Continuation of trip J2

[davesmom]

Well, all’s right in Paradise and it’s time for happy hour at the Happiest Place on Earth! (Ok, Dave’s not quite in agreement as he adores Disneyland but this is the adult version..). So Trois-Rivières Rum (one of our go-tos) met our jus de fruit de la passion and it was a very nice marriage! Two turtles, one large and the other small, trailing the large one, were heading to the bar (our room) because turtles always know what time it is! We, DD and I, (not the turtles!) shared some King Cake from Super U and it was quite fabulous and it was all I could do not to eat it all..but I’ll get to it! No fève yet..

Don’t let it be said that we don’t support the local economy in SBH..we went to visit Océanne of the shop Brin d’Île shoes and purses (the reiteration of Laurent EFFEL) in the new shopping strip next to the Lorient gas station and I came away with 3 sandal pairs, 2 pairs of loafers (there are men’s, too!) and one purse..all mine for less $$ than a pair of shoes at home! (I didn’t say ‘substitute‘ for..I’m just adding to the “genetic shoe disease problem I am saddled with)…And that was DD talking! Must be the “Océanne air” talking ! ( ok, that one’s for Cass). She is so lovely and she told me Anna helps her, which is evident in her adorable choices. If you like fun stuff for a good price, go regale yourself with no shoe guilt! She is on instagram and word on the street is that now she is able to ship you stuff with DHL in case you are ‘in need’..and we are always ‘in need’…

Also stopped at the little corner store, Sable Show, for a cheap and cheerful romp among the racks. She still had some cute and comfy sandals that said SAINT BARTH, sort of resembling Dior D Way flats, but I got 2 pairs last year so I am good! The lady could not be sweeter and they have baskets (like you find in St-Trop’,) embroidered with St-Barth in a number of sizes. Super fun! I got this really cute lace beach pant and top outfit there for about $80 in beige..you will find a ton of inexpensive beach cover ups, too.
Probably not bringing out the “big guns” until later this week but these were just amuses-guele until kick off.

We will venture into Gustavia and will try Chez Gus..hope it is good..praying to the parking gods as we speak…

 

[dadto6]

Hi Gina,
Our crew was at Chez Gus last night. Try the endive salad. Duck dish was also very good. Had a lovely young lady singing last night. Also nice stroll down the harbor looking at the remaining yachts.

 

[amyb]

And she’s off and running……ahhh, St Barth!

 

[davesmom]

Hi Gina,
Our crew was at Chez Gus last night. Try the endive salad. Duck dish was also very good. Had a lovely young lady singing last night. Also nice stroll down the harbor looking at the remaining yachts.

No endive tonight..you must have wiped them out! DD is having duck but I’m going for veal stew..I don’t do things with wings

 

[davesmom]

Hi Gina,
Our crew was at Chez Gus last night. Try the endive salad. Duck dish was also very good. Had a lovely young lady singing last night. Also nice stroll down the harbor looking at the remaining yachts.

La chanteuse is coming soon!

 

[amyb]

La chanteuse is coming soon!

BRAVA…enjoy!

 

[davesmom]

Well, sorry to report that this may have been the worst restaurant experience I have ever had…I’ll explain more tomorrow. But la chanteuse was terrific!

 

[dadto6]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Thank you for the report, people need to read about actual experiences. Also important for Owners to read as well so they can make adjustments.

 

[cec1]

Well, sorry to report that this may have been the worst restaurant experience I have ever had…I’ll explain more tomorrow. But la chanteuse was terrific!

Quelle dommage!

 

[dadto6]

Time on the Island is never long enough, pity to waste a single dinner out. Look forward to hearing what happened as we had a splendid time there on Tuesday evening.

 

[davesmom]

Time on the Island is never long enough, pity to waste a single dinner out. Look forward to hearing what happened as we had a splendid time there on Tuesday evening.

