Rachel Perlow

We're still planning on returning to Puerto Rico. The only islands we have actually not liked were Jamaica and St. Thomas. OK - to use my mother's logic: St. Martin is our favorite small island where I can practice my French and Puerto Rico is our favorite big island where Jason can practice his Spanish. Fair enough?

The kitchen is about 90% done. The only major thing left to do is finishing the electrical & lights. The final spackling, sanding & painting and a few punch list minor items and then it's really done. I can almost breathe again.

Nick:

At first I tended to agree with this point, but then I thought of numerous examples that fit this desciption yet are definitely not haute cuisine, like moussaka and lasagna. I think the ones that fit best are the artful presentation and the use of luxury ingredients.

[aside]Cool new avatar, tommy.[/aside]

Coincidentally, I stopped into Fink's for lunch today. Had the pulled chicken which is good, but the pork is so much better. Oh, and if you're in a "fries" mood, get the Cottage fries, as opposed to the regular or seasoned fries.

We were there once about 2 years ago and had a good experience - didn't know anything about the chef/owner then. I had nothing to contribute, positive or negative, to the original post of this thread. You say that everyone is kissing up to the chef/owner, but the original post sounded rather neutral, and there were no "you're crazy - the place is great (or horrible)" follow-ups. So, what are you complaining about?

Why does it have to be a Thursday? Anyway, we've had a date set for a number of weeks now - what, eGullet events don't take precedence over medical tests??!!! I'm good most any day, but I do want to go see my neice & nephew in their halloween costumes.

One of the "holdouts" is at the Livingston Mall in NJ. I miss Roy Rogers, they had the best fried chicken. Way better than KFC or Popeye's.

Nikko? I thought we were going to Kyoto in Florham Park. Do we have to push it all the way to Halloween? I was looking forward to going today. :(

Light at the end of the tunnel. Um, yes? Backsplash tile installed yesterday: Today, they finished the molding around the cabinets, installed & adjusted cabinet doors, spackling of ceiling, vent hood blower motor installed. No more pics cause Jason took the camera to Seattle with him. We're getting there...

Are we still doing this? And why did I think it was today, when I just read up the thread and see it is on the 17th? Also, I won't be bringing a guest, just me.

Huh? Anyway, just wanted to state that we realized Dodge was just giving an example of aggregious behavior that could happen at any restaurant. But Joe told us about this thread (another customer mentioned it to him while we were away and we hadn't yet read it), so we wanted to give their side of the story as long as SR was mentioned by name.

Welcome doggirl! I did a search for Ramsey and found lots of threads that mention your town. Feel free to post questions and reviews of the restaurants you try out (or are curious about) if you can't find any references to them on eGullet already.

My impression? That she told her friends she could get them in this hot new place recently reviewed in all the papers because she "knew" the chef/owner. She called the day of for a weekend reservation and couldn't accept that her "status" didn't warrant special treatment. I think they should have set up a "chef's table" in the alley out back for her out of a folding table.

My mom has one that looks like this: (click to purchase online for $3.60). But, mine looks like this and is very easy to use and clean, however is much more expensive at $26 (once again, click the pic to order from a website). Both give results closer to hand chopping with a knife. With the cheaper one the results are in a glass jar and you have to scrape them out (like the above discussed nut chopper). Also, since the blades are chopping down on glass they tended to dull over time. The Zyliss brand choppers fold open to clean (see the upper right of the photo) so they are easy to rinse out or stick in the dishwasher. In addition you can chop directly on your cutting board (keep the jar in one position as you chop then you can simply sweep the contents into your mixing bowl), or chop on the plastic cover which keeps the contents contained and protects the blades. I use it to chop nuts, large amounts of garlic, small amounts of onion or shallots. Since it is easy to clean it doesn't retain odors and can be used for various ingredients.

I think you'd have to check with the resorts you are thinking of going to. The more modern ones probably have wheelchair accessable rooms with direct access to the pool. Beaches would be harder, a lot of them have some sort of stairs down a cliff approaches. Actually at one point I remember thinking that there was a distinct lack of handicap accessible facilities, lots of stairs, small bathrooms, step ups into stores, pools, beaches. I don't think this is just on St. Martin, either. A lot of the Caribbean is like this - they don't have the same accessibility requirements. Not that I'm an expert, but I would think you would have to stick to larger modern hotels/resorts to get the type of accessibility you would need. And perhaps sticking to the USVI would be a good idea? Make lots of calls/faxes/emails ahead of time. Perhaps you could start a new thread, within this Caribbean forum, asking for recommendations of resorts that are handicapped accessible?

