bkeats
Senior Insider
This isn’t a trip report, more some observations and musing on my part reflecting our trip. Please skip or ignore as appropriate.
So we have returned from our first post Covid trip. Our trip started early one morning at JFK. While we were waiting in line to check in for our flight, we were behind a family with two small children, the youngest was an adorable little girl who might have been 3. She wanted to say hello to us but was too shy to say anything and so hid behind her older brother. As we boarded our flight to St Martin, we saw that the family was just a few rows behind us. An interesting coincidence I thought that the family would be on the same flight as us. Didn’t think much more than that.
Once at SXM we went through the in transit line. Showed the EHAS and vax cards and were through in 5 minutes. Went to get our bags and head to Winair. Who do we see? That same little girl. I ask her are you following us? I think that’s the way you start a love affair with the island for the kids. Get them when they’re little. We are on the 2:55 flight and when we talk to the mother we find out they are on the 2:40 flight. The Winair counter team waves me over and reissues new boarding passes that has us also on the 2:40. Small jackpot as we will arrive 15 minutes earlier I think. As we are waiting to take off, we chat with another couple who are also making their first return trip since Covid. Everyone is eager to go, but this being the Caribbean the flight doesn’t leave until 3:00. We land and part ways with our new acquaintances.
It was such a thrill to be back. I think this was the second time we have been in June. Felt a lot busier than the prior visit. The island was buzzing with activity. As others have noted, the traffic was heavy and trying to get parking in Gustavia was challenging. I would loop around waiting for something to open. Felt like hitting a mall the week before Christmas.
We drove around to see what changes have happened the past two years. It’s clear a lot more money has flown into town. There’s more massive villas being built. The same hedge fund names I deal with IRL are here. The sand lot wrestling pit on St Jean is an eyesore waiting for a billionaire cage match to be resolved. The roads are in better shape but I think something has been lost on that stretch of Grand Fond. All the new walls are too perfect. As if the Disney imagineers have been let loose to create a fantasy version of the island.
We went to lunch at Lil Rock. This isn’t the same place we discovered 3 years ago. Much more refined space. No longer looks like it would blow down in the next minor storm. No accras or simple grilled fish on the menu either. Everything was tasty and 50% higher in price but lacking the feel it used to have. Then I found out that it had been sold for a considerable sum and suddenly it made sense what happened.
We went to Zion for dinner. The place looked the same but I noticed that the food had changed. When it used to be really good food that was well prepared, it now had that international modernist spin where it was beautiful but nothing was recognizable anymore. It could be served anywhere. Deconstructed and reconstructed. It was all good, but it no longer spoke to me of the island. I can get plenty of high end modern cuisine in NYC. I was disappointed by the meal as I had such different expectations for it. I felt it had lost something in its refinement.
So the wife and I endeavored to eat more of our meals at place where there is less refinement and frankly fewer American tourists if that’s possible. I had a fabulous bit of mahi mahi mi-cuit at Le Jardin. The bavette with a sauce made from blue cheese at Bouchon was spectacular. Le Piment and Le Repaire were as reliable as ever. Cre’age for true creole food instead of what passes for Colombo at a €40 fare place. Lunch at Fish Corner has confirmed for me that the best local fish cooking on the island is happening here. Eddys was just so comforting despite the mosquitoes that turned us into an appetizer for them. Santa Fe is perhaps for us the pinnacle (literally and figuratively) of dining in the island. When we came, we were told they were out of mussels. I didn’t care as I had other things like chicken nems in mind.
Does anyone else wonder why they’re flying mussels thousands of miles? In a world where people supposedly care about sustainability and local how does that work? When I think about some of the sushi that’s being served with some fish that’s from Japan, I wonder how it got here? A flight from Tokyo to Paris, then another from Paris to SXM to make another small hop to SBH? That piece of fish flew 10-12 thousand miles and gets more frequent flyer miles than I do. Seems crazy to do that. So I resolved to eat local fish, thon, mahi mahi, wahoo, langouste, chatrou. Had to break down on getting a bit of green stuff as that all seems to come from elsewhere. I know in a place like St Barts everything has to come from somewhere else, but I can at least make a decision not to encourage so much stuff coming half way around the world to be enjoyed in a 10 second bite. Yeah, yeah I know I had to fly there too but I can do what I can to minimize the impact in little ways. A guys has to go on vacation somewhere.
I was waiting for Le Rivage to open and excited I would have the chance. When I saw the pictures and the menu, my heart sank. While it’s in the old Gloriette space, it’s not a successor for us. The setting and the menu could put it anywhere. Miami, St Tropez, Vegas frankly. It feels as though much of what is opening on the island is targeting not even the 1% but the .1% international set. I do fine, some would say even well. It’s not that I can’t afford these places, but the abundance of places like this show me how much has changed since we first came. We used to come to enjoy the beaches, the weather and the natural beauty in a different culture and have a casual meal where you could dig your toes in the sand or have a view of the car park and get far better food than what you would expect given the setting. Instead I feel as though it’s becoming a place where people come to put another notch in their dining belt of places they have been.
You have to dig down to find as the inestimable Buffet called it the old St Barts. It’s still there. But you have to seek it out in places that might not have a great view or no view at all. The staff might not even speak good English. But it’s there and as long as I can find it I will keep coming despite the bling.