Totally agree but it is always nice (generally) to branch out. Well, we go to Chez Gus and just 1 couple is leaving and no others in the restaurant. It is about 7:30, a little early for us, but ok, good parking karma was with us! We had a table on the front edge with a nice view of the harbor. 2 other couples, local, sit next to us, smoking ( Bon, d’accord, c’est La France) and were quite loud, so Americans don’t have a monopoly on being too loud. No other patrons. A big guy dressed all in black tee shirt and jeans, unsmiling, installs himself and 2 packs of cigarettes at a bar table on the sidewalk, directly in front of us. Have no idea who he is but some non tourist people come flying out of the woodwork, like moths to a candle, to sit and smoke with him,no food evident. Others come along the street, greeting ‘the Godfather’..Then some other waiters keep taking turns, going out to the table all night, to ‘pay homage’ to the guy, standing in front of us, smoking away, ignoring the restaurant, the whole night. Then a group of locally known people, 3 nicely dressed girls and 3 men, take the table along the banquette, who obviously came to support the lovely singer. 2 of the girls get up and weirdly walk outside on the sidewalk, one fixing the other’s hair, while smoking, and come back inside. Then the girl in the red gown goes around, doing a few dance steps, obviously tanked up on something ahead of time, but very sweet and nice disposition. They seem to know the Godfather also. Ok, NO other people come in the restaurant the whole time. The waiters could hardly be bothered with anyone, as they were busy visiting the Godfather. Didn’t ask if we wanted dessert, we had to wait to find our waiter to ask for the check, but he couldn’t even bother to talk about tipping so it was not even mentioned as he obviously wanted to get done with us. And I haven’t even talked about the food..to misquote Shakespeare, something is not right in Denmark..DD had his speculations, as did I…next up, La cuisine…short version, skip it. Longer version coming..

 

[Jim Kelly-Evans]

Dan and I dined at Chez Gus Tuesday evening. We started with escargot, prepared in the traditional fashion server in shells with herbs and butter. They we fine but there were no small forks to extract them with so we had to use the point of our dinner knives to get them out. Bread was fresh and plentiful. Service was good. Main plates were the Mahi for Dan and Thon for Jim. Both were served on a bed of mild salsa. The tuna was served with glazed carrots with a too lemony flavor. The Mahi was accompanied by dish of baked tomatoe and eggplant slices. Dan felt that the Mahi was somewhat overdone. While the tuna was served properly seared and not overdone we both felt it was below sushi grade. The chocolate mousse dessert that we both ordered was excellent. The restaurant is very nicely appointed but we were somewhat disappointed with the overall experience. We opted against sitting out front, instead we took a table toward the back. We didn't encounter heavy smokers or other distractions as did Gina and Al. That definitely would have turned us off.

 

[davesmom]

Glad you two had a better experience than we did. I had the pâté maison with little toasts of walnut bread, which was quite good. I did have to ask for mustard but it was brought with no problem. DD had the escargots and did have a little fork but he thought there were no escargots in 3 of them until he went spelunking and he did find one of them. Not at all impressive for a bistro, and certainly not up to Guanahani standard escargots in his view. I had the blanquette de veau and he had the duck. Both so so, not much flavor but the potatoes with the duck were fantastic ( I got to taste!). DD tends to be less critical than I, but his words were, “ This restaurant will not be on the rotation .” Incidentally, I mentioned the situation to our beloved assistant manager here at Le G, and apparently we confirmed his impression from 3 nights ago…

Off to DD’s favorite for lunch, La Langouste! I’m so stuffed from my amazing Le G breakfast, (even if you don’t stay, you should come just once for the breakfast buffet with an amazing pastry chef! ( I think his name is Julien..). I guarantee you won’t need lunch!

Luckily, now that we got our clothes, we made it to La Gym before le petit déj, and they have Simon in a fantastic gym here as director. My director at home sent me a video so I did that but Simon will do a full body workout tomorrow morning with me, so I am always excited to try a new trainer; he was supposed to have a stretching class but changed it for me, so I will let you know what I learned! Always hoping to learn new tricks! I really must say how incredibly nice people are here at Le G, and it seems to improve every year. We do miss our former chef, Philippe Masseglia, whom I think is still on island doing private parties, as he was the best..

 

[davesmom]

Oh, I forgot to mention the yacht walk we did! Well, last year I fell in love with a boat, Skyfall, our friends had rented twice a couple of years ago ( I was not on it) but if you think you have seen a yacht or 2 in your time and are jaded and have “seen it all”, I can assure you won’t be when you see the Christmas leftovers in the harbor..OMG is all I can say. I’ll write more later!

oh yeah, I forgot..the wine list at Chez Gus was stupidly overpriced, about 3.5 x..that is DD’s department…

 

[Amery]

Sorry to hear as we enjoyed two dinners at Chez Gus back in June when it was fairly new. We planned a dinner there in November but they cancelled our reservation at 5pm day of with no explanation. I recall when I emailed for that booking they said they have 2 seatings...when I asked if this was a new format they said just for "high" season. Not sure if that is still the case, sounds like things have changed since its first few months?

 

[davesmom]

Sorry to hear as we enjoyed two dinners at Chez Gus back in June when it was fairly new. We planned a dinner there in November but they cancelled our reservation at 5pm day of with no explanation. I recall when I emailed for that booking they said they have 2 seatings...when I asked if this was a new format they said just for "high" season. Not sure if that is still the case, sounds like things have changed since its first few months?

