Good Morning. Thinking about our annual trip to SXM (Dec 1) and looking for your suggestions/opinions on where to find the best spices and sauces? Also, vanilla. TIA

There are usually vendors at the Marigot market for spices. For sauces, Super U and Carrefour both have many unusual pre-made sauces in bottles, certainly unlike anything in my grocery stores around here. We often just gawk in the grocery store at all the unusual items.

There is an interesting sauce that I found there. I can't remember the name other than "ketsup".
I believe it's like a Catsup, Soy Sauce mixture that was great when grilling meats.
Cheers and good luck with that horrible description!
i

Keep in mind , you can get in trouble bringing in unsealed food stuff with US Customs.

Wendell

Wendell--if we buy sauces like that, we just put it in a checked bag. Usually we don't open it on island, preferring to wait to be 'surprised' when we get home. Although truthfully, I don't think there would be any problem with it regardless. What would be the exact issue? A sauce would not be a fruit or vegetable or meat? Now, as far as spices, I guess the dog might alert on them, and they might think they were drugs?

Guavaberry makes a great lemon pepper seasoning. We buy it all the time in St Maarten.

IF it is a "non sealed" food product you could have problems. Some spices sold a the Marigold market are in bulk, put in a plastic or paper bag. These you could have issues with.

Wendell

OK. I personally haven't bought any spices there for a while, but good to know.

Several times we had brought back spices that had been in small baggies from the Marigot Market---especially "magic spice" with no problem. Then once what we had was confiscated. Since then we haven't attempted to bring anything home.

Remember most of the spices in the outdoor market are imported. Very little grown in SXM.

The best sauces are at the market when the ships are in. Look for the bottles that are hand painted.

The woman comes from Martinique and the sauce is very good. You can get vanilla just about anyplace

For sauces we go to the Marigot market

Near the fish counter - we would buy from Olive and Keven - Olive handpaints the bottles and the sauces are great
On my last bottle know and in withdrawl is closing in

On our last trip - March /April this yr could not find Olive but did find her daughter Sandy who had a booth at the market near the coconut stand which on the roadside [which is across from the art gallery store - also a good stop while in Marigot]

We always take some bubble wrap when we travel so we can wrap bottles for checked luggage take home

Enjoy!

J&B