WOW, we haven't been back to La Vie en Rose since about 87.In those DAYS they served small portions for big $$$$ but everthing was fine....Hey Pat, Looks as though its Philippe's favorite too. He is operating a similiar buffet style restaurant on the other side of the island.IMO, SHE has a great buffet and is an original from the DAYS and providing the buffet for 25+ yrs. I agree we enjoyed the Frigate and the surroundings with plenty of parking too......We used to gamble in the original casino at MB & where we stayed at Little Bay Beach Hotel. I recall the Pelican casino kept closing and so did Treasure Island.Didn't the MB casino chips have an MB printed on them. I remember dealers asking us & others to cash in chips they had.How about Casino Royale & Studio Seven upstairs from the 80's and parking across the street in that huge parking lot.

Quote
parking across the street in that huge parking lot.

Nowadays, aside from Peg Leg's... talking about sxm and "huge parking lot" in the same sentence is certainly an oxymoron....

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Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

Pat,
Well actually "La Fregate" in Marigot (same name as the one in M was related and also owned by Mr Petit, because it was in the same exact location as the Poisson d'Or. He closed "Le Poisson d'Or" and opened "La Fregate". Le Poisson d"or was a Uper hand gourmet water front restaurant, but when they filled up in front of it to construct the parking and the market, it lost a lot of its charm (and clientele..). That's why Mr Petit took the decision to close in 95 (after Luis) and to re-open later under La Fregate which was destroyed in Mulet Bay by the huricane.

Kind Regards,
Philippe



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Thanks, Philippe, you really do know your island.

The original Frigate at MB, was just plain and simply - The Frigate - and we so loved the place. The first time we ever dined there was 1973 and it truly became a ritual.

Our first dinner there was interesting, to say the least. We were attending a convention with 24 other local contractors and their wives, most of whom were absolutely delightful and like us, fast falling in love with SXM. There was one couple - the husband was pleasant enough but the wife....OMG!! She was literally the wife from hell. I don't think there was anything on the entire trip that made her happy. This particular day a bunch of us were talking about our dinner plans and mentioned where we were going and the husband asked if they could join us - one of those situations where we had no other choice but to say yes. Big mistake! The wife was so badly behaved that each and every couple, unbeknown to the others, snuck back after we'd finished dinner and officially left the restaurant, and apologized to the management and the waiters for this woman's behaviour and each of us left an additional gratuity because we felt so bad about the way she treated them. It was probably one of the best nights the waiter ever had.....and believe me, he earned every dollar he got that night and it probably still wasn't enough to compensate him for her rudeness.

I remember Poisson d'Or from about the late 80's or so and we only tried LaFrigate in Marigot once and then it, too, was gone, or so it seemed. I think our kids happened upon it in the Fall one year and the following spring we all went together but it was a very different atmosphere then the one at MB. Equally good food but without the lagoon and the great salad bar....and it seems like the next time we went looking for it, it was gone. When they filled in so much of Marigot I totally lost my bearings (although that isn't very difficult for me to do anywhere) so thanks for the refresher course as to what was where and when.

Respectfully,

pat

We did find Le Fregate in Marigot, just by accident, same chairs!! They told us they could have stayed in Mullet Bay, but it was just too dark and they didn't like the "feeling" and that was probably 10 years ago!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2008 07:17AM by kim.

Hey, Ask people who remember parking in that lot it was huge. It was across from Cheri's & casino Royale where the strip stores are now located. Parking was so easy in those DAYS because the area wasn't overdeveloped like it is today.Plus it was well lite with several pole lights. I remember Poisson d "OR had a sign next to the alleyway entrance, right?And I think it was across from David's restaurant too. I agree about losing directions after the Harbor was filled in and the Harbor rd was built.We used to walk threw the alley to locate the MINI CLUB and park on the main rd.At least the Frigate remained open when MB went out of business in the early 90's....Hey Barbara, How many old postcards ( originals) do you think are in your collection.

hi Bob
I'm not sure. I think I have around 200-250.
regarding that parking lot, here's a video that shows that parking lot.
I think Pauline posted it on You Tube if I am not mistaken.

[www.youtube.com]

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Barbara, Thanks for the link to U Tube and the video's from 88.I saw Ben & Jerry's but what was the name of the ice cream shop in the corner store by Cheri's.I laughed when I saw how few cars were on the roads back then. Who would have figured traffic would be such a problem in the future.I enjoyed seeing the Oyster Pond Hotel and Dawn Beach Hotel and no high rises back in the DAYS.A few days before they took their video we were staying at LaHabitation Pres weeks but had better weather.The video reminded me of walking into those shops across from the lot after dinner and the casino.Remember how quiet & remote the Oyster Pond area was in those DAYS.Our first visit there was 79 and my second visit was 06 to see the Westin construction.I also enjoyed seeing that old snack truck parked at the Marigot Dock. We occasionally purchased a drink from that truck. Thanks.

Hey I forgot to mention the one Lane Sandy Ground Bridge from the video.I can't imagine how that bridge would be with all the traffic in recent yrs.I can't recall ever having a long delay while letting cars pass.Remember why the area was called Sandy Ground? I guess because of all the sand and the sandy road past the bridge.

Barbara, I read the part of your Blog about being out of electric.Remember yrs ago when the power company would shut the power off for 4 hrs a day to make IMPROVEMENTS.Most of the time the island was notified inadvance. Looks like the power hasn't changed much from the DAYS.

yea, I do remember that and, actually it hasn't changed that much unfortunately. So all of old SXM is not totally lost after all!

I do remember though that in those days power always went off in philipsburg too..especially when cruise ships were in. We used to joke that GEBE waited until it was a big cruise ship day to turn off the lights.
No one could sell anything.
Well,we could always sell booze..people knew how to grab their favorite bottle in the dark LOL
But can you imagine buying a diamond in the dark?
it didn't happen!
Now,at least, philipsburg usually..not always, but usually... stays on even when other parts of island go dark.

I remember also always running out of water. In those days the water desalinization plant was small and we did not have GEBE water on our hill. We did have a huge double cistern though which served us well for the most part.
But when I first arrived here, being a typically wasteful American, I would leave the water running all the time, go to the refrigerator, the stove, and then come back and maybe turn the water off. I also flushed the toilet each and every time. LOL
In no time at all we ran out of water and we had to order water from water trucks.
My husband was not too happy with me and I learned quickly how to conserve water.

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Hey Barbara, The power & water companies said yrs ago the outages were to make improvements for the future. Aren't they done yet!!!!!HaHa Also why is tap water in certain locations not recommended for drinking just flushing.

where is tap water not recommended for drinking?
here?
I never heard that.

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Some villas still have only cistern water

Barbara, I noticed a sign in the men's rm at the Esmeralda's COCO Beach Bar were we stay on Orient. It stated the tap water was for washing only and not for drinking.