Our second major offshore lunch was in Fort-de-France, Martinique where I had unsuccessfully tried to call the top place in town, La Belle Epoque, for weeks before our departure to reserve a table at the famous gourmet location in the hills north of town. As soon as we disembarked, the woman at the tourist board desk sadly informed us, "ferme." I was devastated. She was a gem and went through the local restaurant listings with us, but most of the finer spots are at hotels to the south and we were headed north and in town only. Many of the finer spots in town were fully booked, as lunch is the big meal here (it IS France, and the stores still close for two hours each day at noon).
We ended up just northeast of downtown at HOSTELLERIE de DILLON on Avenue des Arawaks near the famous Dillon Rhum Distillery. The neighborhood is named Dillon as well, and we think the restaurant may even be owned by the distillery.
The wooden tables and (not too comfy) chairs are mostly outside on a covered patio with a small pool and next to ours a hot tub! I guess they may have some guests (hotel or guest house). Our server was an aloof French (read: tres gay and obnoxious). My French is pretty good and Will can't manage a menu, so I asked him if he spoke English to try and clarify some local terms. His "NON" was so abrupt and he waved his hand like some queen in a bad gay movie. What he failed to tell us was that many others did speak English, which was the only real fault of the afternoon.
We found our beloved BADOIT sparkling water and while Will sipped a Coca-Cola Light, I had a small carafe of tasty dry crisp ROSE de PROVENCE, a relief in the 80+ degree heat. Only I had a starter, which I shared with Will and it was a dreamy DORADE CUIT (barely seared Dorado) in a light tasty (and not sweet at all) COCONUT SAUCE with a small salad of bright red tomato and lettuce in a Dijon Vinaigrette. The fish was superb and we marveled at the sauce, especially since coconut can often be too sweet. The tomatoes were to die for, and I wanted to grab them up and take them back to the ship as the ones aboard tend to be a bit sad.
The main courses were a gourmet delight: I had the TARTARE of CARIBBEAN FISH mixed with lentils and a DILLON RHUM LIME Sauce surrounded by capers and another much larger salad with those delightful tomatoes. The fish was exquisite and the preparation superb; there was really no rum taste at all and I loved the idea of the lentils with the capers for a salty taste.
Will's GRILLED MARLIN with a CREOLE SAUCE was a lighter version of the swordfish-like fish we know but as tasty as could be and seasoned to perfection. The sauce was a divine lemony-yellow and creamy, but not spicy and the dish was accompanied by delicious haricots verts and rice.
After coffee, we headed back to the ship hoping that we can squeeze in one more offshore meal as good today in Saint Martin.
