Le Bistro Nu

One night we had dinner in Marigot, which is the capital of the French side of St. Martin. We had quite a time trying to find Le Bistro Nu. We found it while driving on the main highway which runs from Grand Case to Marigot, and on to the Dutch side. We continued on the highway, past the first turn-off to Marigot and around the round-about. We then found the restaurant hidden on a little alley across from the stadium, close to a Moroccan restaurant.

Inside there were wood paneled walls, ceiling fans, red-checkered tablecloths and modern art posters. Our host created a relaxed atmosphere and we enjoyed a bottle of pinot from Burgundy. We started dinner with oysters on the half shell with a mignonette, then Jack had Boeuf Bourguignon with buttery mashed potatoes and I had tuna tartar with frites. We ended up liking the entree we hadn't ordered better...I couldn't stop eating the comforting beef stew, which reminded me of the Vietnamese dish Bo Kho, except the sauce here was more wine-based. We ended up sharing creme brulee. Dinner was very enjoyable with classic French food as well as low-key.

Flamingo tongue

Flamingo tongue mollusks were everywhere underwater.

The giant puffer

We have seen a number of very large pufferfish during our dives here in St. Martin.

The big swell

The last couple of days the weather forecasters have been predicting 10 foot swells. While the shorebreak was a little rougher in Grand Case yesterday we haven't seen any big waves.

Sunday Dinner at Le Cottage

Guest Editor Jack
We went to Grand Case for dinner which was originally a sleepy fishing village which has become the major dining destination for St. Martin. The majority of the restaurants are French or at least are French-influenced. We went to Le Cottage (http://www.restaurantlecottage.com) for dinner on Sunday and it was probably the best dinner that both of us had since we have arrived on St Martin. Dinner started with a bottle of Château Lagrave-Martillac, 2nd vin du Gd cru 2005 being decanted by the sommelier. We shared an appetizer called "Taste of Quail" which included roasted quail stuffed with foie gras, lentil salad and bacon sauce which was excellent. For main course I had beef tenderloin with cabbage and potato cooked in butter, beef cheek raviolis, vegetable kebab and red wine sauce. Christine had “Taste of Duck” which was sauteed duck breast, red cabbage cooked in port wine, truffle oil on mashed potato, and duck tartar with pear in a glass. For dessert the restaurant is known for their soufflés so we shared a caramel soufflé. We were very pleased with the dinner and off to sleep we went to prepare for a day of scuba diving.

Day 2 - Sunday

Guest Editor Jack
After a lazy morning we headed over to Orient Beach, which is one of the most famous beaches in Saint Martin. We found a restaurant near the beach and ordered breakfast. I ordered a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs with a baguette and jam. Christine ordered an omelet with ham and cheese. Since we both enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning we ordered cappuccinos. We were both very pleased with the breakfast and off to the beach we went. At the beach we walked along the water and viewed the sites. Eventually we ended up at the infamous rocky outcropping (this marks the start of the nude beach- but I forgot to tell Christine about this minor detail). As we got closer to the rocks Christine quickly noticed 2 figures in the distance without clothing and quickly turned around. So then the rest of the time at the beach was spent walking away from the nude beach.

First evening.

Saturday night we were exhausted from being sleep deprived. We had dinner close to our room at Sol e Luna. Highlights were scallops carpaccio in a lemon cream sauce and Chilean sea bass in a mango ginger sauce. The housemade rum at the end in ginger and passionfruit flavors was a nice way to end the night.

Christine found a friend on the way to dinner.

First day, continued...

We picked up groceries on the Dutch side at a well-stocked supermarket. There was everything from lait cru camenbert to salt 'n vinegar kettle chips there. We drove to our inn on the French side and made lunch with prosciutto, baguette, butter, camenbert, hummus and olives.

Arriving

We got here on Saturday. The view from the plane showed the crowded Dutch side.

This morning

This morning began with waking up late and walking down the street for breakfast.