Ditto. But I use it when I remember to, otherwise use shells. Also, always use the extra cup to avoid messing up a big batch of whites.

Countertops were installed while we were away in St. Martin. Clickez vous

Since you were invited to the Opening Party, may we assume you have some sort of affiliation with the restaurant? We don't mind if you do but request full disclosure. Thanks.

The Perlows visit Sts Martin/Maarten - photos to be edited in later. Saturday, September 28th - First stop was lunch at Mark’s Place in the Food Center Shopping Mall (supermarket still under construction). Excellent ribs. First exposure to acras (shrimp/fish/conch fritters), eh, where’s the shrimp? They were hush puppies to me. Then we went to Ram’s Supermarket to stock up on some supplies for the week (we were staying in a timeshare and didn’t want to eat out for every meal). On our way out of the market we had our first taste of Il Cappuccino gelato. They were giving out free samples in cones and we were instantly addicted, more on that later. For dinner on Saturday we made a mistake and went where Tony Bourdain (TB from now on) told us specifically not to go, Captain Oliver’s restaurant. The food wasn’t bad overall – my soup de poisson was a deliciously murky brew full of the heady essence local fish and Jason loved his shrimp and scallops dish, but Fredlet’s lobster bisque was the antithesis of my soup. It looked very similar to the soup de poisson, but with a kind of bitter lobster flavor and a piece of lobster thrown in. In other words, it was nothing like what we thought the lobster bisque would be (pink & creamy). In addition, the restaurant was overpriced and stuffy. Don’t bother. Sunday the 29th – We decided to circle the island. Brunch at a little patisserie in Marigot. I didn’t get the name, sorry, but it was diagonally across the street from a church and also on the same block with the library. It was the best one we visited during our stay. My favorites were the Pain Chocolat, apple butter filled and pear & cream filled pastries. We returned to Ram’s to pick up some additional supplies we needed, including some packaged Il Cappuccino ice cream (and more free samples). After some time on the beach, we made lunch out of the beautifully fresh red snapper purchased at the supermarket (on ice in the produce section). There were no barbecues available at this timeshare resort so we filled the fishes belly with slices of red onion, garlic and limes and broiled them for about 5-7 minutes per side (two different sized fish, one needed more cooking after the initial 10 minutes). For dinner, Jason and I headed to Poulet D’Orleans, a TB recommendation (they will be featured on A Cook’s Tour next year). This restaurant specializes in freshly killed chicken, which truly tastes different (better) than the usual commercial product. The choices of sauce for the bbq chicken were peanut (Jason’s fave), creole (mine) and bbq. For appetizers we had Boudin Lambi (seafood sausage) and stuffed Christophine. This is the veg we call a chayote in the States. Both were delicious. The other couple we were with (Fredlet is the creator of eGullet’s icon, Gully, and her hubby) didn’t come with us, so we decided that we had to bring them back to Poulet D’Oleans later in the week. Soaking in the resort’s hot tub completed the day. Monday the 30th – Breakfast in the condo of fresh melon, local eggs made into a gouda cheese omelet for me, dairy-restricted Jason got sautéed peppers and garlic in his. We also first sampled our new discovery, Cheesecake flavored Philly brand soft cream cheese (I think St. Maarten is where they test market new flavors, they had a lot of different flavors at the supermarket that I had never heard of). For the rest of the trip we called this stuff “crack.” Oh boy. We started circling the island again, stopping in Grand Case for lunch at a lolo (open air BBQ joints) called Talk of the Town. Jason’s ribs were OK, but my shrimp and the conch stew were pretty mediocre. TB – strike one. We continued in a counter-clockwise direction around the island, made a brief stop in Marigot, then some more serious shopping in Phillipsburg. Most of Front Street is the typical cruise-ship-tourist-attracting “discount” jewelry stores. However, major purchases were ruled out on this trip so I made do with a new pareo (large scarf-like bathing suit cover-up/skirt/wrap) and otherwise just window shopped. Here's an interesting shop, We finished our shopping at the picturesque Phillipsburg Liquor Store (in Pointe Blanche) where Jason got a few rare bottles, I got some junky stuff and we first tasted Rum Jumbie. For dinner, we went to where TB did send us, The Dinghy Dock on Captain Oliver’s Pier on Oyster Pond. After learning the rules of happy hour there -- $1 beer, $2 pour-your-own mixed drinks – Ryan gives you the bottles you request and a mug with ice and you mix your own drink, at the bar, don’t take the bottles to your table, order your food only when you have your entire parties order ready -- we settled in at a picnic table for a couple hours. As I mentioned in my teaser post, the Fish Dinner for $7.50 is the best deal on the island: grilled red snapper, rice, veggies, salad – all delicious. Other items sampled by our group included the burgers, BLT on baguette, chili, onion rings – all were great. The only drawback to the place is the lack of fans to help create a breeze. We sweated throughout our couple hours there and then headed back to the resort to cool off in the pool then relax in the hot tub before bed. Tuesday, October 1 – We all spent the morning lazing around after Monday’s activity (a lot of shopping/walking), then Jay and I decided to explore a little more on our own. We had a little lunch at Le Bar de La Mer in Marigot. Nice people, but not great food and expensive, don’t bother. Then we found the Gourmet Boutique epicerie on Rue d’Anguille and browsed around there for a while. They have a fabulous cheese selection, an equally fab deli where we got some salami, cured ham and pate, and just baked bread. Jason was impressed with their kosher section, I was tempted by the selection of confiture (jams). Later