TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report 11/12/19-12/6/19, PART THREE

Monday, November 25

Decided to hang around the Toad most of the day. This is such a nice place, being right on the water; all the guests are congenial and friendly.



I attended the Toad’s social hour again and enjoyed the spectacular sunset.



Then a friend and I headed to Le Moulin Fou for dinner. I have always had excellent meals there, and this was no exception. My friend had not been there before so I was worried she might not like it. No worries! We shared their warm goat cheese salad (which also has very tasty blue cheese) and is large enough for an entrée and their highly recommended garlic bread. So good. I had lamb chops which came with an interesting and quite tasty goat cheese dip. We were too full for dessert.



Tuesday, November 26



Anse Marcel was calling again. Jeannie of the grocery-delivery service was going to join me for a quiet beach day, but she woke up to a large delivery. So I vegged on the beach to the sound of the waves until Jeannie joined me for lunch. We had a delightful time over a two-hour lunch. She went back to work, and I went back to the beach.





I needed to find a particular ingredient for the appetizer I am making for the Toad’s Thanksgiving dinner so headed to the Bush Road Carrefour; it was rush hour, and the traffic was painfully slow. I found something that was close enough so intended to head home to clean up before dinner. However, it was Tuesday and happy-hour time so I joined the group I knew would be at The Palms for a drink. Headed home for a much-needed shower and decided to stay in for the evening.

Wednesday, November 27

In the morning, I assembled, and then froze, the appetizer I am contributing to the Toad’s Thanksgiving dinner. After that was accomplished, I spent the afternoon reading and relaxing on my deck overlooking Simpson Bay.



Another “foodporn” gathering. Tonight’s event was at Bistrot Caraibes, and there were approximately 25 of us. There was a bit of a cluster as the hosts hadn’t arrived with the place tags before folks seated themselves, but everything else was great. The place was hoppingly busy, but service still managed to be excellent. I had a starter of lobster bisque and duck breast entrée; unfortunately, my duck was overdone. I should have sent it back but didn’t. My crème brulee was very nice. It was a lovely evening, spending time with island friends and meeting new visitors. I was able to use the gift certificate I won at the benefit at Jimbo’s.









Thursday, November 28

I went to the Yacht Club for breakfast and watched the boats during the bridge opening and then hung around the Toad until Thanksgiving dinner.





Thanksgiving at the Toad. I’d heard about it, I’d read about it, and now I get to experience it. I had assembled my appetizer contribution the day before and put it in the freezer. All I had to do was bake the spinach balls and take them down to the pavilion. For whatever reason, my oven has only one rack so the spinach balls needed to be baked in two shifts. Dinner was at 4 p.m., and I took the balls down around 3:00 p.m. They were the hit of the event and I was awarded the newly coined “Toad Award” for the balls.

There were about 20 people at the dinner: a combination of guests and “friends” of the Toad. The IT vendor and his partner, a sign maker (who also built steps and a railing for one of the lower units) and his friend, others who used to stay at the Toad and now have a place on the island were all there. At one point, innkeeper Debbie, daughter of retired Toad owner Betty, called her Mom on Facetime so Betty could see everyone who was at the dinner. Debbie and her husband provided two turkeys done in the BBQs, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.



Other guests provided numerous sides, and no one went hungry. It was a nice evening of fellowship, but I was definitely the new kid on the block.







Friday, November 29

With only one ship in port, it seemed a good time to venture into Philipsburg. I arrived between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. and got the last available space in the paid parking lot. I dropped my jewelry off at DK Gems for cleaning, then headed to The French Touch on Old Street for breakfast. I chose a goat-cheese quiche with salad; it was long on salad and short on quiche, but good.



Jean Pierre remembered me, and we had a nice chat. I had quite a bit of time to kill before my jewelry would be ready so nurtured a BBC while reading my Kindle. I then headed to Juggie’s Place for some of his famous chocolate rum and bullsh#t and killed a chunk of time there. Finally it was time to head back to pick up my jewelry. I somehow managed to acquire another bauble that Jeff showed me, which is gorgeous. Traffic on the way back to the Toad was ridiculous and it took about an hour. There was another spectacular sunset tonight.



Tonight was a friend’s last night on the island, and she picked L’Auberge Gourmand for dinner. I chose a Caesar salad, which was good except for the soggy tomatoes, and made a bad choice for the entrée. I’ll just leave it at that. The chocolate dessert was very good. Ocean 82 had opened on Wednesday and appeared to have a good crowd.

Amazing sunsets! Sounds like a nice tradition, of Thanksgiving at the Toad. I think something got cut off, when you were talking about the Food Porn event? Perhaps no one told the restaurant you were all together?

You do get around! Glad you enjoyed the Horny Toad meal, your appetizer sounds very good. I have never been lucky enough to be there for any of their special meals. It really is a special place to stay. Not for everybody but those of us that appreciate The Horny Toad understand how special it is.
Thanks for another great installment and pictures.

Beautiful pictures!

Nice report and pictures.

JD - When do they have other special meals?