St. Maarten Musings 3
Great Restaurants, Meals and People

St. Maarten is known as the Gourmet Capital of the Caribbean and usually we treat ourselves to some beautiful meals. This trip however we were more subdued, laid back and casual about everything so dining wasn’t on the top of our ‘To Do’ list. We did have some terrific meals however. I don’t carry a purse when visiting St. Maarten so the camera was left at home most nights but I do have some photos to share with you.

Best lunch of our trip – Palm Beach on Orient Bay
We liked this place so much we went back twice. I had their tapas plate of tasty goodies and hubby had a burger. I’ve never seen a burger look so – pretty! It tasted good too. Thanks so much TTOLers for suggesting this place. Love it.

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Other notables: The Tides at Mary’s Boon – fabulous! (more to come in a future post) Karakters (love it so much – who cares how busy it is?), Rosie’s Ribs (mentioned in an earlier post) Sarafinas (finally found it in Marigot – wow! Reminded me of a place in Paris except Sarafina’s had a better view) and Friar’s Bay. We got there late in the day but we ordered a roasted pepper goat cheese salad and it was just out of this world. I am still thinking about their scrumptious vinaigrette. It was sooo good I wish I could have had seconds. How do these little beach restaurants do it – in the middle of nowhere and you get a gourmet salad? Wow…..

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Best dinner of our trip – Le Moulon Fou in Maho
They have expanded their seating area since last year and it’s a good thing because this place rocks. They have an impressive and eclectic menu that features everything from steaks and sushi to pasta. You would be hard pressed not to find something that appeals to you. Inspired by some of the TTOL posts about finding the best French Onion Soup on the island I decided to try theirs and it was very good. Moulon Fou’s offering was loaded with lots of onions, tasty seasonings and the most important thing…Cheese! Lots and lots of cheese baked to a golden brown. I give it a 4 out of 5. Hubby had pasta but I didn’t pay much attention because I was entranced with my sesame encrusted seared tuna served on a bed of ginger infused vegetables. It was OUTSTANDING. Too stuffed for desert, we tried some of their raspberry infused rum and it was a perfect end to a great meal. My mouth is still watering just thinking about it.

Other notables: Pineapple Petes (one of our most favorite places on the island – thank you Pierre Ferland!) Skipjacks (great lobster), Cheri’s in Maho (we love going there the first night of our trip), Jimbo’s (good fajitas but their margaritas were overpriced and not as tasty as Jimbo promised they would be) and Talk of the Town in Grand Case (we love their food and go a couple times a trip).

Disappointments: Satara’s (the serving staff and manager were delightful but our pad thai and coconut fish curry just didn’t taste good – must have been an off night for the kitchen). We also didn't enjoy our visit to Boca Marina. Bill and Elaine stopped here not too long ago and had a good time so I convinced hubby to take me for happy hour. The lady behind the bar was personable and very friendly and we tried so hard to like the place but a couple of things happened. They had nine million flies landing everywhere and the bartender was doing her best but she just couldn’t do anything about it. I’ve never seen so many flies in one place. Hubby decided he didn’t want anything so I asked for a margarita. She did a spectacular job of mixing it (freshly squeezed lime juice and everything) but then she found a fly in it. I opted for a glass of Chardonnay and when I got my bill I found she had charged me 8 dollars. When I pointed it out to her she said that I had gotten my bill at 6:03p.m. so that didn’t count as “Happy Hour”. Really? I drank my wine during happy hour and ordered my bill before 6p.m. After discussing it with the manager they decided that I could have the happy hour price. I’m not cheap and I leave good tips however that experience just didn’t sit well with me.

Wanted to go and didn’t: The Stone, La Samanna, Bamboo Bernie’s, The Yacht Club and every single restaurant in Grand Case. Maybe next year!

Other cool places: We went to Carousel for ice cream and it was fantastic. We watched them make mango ice cream in their spotless kitchen, admired the merry go round, looked at all the pictures and visited with the owner. What a wonderful man.

Dinghy Dock: Another island favorite. Pour Your Own Happy Hour, the boats, the people and the setting sun casting shades of orange and purple make this a ‘must visit' place for us no matter how miles we have to drive!

More Musings to come….

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