that evening we had reservations for the four of us at Citrus Restaurant. The chef. Jeff Kipp, is recently of Charlie Trotter in Chicago. It is part of The Inn at Cupecoy, a small boutique hotel that seems reasonably priced for the amenities it offers. They also have an adorable Market with a great selection of specialty items. This restaurant would be at home in any big city, it is not so much a “Caribbean” restaurant and simply a great, even special occasion, restaurant. I had the tasting menu ($39) which started with an amuse bouche of a single pristine Bluepoint oyster. I will admit to trading this for Jason’s amuse of smoked salmon as we each preferred what the other was given, the salmon was very lightly smoked and wrapped around supremes of orange, very delicate and lovely. Next came roasted quail over Forbidden Rice with a small piece of foie gras. The black grains were cooked into a savory risotto which was very complimentary to the foie and quail, yum. The main was roasted venison loin cooked to a perfect medium-rare, with not a hint of gaminess. I also got to sample Jason’s perfectly cooked scallops from the a la carte menu. My dessert was a chocolate cake with rich vanilla ice cream and hazelnuts, which was good but no comparison to Jason’s fudge-like chocolate terrine with sour orange sauce. Now that was lick-the-plate good! It was so rich we all got to taste because a small slice was enough. Highly recommended. Wednesday the 2nd – Relaxing morning in the condo, during which we called in to Laser 101’s Bulldog and the Rude Awakening Show. The show is somewhere between a Morning Zoo and Howard Stern. TB told us to call in to the show to get directions to Ras Bushaman’s Freedom Fighters Ital Shack. This Rastafarian gentleman runs a vegetarian café out of his home. I believe he grows most of the food we ate, which consisted of corn meal mush (a rich tasting soft polenta), with some red beans (kind of a vegetarian chili) and soy chunks (imitation meat curry), served by his lovely wife and their son. This was all much better tasting than I’m sure I’m making it sound and was accompanied by Tamarind juice and “herb” tea (didn’t feel much from it, apparently you need to drink a lot more than we did to notice the effects). Anyway, when Bulldog heard about eGullet and that TB told us to call, he invited us onto the radio show, more about that tomorrow. We hit Marigot and showed the Gourmet epicerie to our friends, followed by a stop across the street at a nice little wine shop called Le Gout du Vin where Jason procured some more bottles and took pictures of some really old rum that we couldn’t afford. Some more beach time that afternoon, followed by a stop at Il Cappucchino's shop/factory in La Savanne on the road between Grand Case and Marigot (across from a green gas station). Giuseppe, Giorgio and Maria were so happy that we enjoyed their product and compared it favorably to that sampled by some of our group in Italy. Once again, The Dinghy Dock for dinner. I could tell right away from the food that there was another (new) cook on duty (overcooked fish, curry on the overcooked veggies), I didn’t learn the new guy’s name, so just make sure “Little Ryan” is cooking before you order food when you go. (This is opposed to “Big Ryan” who always seems to be tending bar.) However, the mussels (always the Wednesday night special) were excellent, so get them regardless. Thursday the 3rd – Jason and I get up early to go to the radio station. Click to listen in on our appearance. Track 1 is an intro to eGullet, Track 2 has a long discussion about rum. You've got to listen to hear this funny bit about "bleeping hot chili." It was our first radio interview and was fun to do. We mentioned many of our site coordinators by name and website, and described some of our beloved and obsessed posters. However, I don’t think a lot of the people on the island have internet access. We offered an eGullet.com T-shirt as a prize for the first caller to describe our logo. It took most of the show for someone to win and I think it was a regular caller who won. Oh well. We made lunch of the charcuterie purchased in Marigot. Beach. Brought Fred & Daiv to Poulet D’Orleans for dinner. They enjoyed the roast chicken and we sampled their seafood combo and ribs. All was wonderful again, especially the service provided by young Christopher and Malachi. Friday the 4th – Jason and I took off early to pick up the CD Bulldog promised us of the radio show. We stopped first to pick them up some donuts (they teased us for being foodies and not bringing in any food the day before). They put us on the air again briefly and then we drove around and did some last minute rum shopping. All week we had noticed the proliferation of Chinese restaurants all over the island. Some look like little shacks with folding card tables inside, others look more like real restaurants. We stopped at one of the middle of the road looking places in Simpson Bay called Island Seafood and sampled their Salt & Pepper Shrimp. It was actually really good, even spicier than the versions we get at home. Next trip to the island we’ll have to sample some more. Then back to the condo to pack and hit the beach again. Our final dinner on the island was in Grand Case at Restaurant du Soliel. An elegant open air bistro serving French and Creole cuisine. The highlights were the Caribbean ravioli with fresh crab and the Chicken breast stuffed with shrimp and lobster. It was a nice meal, but also the most expensive of the trip – and all the places along Grand Case’s restaurant row (the “Gourmet Capital of the Caribbean”) are similarly priced. Summary – We’ve been to several other Caribbean islands and so far St. Martin/Maarten is our favorite. The driving is challenging but doable with an SUV and the other drivers are not nearly as crazy as the ones on Jamaica. We also felt quite safe and were able to get away from the touristy areas without difficulty. The beaches are beautiful with lovely soft sand, but not great snorkeling - next time I'll go on the multi-island snorkeling tour offered at the activity desk. I feel sure that this is an island to which we’ll be returning.

