Our Little Trip To Paradise – Dinner In Marigot

One of the things that Bev and Pat like to do is take the Calypso Dinner Cruise (water taxi) up to Marigot, the French side capital, and dine at a small French restaurant on the water.  We went with an Aqua Mania Adventures tour and these are some of the shots I took along the way beginning with a shot from Simpson Bay looking back at the resort then as we crossed Simpson Bay Lagoon and pulled into Marigot.  Like most in the Carribean, the island is very mountainous and I think Bev said they have the most boats moored here of any island in the Carribean.

Note the spinning windmill for power on this next one.

This is the govenor's residence for the French side.

Coming into marigot harbor.

The La Petit Auberge restaurant from the boat.

All ashore.

We had a choice of two salads, three meats, and three desserts which we selected before the boat left the resort.  I had the Auberge salad, mahi mahi with veggies, rice and mashed sweet potato and mango sorbet and Bev had the same with chocolate cake.

Kathy had the pork chop with veggies, small potatoes, and mashed sweet potatoes.

And Pat had the chicken breast with veggies, pasta, and mashed sweet potatoes (they seem to be popular here – maybe because they ship and store well).

For a group meal the food was pretty good, especially the salad, and note all meats had a sauce on them – big surprise for a French restaurant.  My favorite time on the lake at home is after dark, so I really enjoyed the ride back with all of the lit-up sailboat masts.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Grandkids Sleepover With Seafood

Two years ago:  Sirloin & Bean Burrito

Larry

4/12/12 meal date

Our Little Trip To Paradise – Me & Three Women

When Bev and Pat’s mom was still living, the expression me and my girls always meant three of them and after good friend, Kathy, joined us in Sint Maarten on Wednesday (we arrived on Easter Sunday), it was that way again.  After they took a little walk and did some shopping, we got cleaned up and walked around the beach of Simpson Bay to The Stone Restaurant for dinner.  It's in the white building behind the yellow boat toward the left of the shot - the tours we took all left from there as well.

Here we are about to head out.

The restaurant is called The Stone because the meat comes to you on a hot stone to finish cooking.  Here are the girls ready to order.

For our entrees, Bev had a grilled seafood combo of shrimp, scallops, and snapper, Kathy had a ribeye, Pat had Cajun tilapia, and I had a combo of marinated flank steak, beef filet, and duck topped with foie gras

Everything was very tasty and we had a great time eating outside by the bay.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Two Reuben Sausage Meals

Two years ago:  A Plain Chicken Meal

Larry

4/11/12 event date

Our Little Trip To Paradise - Resort Again

The girls spent the day lying on the beach and after a nice little swim in the warm Caribbean waters, I hung around in the good breeze on the condo balcony.  Here are some a shots of the resort and the bay from down at the beach.

Bev and Pat had had good experiences at the resort’s restaurant so we opted for it after going across the street to Lee’s Grill the previous night - this the restaurant and the bay from the back of the restaurant 

Bev and Pat split the Cabana Fisherman Platter which included mahi mahi, shrimp, scallops, and calamari and they split a salad.

I had just commented on Cowgirl Jeanie’s blog that I didn’t care for fried calamari but I really liked it and even more surprisingly the girls liked it.

I started with a bowl of delicious Conch Chowder which was slightly sweetened with the addition of corn.

Then I had the stuffed grouper with garlic cream sauce, rice, and vegetable medley.

The sauce somewhat overwhelmed the fish, but the combo was a terrific flavor in my mouth and this will be going onto the try-to-make-at-home list.  The rice was pretty good as it was cooked in a flavored broth but as my least favorite starch, I left most of it to save room for the big surprise. 