I’m happy you enjoyed your dinner! I really respect your opinion! I don’t know what has changed and it is quite possible that 7:30 was the 1st seating but after 8:00 pm when the shops close and the working day comes to an end, the city became fairly empty in places. Cantina was going strong, though! Seemed like everyone was animated and having fun and we have had really good lunches there. I don’t like to rain on anyone’s parade but the situation was so bizarre last night, I just thought it needed to be shared.

 

[Amery]

Always helpful to share! Every place has an off night here and there but your evening sounds less than okay. I think Chez Gus has been appreciated as a new addition to the local scene. Not too fussy, local and French. It seemed so promising...hope to hear more reports as the season goes on.

 

[davesmom]

So lunch was at La Langouste, a DD and A & P favorite, so we drank to them! It is nice, very informal, and sweet servers. In honor of our dear A & P, we started with Nems, sort of these delicious egg rolls with dipping sauce, 6 per dish, on some green salad leaves and then we shared a lobster salad, because we weren’t super hungry. I think the salad was a bit skimpy for 2, which is our own fault, and it had some sliced lobster tail with a green salad. It didn’t really blow me away, but there are so many excellent choices on the menu, we would probably get something more substantial. They make a fabulous piña colada, too! But the best was yet to come and totally unexpected..rhum vanille, right in the middle of the day! No tip mentioned at all. We left euros in cash, though. I’m not really a day drinker, or really much of one at all, but when in St-Barth..they have good French bread which I can never resist..and I thought les pâtisseries were my enemy..

So we went into town and my parking karma continued to be amazing! I did a little walk about, used the LCL ATM next to Le Select, and bought my usual haul from Ligne St Barth and saw Camille, and then visited Fabienne Miot..unfortunately I did not come away with anything but it would surely be easy to choose something! Then I visited Hermès for a look and this time, everybody was super nice, so they really upped their nice quotient from last year. No line, and as DD mentioned, as it was relatively quiet in town. But it was a nice experience and similar to what I had in my early SBH days. Next I checked out Dior, where I can get in real trouble but managed to look more than buy as the big gun stores are pretty depleted after the holidays. But if you need to spend $5k, there are some fabulous new purses with chains with pearls in gorgeous rose, and also a very pretty light blue..ok, you’re welcome! Apparently, DD did not find the need..

Off to visit LV where I found a native SBH guy, Hervé Brin, a wonderful sales person who really knows his LV stories and history and you should go because he is amazingly charming. He also said yesterday they sold the last LV special SBH edition tote bag..DD liked him even better after he heard that! The sunglasses are cute and a good price, and he could get you things,.you know, out of the back. Everything is not on display..so just bring him a photo and ask! You will love him. I would love many things there..but how much stuff can you have? (ok, it’s a rhetorical question..)

Full confession: Lest you think I shop a lot, you’d be wrong, because I never go to stores at home with the exception of stores of a dear friend with branches on the coasts. (Unfortunately her flagship burned to the ground today in Pacific Palisades so prayers to all..we are watching SD and we may lose power this week..) and I have been shopping like a guy where I only go to stores when I need something and it isn’t much fun or romantic to spend the day shopping anymore, ever since Covid. The stores have nothing, everything is online, and impossible to get anything to fit often. And I do worry about safety..so I make up for it here! Better to stay on the golf course..of course there’s the Pro Shop..

Tonight is La Casina so fingers crossed, our dining luck changes, but I think from here on it, it will be better! Tomorrow we will pique-nique on Gouverneur and I’m trying to figure out where best to buy the food. Does ChokolatVany sell sandwiches? I mentioned it to DD that it should be right down the road..and he’s a raspberry tarte kind of person and thought that might make the perfect picnic lunch..

 

[lvbookworm]

Thanks for your review of Chez Gus. We loved it when we visited after it first opened, but sounds like things may have slacked off a bit? Can’t wait to hear your report on Cantina. That’s one place we always say we’re going to go but never seem to make it. They’re always so packed!

 

[cec1]

Thanks for your review of Chez Gus. We loved it when we visited after it first opened, but sounds like things may have slacked off a bit? Can’t wait to hear your report on Cantina. That’s one place we always say we’re going to go but never seem to make it. They’re always so packed!

Hi Amy! Happy New Year to you and Kelly!

Regarding "La Cantina" . . . davesmom & DD actually, as it appears from davesmom's note, are going to La Casina, the restaurant occupying the space that formerly was Zion & -- ancient history! -- Andy's Hideaway. It just opened late last October / early November. If you "Search" La Casina, you'll find some commentary . . . particularly my observations in its opening weeks (very positive!). It's very price-friendly for "locals," so attracts an energetic -- sometimes quite loud -- clientele, and music volume tends to grow as the evening passes. A fun crowd & ambiance, with very good food.