First a short addendum to Saturday’s report; I don’t know how I forgot this; had David been writing I’m sure it would not have been omitted….While we were at the bar in Pineapple Pete, several very attractive young ladies walked in and edged up to the bar. We moved over to make room for them, and more continued to arrive. Eventually the group grew to at least twenty quite pretty ladies, dressed in fairly provocative dresses and shoes I couldn’t have stood up in forty years ago. It was clearly a party, and we speculated that they might work at the Platinum Room. When we left the mystery was solved: the Bada Bing van was parked outside! Guess where David thinks we need to go next trip!
Sunday being family day on the island, we headed to Kakao on Orient where there are still a lot of people, but we don’t feel out of place and touristy there. Standard walks on the beach, which is pretty crowded with folks having fun; looks like a tournament of some sort is going on in the open area between Kakao and Bikini. Like volleyball with paddles and a smaller ball. There’s also a market going on in the Village, but we didn’t stop to shop. It’s a little breezier today, but nothing like the first week we were here. I had thought about having the lobster salad at Aloha for lunch, but when we walked by there it wasn’t on their menu even though they did show a picture of it. I didn’t see anyone to ask, so we just ate at Kakao, where I had their lobster salad instead. It is excellent: a half lobster, served cold atop a bed of greens with mayonnaise dressing and another sauce which was almost a relish. Quite tasty! David had the cocolet, which was one of the specials on the board. It was a butterflied Cornish hen grilled on a bed of thyme and served with a delicious herb sauce and the typical assortment of accompaniments, French-style: a little scalloped potato, zucchini with a caramelized onion topping, a tiny cooked onion cup filled with tiny diced pickled peppers, a grilled tomato half topped with a garlic herb mixture, and some sautéed red cabbage. I tasted only the chicken, and it was absolutely fabulous. Along with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc it was the quintessential Sunday beach lunch. When I asked about desserts the waiter led me to the dessert cooler to show me the choices, since his English and my French made that easier than trying to describe all the choices. There were many and all looked delicious, but we decided on the tarte tatin, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. After all that food another walk on the beach was a must. For dinner I made a similar pasta to the one I made earlier in the trip, trying to use up groceries now.
Monday morning we decided to have breakfast out, as we are heading to Karakter and they don’t open until 10. We walked down to Bon Appetit, across from the Red Piano. I had the Norwegian Breakfast, which consisted of two piping hot perfectly scrambled eggs, topped with a thin slice of cold smoked salmon. The contrast of the salty cold salmon and the hot buttery eggs was delish! Also included on the plate are fried potatoes, broiled tomatoes, and a toasted and buttered baguette. A very generous and spicy Bloody Mary was the perfect accompaniment to the meal. David had the French toast, which was at least two inches thick, and came with a serving of fruit. His cappuccino looked delicious, with a nice thick layer of foamy milk on top. We were entertained by watching a hummingbird get his breakfast from the little purple flowers growing on the wall of the building. After breakfast we headed over to Karakter for the day. Took a couple of walks on the beach; still no sand at Beachside Villas, and the waves are crashing all along Simpson Bay Beach. Ran into Patty (Sungoddess) and her son Kevin there and had a nice chat after lunch (Patty says all I write about is food, so here I go again!) I was still pretty full from breakfast, so I just had the Tropical Character, which is basically a fruit plate, but beautifully presented in a glass bowl. It was quite refreshing and filling; I actually took some of it back to my chair on the beach as I couldn’t finish it all at the table. David had their quiche of the day (they seem to have a different quiche daily). Today it had chicken and leeks with curry seasoning, and came with a small salad and some poppy seed bread. I tasted the quiche and it was quite good. Weather today was changeable: hot and still one minute, then a nice breeze and cloudy the next, with a couple of spitty rain episodes which didn’t chase anyone off the beach. There seem to be more people on the island each week, so it’s definitely picking up. We decided to go to Grand Case for dinner Monday night, with no real plan on where to dine. The traffic was the worst we’ve seen it going in that direction, but it still only took us a little over thirty minutes to get there. We encountered quite the rain shower