ISLAND NEWS<br><br>Beaches: Cupecoy was in good shape from the 15th to the end of the month. The beach at the end of the Ocean Club parking lot is so big that Lucy Davis is having weddings there again. You can get married on the Dutch side and Lucy takes care of everything. (http://www.SXM-Info.com/SXM-Weddings) Mullet and Simpson (except as noted below) certainly look fine. Orient is still non-existent at Pedro's, thin up through Paradisio, OK to the NW. There is plenty of beach starting at the nude section, but it gets thin again down at Papagayo to the far SE. There is only room for one chair at that end. Elise at Pedro's has moved her chairs to the other side of the parking lot, firmly in the nude section. (http:////www.SXM-Restaurants.com/orient/pedros)<br><br>Simpson Bay Dry Dock: I remember going to the Atrium on a sales tour in Jan of 98 and being told that the dry dock floating just off their beach would be moved very soon. I had pointedly asked the question knowing that it was a major bone of contention in the letters to the editor of the local paper. The big news is that it was just moved to shore recently. Five years counts as very soon here in the islands - or - how can you tell if a timeshare salesman is lying? His lips are moving. In any event, the placing of the dry dock on the shore in Simpson Bay has caused a section of the beach to rapidly erode. Several environmental groups and residents of the area are calling for the dry dock to be removed before further damage is caused to the beach next to the cement plant across the channel from Royal Palm. They claim the rapid erosion has occurred because the dry dock has changed the wave patterns in that area. The waves previously washed up on shore in a semicircular pattern. Now, with the dry dock blocking a section of the beach, more waves are lashing the exposed beach and washing away the sand. You just can't please everybody.<br><br>Weather: For the first several days it has been hot with a bit of humidity, making the beaches a perfect escape. The humidity fills the air and staring into 26 miles of it reveals nothing. Thus even Saba, sticking up almost 3000 feet a mere 26 miles away disappears in the haze. However, on 19 March as the full moon was coming, the wind shifted completely, clearing the air, and slowed. The view of the sunset from Cupecoy on 20 March was spectacular, with a reddish-orange ball setting into the distant haze and casting a long red glow on the very flat sea. By the morning of 21 March, the wind stopped and all four islands were visible from our balcony: Saba, Statia, Kitts and Nevis (almost 90 miles away). <br><br>Tourism: The government just released about 2 million dollars to the tourism board for advertising. That's not much compared to what the larger islands (with many more citizens and tourist facilities) spend. They had seven cruise ships in on one day recently, but the merchants were underwhelmed. I guess when Carnival is advertising $299 seven-day cruises, they don't get big spenders.<br><br>Taxis: The bus that got a ticket for stopping on a busy road was acquitted. He claimed that there were no bus stops on that road. Seems an admission of guilt to me, but the judge took it to mean he should be able to stop anywhere. <br><br>ACTIVITIES<br><br>Snorkeling: We went snorkeling off Cupecoy, just behind Sapphire, now that one can enter the sea from Sapphire or the parking lot just past Ocean Club. There is a section on snorkeling with a fish identification quiz at http://www.SXM-Info.com/SXM-Beaches/snorkel. We also went snorkeling on the reef that runs from Pedro's to the SE. At the far end of the reef, not far from the float, I came across one of the largest schools of fish I have seen on this island, not just one day, but on two consecutive Sundays.<br><br><br>RESTAURANTS<br><br>The Euro started at a 10% premium to the dollar in mid March and is now at a 7% premium. In this trip report, we have made the conversions on French prices to dollars, although the prices really are Euros in the restaurants, and subject to currency fluctuations. Much to my surprise, many restaurants are giving good rates on dollars. Possibly the shock Americans feel at having to pay 20% more than last year has caused the restaurateurs to be more circumspect. The Dutch side officially uses Netherlands Antilles Florin (NAF), but the exchange rate is fixed by the government. Everyone accepts (lusts after is closer) dollars, so don't get NAF and don't take any home as no one else will change them.<br><br>On 13 March we had a light and inexpensive dinner at the new Indonesian restaurant in Simpson Bay (east). It's called Warung Bali and is run by Marcus. There is solid kitchen and a solid bar, but most of the dining is under an awning overlooking the lagoon. Marcus's grandmother (who is Indonesian) is in the kitchen and sends out some good, and authentic, Indonesian food. We had a plate of lumpia (spring rolls) and main courses of a beef in coconut milk and chicken saté (skewers of grilled chicken in a peanut-based sauce) with rice, pickled vegetables, and rice crackers: our own mini-rijstafel. It was all tasty and fairly spicy (by request). Our total bill with four beers came to less than $50.