Eating in St. Martin, Where Caribbean Food Actually Tastes Good

April 13, 2010 at 2:05 PM | by shiralevine | Comment (1)

St. Martin has typically been considered the brief stopover island for fabulous jetsetters who then fly onward to St. Barth's. That is until our writer Shira Levine discovered that the bipolar island with a French and Dutch identity crisis is worth lingering on for a few days. Questions or suggestions? Let us know.

Besides being the "friendly island" St. Martin is also considered the Gastronomic Capital of the Caribbean. This is a bold statement considering that Caribbean food often looks lovely with excellent presentation, but rarely tastes fresh and frequently lacks flavor. (Unless we're talking Jamaican jerk and the credit there goes to the spices.)

We're going to have to point the finger at the U.S. who exports a lot of goods to the Caribbean undercutting the prices of locally grown island grub to explain this non-fresh phenomena. Fortunately, when it comes to St. Martin the lobster is from St. Martin. The coconut is from St. Martin. The scallops are from St. Martin. You'd be hard pressed if you found out your avocado was actually shipped in from Mexico.

Grand Case is a hip little area on the French side of St. Martin and considered the area's Restaurant Row. The French-Caribbean tasting menu at the boutique restaurant Le Shore (28, Boulevard de Grand Case) like many of the charming food spots was a total assault on the bikini figure. There's a pool there but it's more for show because patrons appear to be too busy stuffing their face with dishes like the mango sea scallops, homemade Porto foie gras, and a grilled snapper in vanilla sauce.

At Le R�serv� in La Samanna Resort (Baie Longue)are where the biggest lobsters we've ever eaten are served. The servers do the requisite bringing out of the live lobsters for inspection/approval. Le R�serv�'s were as big as a mid-sized Yorkie terrier. (Only we would never eat a Yorkie.) The rule that a lobster over two pounds is in fact an old lobster does not apply in St. Martin. We were served a 3.5lb baby crustacean.

Eating big lobsters isn't a fluke. (Fish joke!) On Pinel Island � a day trip by motorboat ferry for snorkeling and scuba diving is where Karibuni restaurant lies. The French Moroccan owner was walking around with several 3.5 and 4lb lobsters like it's an everyday occurrence -- and it is.

The conch fritters are stellar -- not too fried where you can lie to yourself about eating too many and thinking it's healthy fish eating. It's hard not to make a mess, but no worries -- you can wash off your hands beneath the tiki-like coconut tables where the tide sweeps right up to your feet.

"Our lobsters are different and very big,� the owner of Karibuni explained after we tried to dismiss those three-pounders as old Grand Daddy lobsters. �They aren�t old like your big lobsters. These are big babies!"

Perhaps we Americans can kindly credit the French for something?

Related Stories:
· The Difference Between French Kisses and Dutch Ovens [Jaunted]

Full Disclosure: Shira Levine was a guest of the Tourism Board of St. Martin aka The French Side.

[All photos by Shira Levine]

Comment (1)

Return to » Eating in St. Martin, Where Caribbean Food Actually Tastes Good

Uhm... What a truly misguided statement. "Actually Tastes Good" and "rarely tastes fresh and frequently lacks flavor"!? Where are you dining in the Caribbean? Have you ever even eaten real West Indian food?

You're obviously, at best, not well traveled in the Caribbean or, at worst, dangerously misguided with the unfortunate ability to spread your slander through this site, but luckily there is help.

Try visiting UncommonCaribbean.com to learn about the amazing cuisine found all over the Caribbean. Start in the food section here: http://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/tag/food/

You'll learn about roti, codfish acras, saltfish buljol, palori, cocoa tea, callaloo, papaya pie, and some more adventurous fare like sous, iguana stew, oil down, and cow heel soup.

Then, try actually exploring the real Caribbean and see how diverse and culturally rich the region really is before you post again.

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