I haven't been there yet, and won't go for the buffet because we're just not buffet people. We'll go on a weeknight when we can really enjoy Philippe's creations! I'm looking forward to it!

I am back and….wow !..... LOL ! I read all of your comments and wanted to thank you for your kind words, regarding me being missed and also regarding the thread on the other board… I didn’t had hard time to find it since the board’s owner let it going on without interfering with censure, for once ! (and I know why….LOL ).

So since I can’t and am not posting there, I will somehow respond here, on this board.

First of all, criticism is constructive and is the only way to learn and build better foundations, but criticism must be also taken carefully and objectively. Everybody is entitled to an opinion, and all opinions are different, thankfully, otherwise this world would be so f*#@g boring… It goes the same for “taste”…The matter of fact, in French we have a expression who says “les gouts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas” which mean in English translation “one does not argue over tastes and colors”… Basically you can never make everybody happy. Also, as I mentioned a while ago to my friend Barbara as well as Pat (I believe..), my fear is that some people can have very high expectations according to their reading on different board, can set the bar very high, and may end up disappointed… unfortunately it can happen.

On the other hand I would like to say that in some aspect I agree with the original poster’s critic… I too, feel that some of the items on the buffet are overcooked… My partner, and most of my friends disagree with me…. They like it that way! It shows how different people like their food cooked. The fact that some of the item can be overcooked in my eyes, is because the vast majority of our clientele like it that way. I know by fact that in the past some people were complaining that the food wasn’t cooked enough and were worrying about health issue. This is funny, because I just came back from southwest Florida, and I barrely couldn’t get a steak rare or medium rare!!!! On every single menus there were some warnings about undercooked meat, poultry and seafood regarding severe health issues. I guess a lot of our guests must come from southwest Florida, and people from Maine may not see the undercooked thing being an issue… On the other hand there are many other choices on the buffet which are not and can’t be overcooked…: Tuna Carpaccio Mahi Mahi carpaccio, Salmon Carpaccio and salmon Tartar, Tuna Tartar, Sahimi, etc… but those maybe too raw then!

I mentioned “Maine” because the original poster (pberg) is from there, as well as the other very harsh critical poster (Modi), and they both posted from the same computer in Marigot. I guess we had a Maine People Convention at Captain O. that night (just kidding…) and except if those two posters are husband and wife they weren't sit at the same table since my reservation's records shows the original poster at a table for two! Also, I noticed in the past, that the strongest critics about lobster and seafood in Caribbean are in general people from New England, so it may just be logical, that our buffet being in a vast majority about Lobster and seafood, it may have been disappointing for those folks. I just find it sad overall that judgement of an establishment is being made basically solely about one “item”: the Saturday buffet! And to say “It will take a lot for me to ever go back there”… it’s like going to a movie theater, being disappointed by the movie, and say “ I will never go back the this movie theater ever!!!”.. and what about the other movies in that theater??? What about the lunch or the dinner menu at Captain Oliver’s that we provide every single days (except for Saturday from 7pm to 10pm…)???? And not forgetting that any restaurant in the world can have a night “off”…with or without its manager being present.

I don’t believe I know any of those posters, so I doubt it is a vendeta thing against me or whatever... I am not that important nore worth it anyway! I don’t think those people even knew I was away either, it just happened that way. I was away but someone was in place to supervise the operation, it was expected to be a slow week which why I choice it to go in vacation, however the week was very busy, and both Saturday I was absent the restaurant had 140 and 166 customers for the buffet. The person in “charge” did not increase the staff on the floor so they may have been over worked which would explain the delay in service those nights. It is a mistake or a “mis-shedule”, I agree and I do appologise for the inconvenience… however I do not complaint of being busy in that particular season and end of April, beginning of May, when most of the restaurant on the island are whining and crying because there numbers are 35% down to compare with last year, ours are 40% up.

I want to thanks Barbara also who gave the opportunity to the poster on the other board to contact me directly regarding those issues, but I doubt they will, sine by experience they never do! Last time someone complained about one of my waiter giving them false information regarding the service charge, I gave my email address for them to contact me with information so I could clarify the problem (I even proposed to re-credit their credit card with the tip amount that they left if the wanted…), I never heard from them after that.