<br><br>On Friday 14 March, we picked up guests at the airport. We waited in Café Juliana as we watched for their flight. (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/simpson/cafejuliana) As the website shows, you can sit in air-conditioned comfort having a cold drink (or a compete meal) while waiting for guests to arrive or waiting for your plane to take off. It's not typical airport food and the only place that we know that has live Maine lobster on a continuous basis.<br><br>After they arrived and got settled in, we went to Saint Séverin in Marigot near Bellevue for a great, inexpensive and filling meal. (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/marigot/stseverin) Fresh seafood has been arriving from France since Thursday so our guests started with moules in a creamy white wine sauce and a crab with mayonnaise, while I had the homemade raviolis stuffed with chicken and diced vegetables in a creamy mushroom sauce. All were good and a great start on the dinners to follow. The guests continued with grilled duck breast and I had the giant assortment of grilled duck served with baked potatoes in a mushroom butter sauce. It is served on a large cutting board and again I forgot the camera. One of the specials based on the fresh seafood was a quite tasty zarzuela, the Spanish version of bouillabaisse, with more rice than liquid. (There is a picture of this dish on the site). Even with two bottles of wine and coffees (plus complimentary armagnacs), the bill was a mere $150. Much of my duck came home for a tasty addition to the next day's lunch.<br><br>On Saturday we went to Belle Epoque in Marina Port La Royale in Marigot (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/marigot/belle_epoque) for dinner. Belle Epoque has been on the corner of the Marina for 13 years and we have been going there for most of those years. It bills itself as a brasserie, which really means brewery, but originally breweries gave away food to entice customers to pay for their brews. The food at Belle Epoque is not quite free, but certainly is inexpensive, hearty, and good. We started with a mixed salad, nems (spring rolls, there is a photo of five of them on the site), and snails in garlic butter. The nems were tasty and the dipping sauce was piquant and who could not like snails in butter with plenty of garlic? We started with a bottle of the wine of the week, Brouilly, one of the grand cru Beaujolais ($20), but felt that the Cotes du Rhone that we had next was better. Dinners were my usual Reine pizza (ham, mushrooms, and tomatoes), a very tasty tartare of beef loaded with scallions, capers, and shallots, a filet of beef special that was great at only $24, and a duo of snapper and shrimp. Again, it's good food, more than ample proportions, and priced well with a view of the marina. We had coffees and water and paid only $156 for four people with food left over for our "chien".<br><br>Afterwards, we walked back to the car and as mentioned in an earlier report, Brasserie de la Gare (Brewery of the Train Station, which of course is not a brewery and the island has no train, but it sounds good) has reopened. Live music was wafting (blasting would be more accurate) out, so we sat as far away as possible and had a Stella Artois on draft for dessert. While we were there Yvan, late of the now-closed Portofino, came over. He and his chef are both working at the new BDLG.<br><br>The island tradition of Sunday lunch at Layla's (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/sandyground/laylas) was continued, but this time we were smart enough to get reservations. We started with ceviche and Muscadet. The ceviche was fresh mahi (dourade in French), cut into chunks, and marinated in citrus juices. The Muscadet was crisp and a perfect accompaniment to the fish. Two lunches were the grilled whole fish version of the mahi, one duck breast, and one salade Landaise. Like a salade Niçoise, the Landaise starts with greens and adds local food to it. The Lande is noted for its duck and in this case smoked duck, confit of duck leg and confit of duck gizzard were added to the usual array of vegetables and hard-boiled egg. Having raced through my very tasty mahi, I did get to sample the salad and it was great: another taste and texture extravaganza. I cannot comment on the grilled duck breast because its owner ate it all before I got a chance, but I guess that tells us something.<br><br>On Monday (17 March) we tootled over to Pburg on Link 1, no longer the newest road on the island as they are paving the road through Dutch Quarter, and got down onto Front Street in no time at all. Only one ship was in so we got a parking spot on the street and walked to The Old Captain (http://www.Philipsburg-Info.com/oldcaptain) for a sushi and Chinese lunch. They are regularly voted the best Chinese restaurant on the island and the sushi is great. Two 10-piece combinations and two Chinese plates with appropriate beers came to a mere $75. We dined in the fresh air on the porch and watched the 12-meter yachts go by. OK, it's not very St Paddy's day and all, but we did go to Betty Vaughan's Paddy's Day corned beef and cabbage bash on her beach at the Horny Toad for dinner. http://www.TheHornyToadGuesthouse.com<br><br>On Wednesday we went out to dinner at Le Cottage, our guest's favorite restaurant on previous visits. Our neighbors tagged along and as a table