LWF&D goes to St. Maarten, part II

So, I'm back in NYC, already missing the sunshine and sea. What better excuse to write a bit more on my travels to a tropical paradise last week?

Although St. Maarten/St. Martin is known for its food, I actually had mixed experiences with the restaurants there. As I wrote previously, Cafe de Paris and Serafina's were both delicious. One night I visited a restaurant (that will remain unnamed) that was highly acclaimed but only turned out to be "meh"; afterwards, however, I visited Carousel for some gelato, and THAT was delicious. Behold, my Rocher flavor, which tasted just like the hazelnut candy and had shards of crunchy wafer embedded within.

Just like in Italy

The next night I dined at Spiga, an Italian restaurant in Grand Case. This was the best restaurant of my trip, and as a spoiler I actually returned my final night on the island for a second go. The chef is Italian, his wife is the hostess, and the waitstaff is incredibly welcoming. I dined on the porch, absorbing the warm breezes and the amusing banter of a retiree couple seated at a table near me.

For my meal, I chose the "Caprese" appetizer, which was listed simply as "mozzarella, tomatoes, avocado, olives, capers, basil oil, and eggplant terrine, grape tomatoes, arugula, parmigiano." I was envisioning some sort of stacked dish, but what greeted me was much different, and much more creative.

So much variety

It turned out to be something like a tasting plate. There were two rounds of tomato, crowned with milky fresh mozzarella, pesto, capers, and olives. There was a fanned-out quarter of an avocado. A few fronds of arugula lay under a shower of shaved parmesan. And in the top-right corner was the eggplant terrine, which was an unattractive gray color but had an intriguing flavor that grew on me. The whole thing was fresh and tasty and very Italian.

And then there was dessert (of course!). I chose the "Chocolate" option: warm chocolate hazelnut cake, honey-vanilla gelato, and caramel sauce. It was a decadent, moist brownie-like chocolate cake, which was delicious (although to be honest I don't really remember much hazelnut flavor). The ice cream was cool and creamy and copious, all great things. And there was an interesting sesame tuile to crown things off. If you're craving chocolate cake with sweet vanilla ice cream, it was pretty much near perfect.

Decadence embodied

And so there you have it-- the food highlights of my vacation. Now it's off to Chicago for a conference, where perhaps I'll find a few more food highlights of a different sort...

Spiga
Esperance Road, Grand Case, St. Martin

Carousel
Welfare Road, Simpson Bay, St. Maarten

LWF&D goes to St. Maarten

For my first vacation in eight months, I've jetted down to the Caribbean for a week in St. Maarten, one of the tropical islands known for its dining (would you expect anything less?). It is beautiful down here, and I've been alternating between relaxing by the beach/pool and bouncing around the island's roads in my rental car, in search of adventures.

I am here

Monday, I spent a good amount of time in one of Dutch St. Maarten's mega grocery stores. I will say right here that there are few things I like better than a grocery store in a foreign country. I can (and, well, did) wander for hours, exploring all the foreign foods and occasionally impulse-purchasing some Dutch candy. Oops?

Crazy tropical fruits!

Nutella! And Nutella knock-offs!

Later, after some more pool/beach time, I wound down the afternoon in Marigot, an adorable and thoroughly French town on the French side of the island. I wandered around to the shops and galleries and ended up at Cafe de Paris, one of the restaurants by the marina in town. I was treated to a very large and very delicious endive and beet salad mixed with aged goat cheese, walnuts, a light dressing, and an occasional tomato slice. It was enormous and filling and beautifully presented and clearly crafted with lots of care. Eating that salad while gazing out at the sun setting over the ships in the marina was... well, nice.

Huge portion

View from Cafe de Paris

Oh, and on my way out of town back towards the Dutch side of the island, I stopped at Sarafina's, one of the two famous pastry shops in Marigot (what, you think I'd skip dessert? On vacation??). There were options galore, and I had to mentally restrain myself from ordering one of everything. I ended up contented with a chocolate eclair, which I brought back to my hotel room and ate with my fingers. It was by far and away the best eclair I've ever had, and definitely up there in my personal pastry pantheon-- the pate a choux was light and flaky with no trace of burnt flavor. The glaze was sweet and chocolatey and perfect. But the surprise was inside-- a thick strip of chocolate filling. And not just pastry cream, either-- this was thick and rich and almost like dense chocolate mousse. The dollop of chocolate ganache on top was just the literal and proverbial icing on the cake.

The provider

Larger, more substantial, and even more delicious than it looks

That's all for now... the ocean awaits!

Cafe de Paris
Marina Port la Royale
Marigot, St. Martin

Sarafina's
Front de Mer
Marigot, St. Martin