By the way… I had wonderful vacation and wonderful time in southwest Florida! I can’t wait to take another week off (and make more people unhappy… - just kidding!!!><)

Kind Regards,
Philippe



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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2009 07:21AM by Tabba Khady.

Thanks for setting the record straight Philippe.. glad to hear you had a nice vacation .. we just spent a week in Sanibel FL,very relaxing



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2009 09:06PM by .Bruce.

Was on Sanibel wednesday and thursday!... I loved it!

Kind Regards,
Philippe



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welcome back Philippe.
here's another vote for Sanibel.
love that place

[barcann.livejournal.com]

ahhhh, Captiva/Sanibel..... the ONLY place I'd go back to in the U.S. for my SXM fix! LOL Love it there!

peace

Welcome back Philippe! So glad you had a nice relaxing vacation. I don't think you really need to respond to any criticism, but I understand why you did. Anyone knows that a restaurant is going to have an off day, just like life itself...EVERYBODY has off days! It was just odd to me that someone was posting on how bad the food was when you weren't on the island. I had to speak up...Sorry

As far as the service being bad or slow, hey they're on island time, NOTHING moves at a fast pace like here in the states. I actually enjoy it. It does not bother us to have to wait for another drink or to get our bill. What we do is when it takes a long time for us to get another drink and the waitstaff does get back to us, we always order 2! lol It doesn't bother us to go up to the bar, or get someones attention and ask when they get time to get us another drink or our bill. You can plainly see when people are busy. That's one of the reasons why we come to St Martin....very, very relaxing. I love sitting in the restaurant checking things out. Looking at the scenery, see what other people are eating, sparking up conversation with the table next to us, and getting to know the people who work there. It's fun!

Anyway.....blah-blah-blah....time for me to shut the pie-hole We're all just glad you're back and even happier that you had a great time in Florida!!

Melissa

Typical classy response...welcome back Philippe!!!

Hey!

Read all the posts on both forums and would like to make a comment:

You can't please all the people all the time.

We have never had the Capt. Olivers buffet. Neither Michele nor I can eat such an expansive offering and enjoy it....too much good food !

All I know is that after reading both forums for a great deal of time I do have an opinion.

Philippe has made EVERY EFFORT to improve things at the restaurant. He has toiled with staff issues and economy downturns and has been successful in growing the business......SO...he's gotta be DOING SOMETHING RIGHT !

SXM businesses are not limited to the whims and wishes of one week visitors with special needs and lofty self centered expectations....they have to perform 52 weeks a year for EVERYBODY who comes through the door......we forget that sometimes.


Denis

Bid Den, that is an excellent point!!

Hello all,
This is my first post on this board. I wanted to share our thoughts regarding Capt. Olivers on both "boards", but the other board has been cut off.
We had the pleasure of eating the Saturday night buffet at Captain Olivers last February and were completely satisfied and more. I feel,like many people do, that Phillipe is doing an excellent job and has made many improvements to the restaurant. I feel the food is far better than what you could EXPECT at a typical buffet. The shashimi, carpaccio, sushi and whatever else you may call it was excellent. The beef and pork were very good, and the grouper was excellent and not dried out. I didn't try the chicken and ribs, I usually go to the lolo's for that. The cold salads were cold, the hot side dishes were hot, the dessert "boat" was very good with a wide variety. We will be back.
Can you compare the food to a high end French restaurant? Maybe not ( they get criticized on the boards too).
Can you expect the same personalized service as in a small French bistro. Maybe not. It's hard to handle 100+ guests the same way we were served at the old Tabba Kahdy.
Thank goodness St Martin has restaurants for everyone. Some people do not like buffets. Do we eat too much at a buffet? Occasionally. Do we care? Not much, we are on vacation and usually exercise good judgement.
The setting of Capt O on the water is great, the entertainment is nice, the food is very good+, and we recommend it.
Lastly, I felt Phillipes response was excellent and professional.

BrucenSusan,

Thank you for an excellent post! I urge you to copy and paste it into a new thread on the other forum. I think you make good points and they deserve to be heard there as well as here.

Welcome back Philippe!

Guess that will teach you NOT to take a vacation!

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