Well, we found the traffic Haha! Due to rain on Friday morning, we were heading to Chesterfield’s for lunch, Phillipsburg to do some shopping, and Carre Four. Got to the airport roundabout and found traffic already backed up there, even before the drawbridge opening time…. Then, decided to try to go through Cole Bay… it was worse. So headed to Marigot. Drove by Monoprix and recalled someone saying on here it was nice (it is!), ran in to get some salami, cheese, water etc. Then headed to the marina to see if we could find Tropicana or Be Kool. We parked in the lot near the roundabout. We found both, but came across Tropicana first so ate there. (It’s been on my list for years, but we typically don’t eat out at lunch because we are beach bums and it always just seems a little sketchy in the evening). Although we did not have a reservation, we were early and got a table. They were very welcoming and the service was great, as was the food. Split the warm crabcake (it was one of the daily specials) for appetizer – as I’ve mentioned on another thread, it was amazing!. Mussels and chicken scallopini (more "eggy" than we are used to...maybe a French style scallopini??? it was very good) for entrée, chocolate mousse for me for dessert and we shared a bottle of pinot grigio. Unsure of the price, as my husband paid and he doesn't keep receipts, but whatever it was, it was well worth it lol. It was all top notch and we’d highly recommend. Clientele seemed to be a good mix of locals and tourists, which I prefer to having only tourists around me! (I am aware it sounds hypocritical, but.......).
Weather had cleared up after we returned to our villa, so we put up groceries and headed down to Long Bay for a couple of hours and then had wine and cheese at the villa for dinner…actually, we didn’t hardly eat anything as we were still so full from lunch.
Same weather on Saturday morning, so we elected to just hang around the pool and hot tub here, in between showers. By the time the weather cleared, I didn’t really feel like going out to a beach, so we just read and relaxed before heading to dinner reservations at French Cocotte in Porto Cupecoy. They were pretty busy as it was a weekend night. We intentionally came a little early for drinks at the bar. They have a good selection and the drinks were nice. The service was spotty at first (our waiter didn’t even present the specials, which was disappointing). When I noticed and asked the manager who was carrying the board, he said we could change entrees, which we did swap one - veal stew for duck and wished we hadn’t! We had French onion soup and escargot for appetizers – both good. Grilled scallops in some sort of sauce/soup – excellent (best dish of the night) and duck fillet, which is not the same as a duck breast apparently. It came cut in one inch slices (it looked similar to a London broil or flank steak) that were so tough they were almost unchewable. The flavor was good, but it needed to be sliced much more thinly or cooked longer! Granted… we were unaware that it was different from a typical duck breast, but surely there is a better way to prepare it! Neither of us would order that again – ever. Dessert was a highly recommended special, chocolate, praline, caramel, coconut tart. The filling was good, but the crust was so hard we couldn’t cut it with the spoon they gave us. The waiter noticed our struggles and brought us a knife and fork! I would go for the crème brulee next time. Added 15% service charge and I added a little more because after the specials fiasco, I felt like they really tried. The bill came to $167 (before added extra tip) for 2 cocktails, 2 glasses of wine, appetizers, entrees and 1 dessert, which I feel is a good price. I think we didn’t hit them on a good night, so we will probably give them another go.
Last edited by lhbsurf; 01/19/202508:25 AM. Reason: Fixed title
1 inch thick might be a little thick but cooking it longer would just make it tougher. Best is rare to medium rare. I would have sent it back and just ate the appetizers and desert. Don't like waiting for a redo.
Always wanted to try Tropicana but they are always on summer holiday during our visit.
Also want to try French Cocette since they offer more traditional French cuisine.
Le Galets is one of our favorites especially for the cheese course although it had been severely downsized since the previous chef Also menu may include some usual combinations, not traditional Also good wine by the glass The food will be excellent but we always check the weekly menu since there are only choices I think for the main course and there may be an earlier course which may not be to your liking. We can check weekly menu since we have extended time on island
Hopefully Le Pressior is on your list which I think you previously mentioned and Cool Heure for lunch Bacchus is great for lunch if you get a cloudy, rainy day
Just curious - what are the "drinking and driving" rules on SXM - either side? I often read reports of folks going out for lunch or dinner, having several drinks or sharing a bottle of wine between two people and then driving back to their accommodations. Are there roadside checks done, as there are where I live? Is there a legal blood alcohol limit, over which you will be charged? And what are the consequences? As I said, just curious...
Maho.... Les Galetes and La Villa Hibiscus were both recommended to us by a gourmet chef & his wife we met on Statia. We were going to try both, but La Villa Hibiscus is very expensive, so we elected to try Les Galetes - a special menu, but we are pretty adventurous eaters - this time. We have been to Le Pressoir a couple of times and enjoyed it a lot - in fact, the first time Gil made the best dirty martini that we have ever tasted. However, as often happens, on the return trip, it wasn't as good...he said he had since delegated that task and the bartender probably "shook it too much" haha, who knows. There are so many good choices, but my favorite in Grand Case is probably La Villa, so we will hit there and Bistrot Caraibes this time. We are changing accommodations tomorrow closer to Grand Case, so Cool Heure is on schedule for lunch tomorrow and I'm very much looking forward to it!
Southshore - As to the drinking and driving rules.... a half bottle of a light white wine doesn't affect my husband too much.. he's a big guy. A lot of times, we will not finish it and they will cork it and take it with us. The traffic is so bad during the day you rarely get over 25mph. I have never seen any sort of checks. At night, we typically choose spots close to our accommodations and have a cocktail and glass of wine at most - and are back in early.
Scuba... in retrospect... you are correct - that's what he should have done.
On the French side, the blood-alcohol limits are the same as in France, which are the same as in Ontario, .05. The French gendarmerie occasionally do road-side spot checks. In the past, one of the places these were done was as you exited Grand Case. I have had no recent experience of it, since I no longer travel to Grand Case from Simpson Bay for dinner, only lunch.
On the Dutch side, I believe the limit may also be .05, but they seem to enforce the way we used to in the old days. It appears to be solely at the observation and discretion of the police officer. I can honestly say in the dozen years I have been coming to SXM, that I have never seen a road-side alcohol check on the Dutch side.
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