of six, we got a table inside. There is plenty of A/C, so it's not a hardship, but the view of the street isn't quite as entertaining. The street view is certainly better now that Frenchy Loeb has taken over an abandoned shop across the street and sells her island paintings. You can check it out on line at http://www.frenchy-art.com. We went with three aps for the six of us. Two were specials, fish soup and fresh sardines from France, and lobster raviolis from the menu. The fish soup was authentic with small toasts to spread rouille upon and float into a very tasty broth loaded with fish flavor obtained by boiling down shells and frames (that's what chefs call the leftover from cutting filets from fish). There was also a large bowl of gruyere to sprinkle upon everything. The sardines came with chevre, a most unusual combination that pleased its owner. Our dinners were whole foie gras roasted with white beans flavored with cocoa beans and aromatic vinegar, roasted gulf shrimp on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes with lobster sauce, fresh fish and seafood cassoulet (lobster, shrimp, grouper, and scallops), a filet of mahi-mahi with fresh tomatoes in a pastry crust, and a pintade (guinea fowl). There were no leftovers, in fact, we had an assortment of crème brûlées for dessert (vanilla, coffee, ginger, and rosemary flavors). As an aperitif, Stéphane brought out a Ch. Isenbourg from Alsace, an interesting mixture of the Sylvaner, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris (Tokay) grapes. He gave us a sample of the of the Tokay for a comparison. When the aps arrived, he brought over a 2000 Champy Burgundy (white) and a 1992 Ch La Garde from Bordeaux. The white wine from 92 was no longer very white, but it was very good. He continued with a red Ch La Garde during the main course. After the dessert and a round of coffees the bill came to about $110 per couple. (http://www.RestaurantLeCottage.com)<br><br>The next night we switched entirely and went to Sitar (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/lowlands/sitar) in the Atlantis Casino complex. Sitar has replaced Lal's at the airport as our favorite Indian restaurant. Part of it is mere proximity, but the food at Ricky's Sitar seems just a bit livelier, with more tastes mingling in the sauces. Sitar costs a bit more as it is a real restaurant in a building rather than a charming collection of shacks and covered patios on the lagoon like Lal's. I do miss the Leffe beer that Lal carried. We had two nan (flat breads), chicken 65 (spicy, yogurt marinated chicken), dal (a spicy lentil-based soup), a chick pea dish, a potato and spinach dish, mutton korma, chicken korma (korma is a tomato-based sauce), and another mutton dish with plenty of rice. Several beers were required, especially for those who ordered their meals spicy hot and we paid a mere $113.<br><br>Friday we had dinner at Le Maëva in Grand Case. http://www.GrandCase.com/maeva. There are even more changes to add to the new chairs and tables and pizza oven for takeout: printed menus. The items on the menu are much the same as on the blackboard previously, so it is still good hearty food at very low prices. We split a main course duo of shrimp and calamari in a garlic cream sauce as an appetizer (a special) and loved the tender calamari in a very tasty sauce, so good that every bit of the it was sopped up with bread. We had two entrecotes (ribeye) with two different sauces (mustard and provençal) with loads of frites for only $16. Another dinner of consisted of four more calamari in a provençal sauce and the last was a special: skate wing in lime-butter sauce. The wine list is quite thin, but they are drinkable, if laughably inexpensive: a chardonnay for $13 per bottle and a Bordeaux (La Chapelle) for $16. Add in water and coffee with a mere 2% addition to move from Euros to dollars and we spent only $55 per couple.<br><br>Saturday morning we were at La Belle Epoque drinking Stella Artois on draft at 10 AM, watching Wales lose to Ireland in Rugby. Even without knowing the all rules, it was rather exciting as the score was close going into the final minutes. In fact, Wales drop kicked a field goal to take the lead with about four minutes to go, only to have Ireland do the same with about three minutes to go. There are no downs and essentially no timeouts, so the last three minutes takes three minutes, a major difference from US football or basketball! With no downs, the ball is continuously in play and while scoring is difficult, it is not impossible for either team to score quickly. We then headed out to Kakao at Orient Beach for a lunch of two Salads Nicoise and three pizzas for four people. We over-ordered by one pizza, so this section of this report (being written at 8AM the next morning) is being fuelled by cold pizza with Bohio hot sauce. With water and two Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône, the bill came to about $125. This was the morning that we could see four islands from our balcony in the still and clear air. It was also the morning when Orient Beach was sponsoring a round-the-island sailboard race. It was cancelled for lack of wind and we spent one of the most lovely afternoons of the season on Orient. (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/orient/kakao)<br><br>Monday