you all enjoy!
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