The "Culinary Capital of the FWI" Story

It was an ordinary day. We were walking down the main street in Grand Case, St. Martin looking for a restaurant. The streets are narrow and parking is congested. Cars try to pass going both ways and find it hard to do. Flower boxes line the sides of many of the houses and the stores have colorful names and logos. During the "in" season of December to March, every Tuesday night is Harmony night with a parade, craft stands everywhere and steel drum bands playing all night. Not hard to find a good restaurant, though. Grand Case is known as the culinary capital of the Caribbean. Located on the French side of St. Martin, it features everything from gourmet eating to "lolos". A "lolo" has two connotations it seems. Some say that lolo stands for locally owned, locally operated while other say that the "lolo" is the 55 gallon drum that is cut in half longways and made into a large BBQ pit for cooking. Either way, the "lolos" are a great choice for a meal. There are four bunched together with "Sky's The Limit" and "Talk of the Town" located along the street while the other two are behind them, fronting the water. We have eaten in all of them over the years and find they all have good choices. For about $10 you can get a plate filled with ribs, chicken and fish along with potato salad, mac and cheese, coleslaw, and a Johnny cake. Add a beer or a soda for about $2 and you have a tasty, filling meal. Others prefer the many fine places to dine along the main street in Grand Case. Restaurants with names such as Le Cottage, L'Escapade, Tastevin, Spiga, La Marine and Fish Pot line the mile and a half restaurant row. At one end of the stretch is the Sunset Cafe which is part of the Grand Case Beach Club and close to the other end is California Restaurant. Since Grand Case is on the French side of the island, most restaurant charge in Euros which is the European money system, but many offer their items for the same price in US dollars. Since the US dollar is worth less, those restaurants that offer that deal do well with the travelers from the USA. A few nights ago Carol and I ate at Calmos Cafe which was featured on the TV show "Three Sheets" which is a show about drinking your way across different parts of the world. We saw a segment that featured St. Martin and the Calmos Cafe so we thought we would try it. Located right on the beach, they make their own flavored rum for an after dinner treat. Our waiter for the evening looked almost like our youngest son Tad, so we had a pix taken with him. Neat experience eating on the beach and the raggae band that played after dinner was great, but the meal wasn't anything special. Tonight we have chosen to eat at Il Nettuno, an Italian restaurant owned by a fellow who is from the Washington DC area. The most fantastic spinach and cheese ravioli done in a butter sauce I have ever eaten. But then I have had it many times at this restaurant so I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. After dinner we walk the street looking at the diners and the stores along the street. Eventually find our way back to the car and head back to the villa. The evening in Grand Case is always eventful and we never leave hungry. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Photos are from top to bottom: Carol along main street in Grand Case, people arriving by boat for their evening meal, street in front of the lolos during supper, chef working his 55 gal drum with ribs, chicken and fish, Carol and LDub with our waiter who looks like our son Tad, raggae band preforming at Calmos Cafe, waterfront tables at Il Nettuno Restaurant and spinach and cheese in butter sauce ravioli.