We just got back from a week in St. Martin and it was incredible! Our bags are still packed, but I wanted to share our vacation with you while it is still fresh in my mind. Besides, who am I kidding? Our bags will remain packed for weeks. I’ve got many priorities and an orderly household has never been one of them.
Anyway, the island was small, but beautiful and the people were all super-nice. We stayed at the Radisson on the French side of the island and I highly recommend it. Until this trip, I thought I was a beach person. The swimming pool at the Radisson converted me and I’m now willing to add hanging out by the pool and drinking fruit punch to my list of fav activities. Don’t get me wrong, their beach is great, but the pool is outstanding–huge and gorgeous. I think pool time was Kevin’s favorite part of the trip.
My favorite part was the food. No surprise there. For our first night, we wanted to be romantic and French so we went to the local supermarket and picked up a baguette and camembert cheese which we ate on the patio outside our room. This simple meal became my go-to snack throughout the trip. The funny thing is that the night we went to the supermarket it was packed with local people. Unusually packed. They were hanging out in the aisles, socializing, jamming up the frozen food section with their carts, forming long lines at the check out. We were taken aback by how popular food shopping seemed to be here until we found out the next day that we had unwittingly gone to the grand opening of the market. It took 2 years to build and was the biggest one on the French side. People have been eagerly anticipating its opening and concidentally, we showed up on its first night along with the rest of the French side residents. 
When I wasn’t consuming cheese, I ate a lot of bbq. A LOT. The first was from a little mobile bbq joint located by the side of the road traveling north from Philipsburg to Orient Bay. Somewhere around the turnoff to Orleans. (Sorry, I’m not great at directions or geography). Their bbq chicken was sweet and tangy. We also enjoyed their rice and beans and bbq ribs. I asked them the name of their place and they said it was called “Country Crossings Under the Trees.” This photo is not of the joint, or the food, but I just wanted to share how incredibly vibrantly blue the ocean is near here.
The second (and third, and fourth) bbq was from the lolos in Grand Case. We ate at Skys the Limit and Talk of the Town. You can’t go wrong with either one. For less than $25, Kevin and I both got full meals and drinks. This is great because we blew the rest of our budget on Spiga and Mario’s Bistro (more on that below).
I preferred the spaghetti and ribs at Skys the Limit. I don’t know how they made it, but it was the best spaghetti I’ve ever had. Perhaps it was due to their very light saucing. Kevin loved their garlic shrimp so much we had to come back and get it again the next day. Not only that, but after he finished eating, we begged the waitress for more of the sauce to mop up with our johnnycakes.
Talk of the Town had fried plantains which I love. Skys lists them on their menu, but didn’t have any available on the 2 days I visited there. Also, the rice and beans at Talk is really flavorful. Definitely the best we had on the island. This lolo also makes a sweet homemade fruit punch that I could drink all day.
In complete contrast from the lolos is Mario’s Bistro, located in Sandy Ground, just past Marigot. All of the research I did ahead of time raved about this place so I added it to our list. The location is beautiful, right on a well-lit lagoon with jumping tarpon. In addition to a caesar salad, Kevin and I shared a tasty seafood trio for our apps. Then, he got the sea bass and I had a roasted duck. Dessert was the best part of the meal. I had a molten chocolate cake and Kevin enjoyed profiteroles. The food was excellent, the service was okay, but the entire experience was not worth the $200 price tag. By the end of the trip, I learned the hard way about the Dollar to Euro conversion.
Here is what Kevin and I look like when we get dressed for a nice island dinner. You can’t see the best part — I’m wearing flip flops! I just love going to super-nice places and still getting to wear flip flops. We have no photos of the white-linen restaurants (more on that in the lessons learned section).
Spiga was our favorite restaurant on the island. Kevin is a big fan of caesar salad so while he started with that, I had an incredibly delicious beef carpaccio two ways: goat cheese and asparagus/truffle oil and parmigiano. We also tried the lobster ravoli which was so good that we asked for more bread so we could use it to eat up every last bit of sauce. I would have literally licked the plate clean, but Kevin dissuaded me. All of their pasta is made fresh and for our main course we split pappardelle with three different sauces. I finished my meal with a perfectly rich chocolate cake with banana ice cream and Kevin had tiramisu that was light and sweet. For the money, I’d rather have eaten three times at Spiga than once there and once at Mario’s. 
Overall, it was a relaxing and rewarding experience. The island has brilliant vistas tucked away into the nooks and crannies of the coastline. If you go, rent a jeep and really explore the place. Visit the lolos for lunch and Spiga for dinner. Sit on the beach at night and star gaze. Check out the local wildlife. We went to a butterfly farm and there is something magical about vibrant blue butterflies doing fly-bys around your head. Once I get settled in and finally unpacked, I’ll share a few recipes with you. I’ve got one for Red Snapper from Bruno, the chef at the Radisson and another one for Johnnycakes from a woman named Marlene who works at the airport (I told you the people there were friendly . . .).
Lessons learned:
-I am a fair, freckled person. When, when, WHEN will I learn that I sunburn easily?
-Ask the restaurants if their menus are in Dollars or Euros. Sadly for the dollar, it makes a big difference. Some places will give you a 1 for 1 deal which is great for anyone with dollars.
-Taste the guavaberry rum before your last day. You’ll want more of it throughout your trip.
-What is the protocol on taking photos of food at really, really nice restaurants? I couldn’t turn off my flash on the little instamatic digital camera I use when traveling and I didn’t want to interrupt the other diners. In both cases (Spiga and Mario’s), I chose not to shoot anything, but am now regretting it. Any thoughts on this from other foodies? If so, please share them with me in the comments section.
-Fix the date on my little digital travel camera. I swear, we just got back and didn’t go in 2006 as the johnnycakes date states. There is a problem with the camera batteries and the date gets messed up and nevermind, it’s too long of a story. Lesson here–fix the date, get a new camera, or take my “good” camera with me when I travel.
-3 johnnycakes are enough. There is no need for 4. You may want 4, but restrain yourself. On St. Martin, the next great meal is just around the corner.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I came across your article, i think your blog is cool, keep working !