Jason posted links to listen to the radio interview on the Media forum. The Bulldog show is somewhere in between a "Morning Zoo" and Howard Stern, we were on for an hour on Thursday, Oct 3rd between 9-10 AM. We are working on our pictures for a more complete post, but here are some highlights of our trip: * Happy Hour at The Dinghy Dock on Captain Oliver's Pier. Fish Dinner for $7.50??? Best deal on the island. * Vegetarian lunch and "special" tea at Ras Bushaman's Freedom Fighters Shack. * Citrus Restaurant - would be at home in any big restaurant town, which makes it unique for a carribbean island. * Il Capuccino gelato - wait a minute... Are we on St. Martin or in Italy? * Dawn Beach was our favorite. We went to a few others (Orient, Baie Rouge) which were also nice, but had no facilities. Having a beautiful beach adjacent to our resort with a shower for rinsing off right next to the sand was a major plus. * Shopping for rum, rhum, and Rum Jumbie. * Poulet D'Orleans - fresh chicken and delicious seafood. * RIBS * Pain Chocolat * Gourmet Epicerie, Marigot - fabulous cheese and deli section and bread. Interesting factoid: there seems to be a higher Chinese restaurant to population ratio than NYC on St. Martin/Maarten. We only sampled one once, on our last day and it was actually pretty good!

Yes, the food last night at Mediterranean Manor was great. We were trying to head for Spanish Sangria, ironically, and would have arrived as you were leaving. We got slightly lost and ended up on Jeffereson so we went to MM instead. The renovated rooms are beautiful, the bar area kind of feels like you are eating in a wine cellar. The communications issue Jason is referring to led to the wrong shrimp appetizer (Shimp with a red enchilada sauce instead of Garlic Shrimp), but they were delicious and we were starving so we ate them anyway. Sounds like we shouldn't bother returning to SS.

Yeah! You got the camera working! Can we see pics of plated food soon?

Weird, we go to C46 all the time, especially during the week, and we've never been there when Cecil was not. To keep with the theme of this thread, Bennies in Englewood is never full and should be. I'd say it's worth about a 40 minute drive.