I rarely eat the veggies I get in American restaurants as they are nearly always bland and almost raw.  These were perfectly cooked to almost tender in a garlic butter sauce and I loved them.  Maybe the biggest surprise of the meal was they try to provide you with properly seasoned food and I didn’t pick up the salt shaker.  I believe I could eat there every night.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Asparagus and Mushroom Scramble

Two years ago:  Kicked Up Egg McMuffin

Larry

4/9/12  event date

A Little Trip To Paradise - The Resort

Bev and SIL, Pat, have been coming to a timeshare in Sint Maarten for the last several years (this is their 6^th trip) and I’ve so far resisted coming as it was always at a time that just extended our long hot summer at home.  This year they scheduled a spring trip and I finally decided I would be okay with the timing so we headed out on Easter Sunday.  After a hard day to get ready and a day of flying I just wanted to pile up when we got there so my Easter dinner was Irish Cheddar cheese and crackers and a nice bottle of Bordeaux – yep, I drank it all as the girls opted for Champagne.

The Royal Palms Beach Resort is located at Simpson Bay on the south side of the island which is the Dutch side, with the north side (Saint Martin) being French.  It’s located near the airport and a few miles west of the Dutch side capital of Phillipsburg.

The back (beach side) of the building faces the ocean and pool, with swim up bar, and looks like this. 

In the above shot, that's Bev and Pat in the middle of the shot under the cabana nearest the water.

The front (street side) of the building faces the Simpson Bay Lagoon, which is home to many serious boats, and the canal, which is between the ocean and lagoon, and a part of Simpson Bay.

Our room is right at the draw bridge which opens a few set times a day to let the boats in and out and results in the daily boat parade – more later on this.  WiFi is only available in the lobby which is why I haven't been commenting as much - but I still read everyone's.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Spring Break With The Grandkids -2

Two years ago:  When Only A Burger Will Do

Larry

4/9/12  event date

Saturday Humor - Southern Boy Ingenuity

 This was sent to me by friend David Myers.

One morning 3 South Carolina good old boys and 3 Yankees were in a ticket line at the Spartanburg train station  heading to Columbia for a big football game.

The 3 Northerners each bought a ticket and watched as the 3 Southerners bought just one ticket among them.

"How are the 3 of you going to travel on one 1 ticket?" asked one of the Yankees.

"Watch and learn" answered one of the boys from the South.

When the 6 travelers boarded the train, the 3 Yankees sat down, but the 3 Southerners crammed into a bathroom together and closed the door.

Shortly after the train departed, the conductor came around to collect tickets.

He knocked on the bathroom door and said, "tickets please."  The door opened just a crack and a single arm emerged with a ticket in hand. The Conductor took it and moved on.

The Yankees saw this happen and agreed it was quite a clever idea.. Indeed, so clever that they decided to do the same thing on the return trip and save some money.

That evening after the game when  they got to the Columbia train station, they bought a single ticket for the return trip while to their astonishment the 3 Southerners didn't buy even 1 ticket.

"How are you going to travel without a ticket?" asked one of the perplexed Yankees.

"Watch and learn", answered one of the Southern boys.

When they boarded the train the 3 Northerners crammed themselves into a bathroom and the 3 Southerners crammed themselves into the other bathroom across from it.

Shortly after the train began to move, one of the Southerners left their bathroom and walked quietly over to the Yankee's bathroom. He knocked on the door and said "ticket please".

There's just no way on God's green earth to explain how the Yankees won the war...

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Egg McMuffin My Way

Two years ago:  Pork Chops With Fennel and Capers Ala Giada

Larry

Grilled Chicken Salad

We picked our first lettuce recently and it included leaves from four types of leaf lettuce and a variety of bib along with some fruit and a dressing we got from our neighbor.

For the chicken I used  a “Dolly” breast that Bev had bought at the store and I smoked for several hours to only get to 150*.  We let it set out and come to room temperature then grilled it over med heat or the gas grill to an internal temp of 160*. 

I also grilled some asparagus which was just tossed with olive oil, S&P.

After tossing, Bev topped the salad with some shredded gruyere cheese, then I added some asparagus, then the sliced chicken.

My buddy Joe works hard to eat healthy and keep himself in good shape so this was his kind of meal.

I thought it was pretty awesome, especially with the fruit in the salad and will look forward to the next time maybe with some rough chopped nuts in it.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Homemade Corned Beef & Pastrami

Two years ago:  Buckboard & Canadian Bacon

Larry

4/6/12  meal date