on the way, and it was still raining when we parked, which just makes keeping an umbrella in the glove compartment of the car all the more practical. Bistrot Caraibes looked pretty full at 7:15, so we walked on to L’Auberge Gourmande and got a nice table on their porch. Service begins with their homemade biscuit-y rolls, which are always warm and delicious. I had a glass of champagne, and David an apple martini. I tried to order something different, but instead fell back to my old favorite, their whole sea bass. As usual it was delicious, although they have changed the preparation somewhat from years past. This time it was served on an olive and tomato base with the butter sauce on the side. The waiter debones the fish after it’s presented, making it much easier to eat. Of course, the usual French assortment of little garnishes was served alongside: mashed sweet potato, zucchini with caramelized onions, a grilled tomato, broccoli florets with a garlic-chive butter rosette on top, olive mashed potatoes a bundle of haricot verdes tied up with a scallion ribbon, and a hollowed out carrot piece stuffed with a delicious pate. David’s scallops and shrimp were presented in a garlic butter sauce and the accompanying roasted veggies were served in a phyllo basket. Again, I was so enamored with my meal that I forgot to taste his, but he said it was delicious. We each had a glass of Sancerre with our meal, which was the perfect complement. I couldn’t even finish my dinner, so dessert was out of the question, and we ended the meal with a complimentary shot of Ma Doudou. L’Auberge Gourmande has always been one of my favorite Grand Case restaurants, and the food is just as good as it’s always been, however, they’ve “Americanized” their service and we felt rushed and over attended-to. I don’t blame them for this, because in talking with other French waiters on the island, I’ve learned that many Americans don’t understand or appreciate the European approach to a restaurant meal. For them it’s an occasion to be savored and enjoyed with friends and loved ones, not just about scarfing down the food and moving on to the next event. It’s the part of dining here that I enjoy the most, and I hope that this American style of service is not going to become the norm in the French restaurants. On the way home we had our first encounter with the Gendarmes; there was a roadblock set up near the roundabout in Marigot on the waterfront. They shined a flashlight on the license plate, and motioned for us to pull over, asking for license and papers in French, which we didn’t understand. Once they realized we were Americans, they asked in English if the car was ours, I guess because Alain’s rentals have French plates without the “R” designation. They didn’t find what they were looking for on the rental papers right away, but eventually did and everything was fine. They walked all around the car…not sure what they were looking for, asked if we were on holiday, and then waved us on. A little nerve-wracking with the language barrier, but no problem at all. An interesting point: David carries a color copy of his driver’s license here, with the original in our safe in the room, but no questions were asked about that. Frankly I think if the car had had an “R” tag they would have waved us though. As we continued on there was another roadblock just before the roundabout going through town, so no matter which way you went from Grand Case towards the Dutch side, you would have been involved in one or the other of the controls. We’ve seen a fair amount of police and security presence on both sides of the island while we’ve been here, which is just fine with me!
Tuesday morning and it’s cloudy all over. After coffee on the balcony we decide it’s not a beach day, and we’ll take an island tour. We head towards Maho and get caught at the 9:30 bridge opening; a huge sailboat and a mid-sized yacht head into the lagoon, smaller sailboat leaves. We can see 7 Seas docked as we drive by….huge! We had thought we would wander around Maho, but nothing’s open yet, so we drive on. Wave at Elaine as we pass her, while talking to her on the phone…silly but fun. By now it’s raining. We finally find a place to park after driving around in Marigot for a while, and stop in Serifina’s for a pastry and a cappuccino, along with every other person on the island. Wander around the market and find some nice local art, including one of AXARob’s calendar artists…pick up a watercolor for the sunroom at home. We consider going to Lotterie Farm for lunch, but it’s too early and too rainy so we drive on. Eventually we decide to pick up some more old gouda at Grand Marche and just have cheese and fruit at home for lunch. The circuit is complete, and I spend the afternoon on the balcony reading; David is inside watching TV. For dinner we just had leftovers; need to start using things up…sadly.
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