Philipsburg, St. Maarten: Here’s some touches of Americana if you happen to get homesick while you’re here. Fat Chance of that. In fact, you’ll be missing St. Maarten, St. Martin so much when you get home you’ll be longing to be back here.
The Island has probably the most diverse cuisines of any destination in the world. French, Indonesian, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Creole, etc. You name it and this island has it but you may crave a good old Hamburger or a Pizza or even a BLT. Particularly if you have kids on-board. Ok then.
Absolutely Great Hamburgers at many of our Restaurants and this is coming from a very picky American. Hamburgers are staples here as well as they are in the States. The Best? Jimbo’s in Simpson Bay and Cheri’s Café at Maho Plaza. Pizza? All over the place in several different styles but the best? Pizza Galley in Simpson Bay who have defined “gourmet” pizza and the new Valentino’s at the Simpson Bay Yacht Club.
My own favorite restaurant for purely American fare is “Bay Watch” on Orient Beach. Its owners, Andy and Cheryl hail from New Jersey but have been here on St. Maarten, St. Martin even longer than I have and I’m here for over 20 years.
Andy and Cheryl originally had the “Surf Club South” in Grand Case but Hurricane Luis in ‘95 took care of that. They now hold forth at one of the neatest and most popular places on this, our Signature Beach, serving THE BEST Fried Calamari, Meatball Heroes, Hamburgers, Chicken, Ribs, Hot Dogs, Veal and Eggplant Parmigiana and a varied assortment of other dishes all very reasonably priced.
And if you like clams, on Wednesdays they get in a shipment from the States so for the next few days you can have them raw or in other preparations. Particularly Clams Arreganata which you cannot get anywhere else and I mean using whole, not the stupid chopped up ones. I’m a clam nut and let me tell you they’re not only the best but for most purposes, Bay Watch is the only place you can get them.
But that’s not the whole fun of it. Just being at Bay Watch with its Classic Rock and Roll and its walls and ceilings covered with Street Signs, Sports Team Banners and other Memorabilia lends an atmosphere of Pure Fun with Andy and Cheryl themselves being the most gracious, welcoming and talkative hosts.
And despite all this Americana, “Bay Watch” still retains a genuine Caribbean atmosphere. We don’t really want to be back in New Jersey now. Do we? Oh. Andy and Cheryl finally got married after being together for 25 years. And not a minute too soon. Their wedding was an event and I’m happy to say I was there. Be sure to congratulate them when you’re there.
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