The holidays have come to an end, and we have started another new year. The year has been off to a great start so far, and I can not wait to see what is in store for us. We are settled back in at home here, but there are still mornings that I can’t help but stare out the window longingly, just imagining that it is the beach in Simpson Bay.
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We are staying as well as spending the majority of our time on the Dutch side of St. Maarten this week. I have been fortunate to have visited the island of St. Maarten numerous times, ever since I was a child. No matter how many times we have been here, the days fly by, and there always seems to be something that we didn’t get the chance to see or do. Our first stop was at the Loterie Farms, covered in a canopy of greenery, and different fruit trees all around you. You can pay to lounge at the gorgeous pool, sunbathing in their big lounge chairs. If you want a more adventurous day, try out the Zip Line, or even just grab some drinks and bites at their restaurant lounge.
Visiting the French side of St. Martin was high on the list, and almost as always for reasons revolving around food. This trip wasn’t geared towards the high end restaurants, we wanted to make sure and visit the Lolos in Grand Case.
After we parked, we followed the smoke in the air, as we walked up the small streets, that are parallel to the beautiful ocean. Each of the outdoor grill restaurants have wood easels out that display their menus to the tourists and locals alike passing by. The smell of ribs on the grill is sure to grab your attention, and if you didn’t think you were hungry before, stand there and try to resist heading to a table to grab a seat. Typically this string of Lolos offers the prices at one Euro to one Dollar, which is always nice.
We decided to settle for lunch at “Talk of the Town.” As soon as we got seated at our picnic table, the crowds started to fill up the empty seats surrounding us. As you walk to your table, you can’t help but gaze at the open grill filled with racks of ribs, and lobster tails. There is also a long table with pots filled with assorted side dishes. Take a glance at the menu, and choose from the variety of meat and seafood options, and those lovely sides that you just walked by. I can never resist starting off a meal, with an icy cold bottle of Ting (Grapefruit Soda), anytime that I am here.
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We have spent the last few days on the beautiful island of St. Maarten with my family. Celebrating Christmas on white sandy beaches, with crystal clear water is pretty surreal. We have spent the majority of our time on the beach, I mean can you blame us? Yesterday we made way to the Dutch side capital of Philipsburg for some light shopping and lunch.
There were cruise ships docked, leaving the beach and small eateries full. We stopped off at Fishermans Pub and Grill, for a little taste of some local eats.
My favorite of the afternoon was the “Jamaarten”. Chicken wings smothered in their own jerk sauce recipe, and then grilled to perfection. It came with a small side of their own housemade barbecue sauce as well. The little plate of wings had a nice heat, that still leaves my mouth wandering just thinking about them.
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Now back to where I left off on our trip to Oaxaca. There is not a day that goes by, that we don’t find ourselves reminiscing about all of great times that were had. Towards the end of our stay, we visited the archaeological site in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan known as the gorgeous ruins of Monte Alban. I myself, have never been able to witness such beauty in front of me, unless it was a slide show on a projector back in high school. Standing amongst the ruins, I almost wanted to lay down and create grass angels, that is just how happy and serene it had me feeling.
Not to mention the endless open running area for Giovanni to roam free. He had a field day of his own, playing in the dirt and running back and forth between these, what I’m sure to him seemed like higher than the sky platforms.
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As you may know by now, our trip to Oaxaca was truly an enchanting experience. There are so many photos, and experiences to remember, that just being able to re-live it all again in my mind while writing it down, is indescribable. I could literally write for days, as I begin to day dream and look back at all the photos, but I am not writing a book here, so I will keep it to a minimum. Of course the first questions that we were asked upon our return, was about the food, and what was our favorite thing that we ate. Everything, and each restaurant or cafe that we ate at, has its own little place in my memory, but Pitiona was an evening that I will never forget.