was another evening at Belle Epoque. Georges wanted a photo of the chocolate soufflé on the website, so we volunteered to order one. We had been over-eating for at least four weeks, so we skipped aps and just had a tuna with an anchovy sauce and the entrecote (ribeye) with mustard sauce. The tuna was great and although ribeye is not the tenderest of cuts, the sauce was good and the carrots were quite tasty. The required dessert was a chocolate cake with a liquid chocolate center surrounded by ice cream and whipped cream. We added two balloons of Armagnac and had a great dinner for less than $80. The menu on the site is beautiful (if I do say so myself, but Georges's friend, Manuel Diego, took many of the food photos). (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/marigot/belle_epoque)<br><br>On Wednesday night we stopped in at Saint Germain in Marina Port La Royale in Marigot (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/marigot/saintgermain) for some of the best moules au vin blanc (mussels in white wine) that we have had on the island. We frequently buy them at US Import/Export, but these mussels were better than we have seen in a while, fresh, clean, plump, and tasty. The dish is simplicity itself, merely steam the mussels in a pot of water, white wine, garlic, and herbs, usually parsley but in this case thyme also. Serve them piping hot with some of the liquid. A spoon was provided for the weight-conscious, but some people use bread to sop up the liquid. The white wine of choice is Muscadet, so we ordered a bottle of that and sautéed scallops for a very tasty meal under $60.<br><br>Friday evening was a spectacular dinner at Sebastiano. It's been a tough year for Christine. Her chef, Sergio, had a heart attack at the beginning of the season. He's OK, especially now that he lost about 40 pounds, but he's not in the kitchen yet. He has trained the staff well and the black raviolis (by virtue of squid ink) wrapped around local lobster and put in a shrimp sauce were divine. Dinners were shrimp with veal scallops on a bed of roasted eggplant in an herbed tomato sauce and the beef tenderloin, wrapped in Parma ham, topped with fois gras and baked mushrooms with a port and marsala wine reduction sauce. We added one of Christine's favorite Valpolicellas and vaporized about $160. However, the pasta is made fresh on premises. There was lobster in it. Shrimp of the size used are not cheap, veal scallops never are, and even eggplant is an expensive vegetable. Someone had to roast them and make a wonderful sauce. The beef dish is even more outrageous. Tenderloin is expensive, but Parma ham and fois gras are even moreso. The mushrooms and the fantastic sauce make the dish sparkle. This is some of the best food on the island in one of the best settings. (http://www.RestaurantSebastiano.com)<br><br>Sunday (30 Mar) we did the usual island thing of a lunch at Orient and a loaf on the beach. We went to Kakao (http://www.SXM-Restaurants.com/orient/kakao) and had the Ch Moutete (a quite nice $21 bottle of rosé) with a salad of smoked duck breast and St Marcellin cheese (Jenkins's claims no finer cheese exists, see the cooking section of http://www.SXM-Info.com/store for his book on cheeses) wrapped in phyllo and crisped in the oven and my usual pizza. There are some new photos on the website including one of the lunch on the table with the beach umbrellas and Orient Bay in the background. Good food, good service, great views. They don't control the weather, but when it is warm, clear, and sunny, this is a great way to ease into the afternoon.<br><br>Dinner was at Temptation behind the Atlantis Casino in the Dutch Lowlands. Dino Jagtiani is the first local who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. A fortune was spent repairing the leaks in the roof before another fortune was spent decorating the interior. It is an amazing space. There are some photos on http://www.NoveauCaribbean.com. We started with the crabcake in a taco shell. The first menu photo shows this as a main course. As an ap, it started as a taco shell attached to the plate with a sour cream sauce. The crabcake rested on a layer of arugula in the taco shell and two sauces were drizzled on the top. The first was a pico de gallo (rooster's comb, it's only a name based on the looks, not an ingredient) made of chopped fresh tomatoes and spices, notably coriander. The second was an avocado-based sauce like guacamole. For dinners we had an extremely tender and tasty grilled duck on a cannellini bean stew with Italian sausage and one of the best pieces of tuna we have had this season. It was in a potato crust on a bruschetta style mixture of cherry tomatoes, arugula, and garlic with sautéed potatoes. All these dishes were enhanced by the 2000 Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Mont Redon. It's a big wine, but even Dino's delicate crab appetizer had more than enough flavor to stand up to the sturdy Rhone. Dino uses the finest ingredients and combines many of them into what he styles Nouveau Caribbean cuisine. Add in the over-the-top interior decoration and good service and the experience is not cheap (our dinner was $155 after we added a tip), but I think that Temptation has joined the top rank of restaurants on the island.<br><br>