So we have returned from our first post Covid trip. Our trip started early one morning at JFK. While we were waiting in line to check in for our flight, we were behind a family with two small children, the youngest was an adorable little girl who might have been 3. She wanted to say hello to us but was too shy to say anything and so hid behind her older brother. As we boarded our flight to St Martin, we saw that the family was just a few rows behind us. An interesting coincidence I thought that the family would be on the same flight as us. Didn’t think much more than that.
Once at SXM we went through the in transit line. Showed the EHAS and vax cards and were through in 5 minutes. Went to get our bags and head to Winair. Who do we see? That same little girl. I ask her are you following us? I think that’s the way you start a love affair with the island for the kids. Get them when they’re little. We are on the 2:55 flight and when we talk to the mother we find out they are on the 2:40 flight. The Winair counter team waves me over and reissues new boarding passes that has us also on the 2:40. Small jackpot as we will arrive 15 minutes earlier I think. As we are waiting to take off, we chat with another couple who are also making their first return trip since Covid. Everyone is eager to go, but this being the Caribbean the flight doesn’t leave until 3:00. We land and part ways with our new acquaintances.
It was such a thrill to be back. I think this was the second time we have been in June. Felt a lot busier than the prior visit. The island was buzzing with activity. As others have noted, the traffic was heavy and trying to get parking in Gustavia was challenging. I would loop around waiting for something to open. Felt like hitting a mall the week before Christmas.
We drove around to see what changes have happened the past two years. It’s clear a lot more money has flown into town. There’s more massive villas being built. The same hedge fund names I deal with IRL are here. The sand lot wrestling pit on St Jean is an eyesore waiting for a billionaire cage match to be resolved. The roads are in better shape but I think something has been lost on that stretch of Grand Fond. All the new walls are too perfect. As if the Disney imagineers have been let loose to create a fantasy version of the island.
We went to lunch at Lil Rock. This isn’t the same place we discovered 3 years ago. Much more refined space. No longer looks like it would blow down in the next minor storm. No accras or simple grilled fish on the menu either. Everything was tasty and 50% higher in price but lacking the feel it used to have. Then I found out that it had been sold for a considerable sum and suddenly it made sense what happened.
We went to Zion for dinner. The place looked the same but I noticed that the food had changed. When it used to be really good food that was well prepared, it now had that international modernist spin where it was beautiful but nothing was recognizable anymore. It could be served anywhere. Deconstructed and reconstructed. It was all good, but it no longer spoke to me of the island. I can get plenty of high end modern cuisine in NYC. I was disappointed by the meal as I had such different expectations for it. I felt it had lost something in its refinement.
So the wife and I endeavored to eat more of our meals at place where there is less refinement and frankly fewer American tourists if that’s possible. I had a fabulous bit of mahi mahi mi-cuit at Le Jardin. The bavette with a sauce made from blue cheese at Bouchon was spectacular. Le Piment and Le Repaire were as reliable as ever. Cre’age for true creole food instead of what passes for Colombo at a €40 fare place. Lunch at Fish Corner has confirmed for me that the best local fish cooking on the island is happening here. Eddys was just so comforting despite the mosquitoes that turned us into an appetizer for them. Santa Fe is perhaps for us the pinnacle (literally and figuratively) of dining in the island. When we came, we were told they were out of mussels. I didn’t care as I had other things like chicken nems in mind.
Does anyone else wonder why they’re flying mussels thousands of miles? In a world where people supposedly care about sustainability and local how does that work? When I think about some of the sushi that’s being served with some fish that’s from Japan, I wonder how it got here? A flight from Tokyo to Paris, then another from Paris to SXM to make another small hop to SBH? That piece of fish flew 10-12 thousand miles and gets more frequent flyer miles than I do. Seems crazy to do that. So I resolved to eat local fish, thon, mahi mahi, wahoo, langouste, chatrou. Had to break down on getting a bit of green stuff as that all seems to come from elsewhere. I know in a place like St Barts everything has to come from somewhere else, but I can at least make a decision not to encourage so much stuff coming half way around the world to be enjoyed in a 10 second bite. Yeah, yeah I know I had to fly there too but I can do what I can to minimize the impact in little ways. A guys has to go on vacation somewhere.
I was waiting for Le Rivage to open and excited I would have the chance. When I saw the pictures and the menu, my heart sank. While it’s in the old Gloriette space, it’s not a successor for us. The setting and the menu could put it anywhere. Miami, St Tropez, Vegas frankly. It feels as though much of what is opening on the island is targeting not even the 1% but the .1% international set. I do fine, some would say even well. It’s not that I can’t afford these places, but the abundance of places like this show me how much has changed since we first came. We used to come to enjoy the beaches, the weather and the natural beauty in a different culture and have a casual meal where you could dig your toes in the sand or have a view of the car park and get far better food than what you would expect given the setting. Instead I feel as though it’s becoming a place where people come to put another notch in their dining belt of places they have been.
You have to dig down to find as the inestimable Buffet called it the old St Barts. It’s still there. But you have to seek it out in places that might not have a great view or no view at all. The staff might not even speak good English. But it’s there and as long as I can find it I will keep coming despite the bling.