We decided to choose our last evening to dine at Chef Jose Manuel Baños restaurant Pitiona. Believe me we walked by it numerous times during the week, and we could not wait to experience it for ourselves. Chef Jose Manuel has worked in some of the top restaurants in the world, including El Bulli and Arzak. He describes his dishes and creations as a “Gastronomic tour of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.” His inspiration stems from his devout passion for his homeland. The restaurant is located in the historic district, transformed from an old colonial house, with modern touches and art pieces in the interior from local Oaxacan artists. While you savor each bite of a dish, you can feel that love and admiration, and you know that this will be a meal to remember.
The evening started off with a glass of Baja wine for me, and a Pitiona martini for Antonio. The restaurant is named after this plant or herb that is used in a variety of dishes from soups, to bread, and now in this case their house martini. The herb was even growing in the window sill behind our table. They want this herb to remain a memory of yours, in time to come, and that it has. The restaurant itself is simply elegant, and the dish ware that came along with our meal, I would absolutely love to have on my own table at home.
We ordered the six course tasting menu, and here you can choose the exact courses that you would like to enjoy, or in our case we asked to just have the Chef send them out at random.
A little palate teaser was the Prickly Pear Granita with Coconut foam, and a sprinkle of chile on top. I have become an absolute fan of Prickly Pear lately, and this was the ideal way to get our taste buds rearing and ready to go for what was about to come.
The meal started off with a Memela de Venado. A fried corn tortilla filled with juicy venison. The star in this dish was of course the venison, there was nothing masking its natural flavors and beauty.
The second course, Jamon Serrano de Pato (Duck) on a toasted piece of bread with fresh tomatoes. Each ingredient shined on its own, and these couple of bites were packed with textures of flavors.
The third course, their lettuce of the land salad, with Goat Cheese, croutons, and avocado criollo. The flavors all together were earthy, you could almost taste the humidity and surrounding weather of Oaxaca in this salad. I know that sounds extreme, but it is so true. The tangy goat cheese and avocado together are a delightful pair, and their creaminess really comes through next to the greens.
Months prior to our Oaxaca visit, we started slowly jotting down places, sights, and food that we all wanted to see and devour. Anyone that knew we were going to Oaxaca told us that we absolutely could not miss their mercados. Markets have always been top spots to fuel my imagination and mind with all different kinds of ideas and inspiration. Let me tell you, Mercado Benito Juárez in Oaxaca is just phenomenal. Do not enter on a timed schedule, if you are anything like me, you will get lost somewhere between the piñatas and bowls of different chiles and spices. No, I wasn’t physically lost, my mind just decided to venture on its own course grasping all of the gorgeous colors, textures, and fragrances.
Walking around the market with empty stomachs, is not highly recommended. All of the different vendors in the 20 de Noviembre section of the mercado are waving their arms and menus at you, to get you to sit down at their own eatery. We chose to eat our breakfast at Comedor Chabelita. It was packed full of people, but we managed to grab a bench and section of a table to ourselves. We started off by sharing a Chocolate con agua, and a piece of pan de yema. Antonio ordered the Mole amarillo, and I decided on a Tlayuda sencilla. For the moment I wasn’t really craving meat, and the Tlayuda sencilla more than conquered my hunger. I had quite a few over our week stay, but was never actually able to finish a whole one.
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Where to begin. Let’s start off by saying that our trip to Oaxaca has been on our minds since we first booked our airline tickets at the beginning of the year. I know that it’s only natural to constantly think about an upcoming vacation, but this time it was just a different feeling. I never really like to get all worked up, and have a bunch of plans for vacations, because more often than not there can be a little bit of a let down. This trip the only plans we made were our flights, and the hotel stay. Other than that, we would roam aimlessly through the beautiful city of Oaxaca, and of course eat until our hearts delight.
This plan worked out absolutely perfectly. Not too mention, that we were traveling with our nearly 2 year old son, and actually having a set schedule doesn’t really seem to matter any more. He was so good, and could not get enough of his new surroundings. I mean, you can’t blame him, being about 2 and a half feet tall, running around the Zocalo, and playing with his new favorite toy, a balloon that was twice his size.
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