Cheeseburger in Paradise..

Here it is, arguably the most famous cheeseburger in the world, the cheeseburger that inspired Jimmy Buffet to write the famous song "Cheeseburger in Paradise".  Though Buffets song mentions every layer of this creation, if you listen to the lyrics, the inspiration is actually more about the surrounding  "Paradise", and the breaking of a 70 day~vegetarian fast than the burger. 

As far as burgers go this one is pretty basic, but it's the setting in which it is served that stirs one to sing.

No visit to St. Barts is complete without a trip to the home of this well-sung sandwich, Le Select. Le Select has a tree filled courtyard with a mix-match of plastic tables and chairs and bright red umbrellas and strings of lights. Most days you can find artist David Wegmen {more on him to come} and fellow musicians sitting in front strumming the blues and singing folksy tunes, click on Geronimos Cadillac to enjoy the full musical effect. Their music is like the sirens song, beckoning one in to sit, forget about the time, enjoy the warm breeze, a burger and a bev. 

Le select is the place to go to enjoy the local, laid back, and more pirate-like spirit of St. Barts.

Find it at the end of the Quai de la République, the main shopping street that runs along the harbor sporting high end shops such as Gucci, Cartier and Louis Vuitton. At the end of the road one can choose to go left, right, 

or continue straight ahead for a cheeseburger in paradise.

beach to table...

The wraparound veranda of our classic West Indies style rental house was just begging to host a crew dinner one night during the regatta. The house overlooked the bay of Gustavia and was conveniently located right on the main shopping strip {contact Jean~Pierre at St. Barth Estates (or me) if you'd like more details}.

Planning the menu was easy, because right across the street was La Poissonnerie, where the local fisherman would sell their morning catch. On the morning of our dinner, I strolled over to see what looked good and selected some beautiful Mahi Mahi which they expertly filleted for me. I prepared the fish with this flavorful Thai coconut sauce. We made the sauce in the morning, and allowed the fillets to marinate in a cup or so of the sauce in zip lock bags in the refrigerator for the rest of the day before grilling them in the evening.



Beverages were easy, the markets in St. Barth's are well stocked with all of the French wines and champagnes, for this dinner I bought bottles of Ott's and Minuty rosé, champagne and rum. We also had some ginger beer to make Dark & Stormy's {rum + ginger beer}.

Now, what to do about a centerpiece??

Without my closet of vases and other flower arranging supplies, I had to get creative.

Thankfully, the gardener was doing some pruning on the surrounding properties, and was more than happy to give me some of the trimmings.

But what to put them in....

after doing all of the prep work for dinner, my daughter and I headed to the beach for lunch, and a little down time.  Here on the beach I found the answer to my question....sand... 

beautiful, natural, plentiful, sand.

I scooped a few pounds from the beach into my sarong.

Back at home I spread the sarong and sand out on the table and plunged in the stems of these 

beautiful celadon colored branches that the gardener had given to me that morning. 

I think these are baby dates from a date palm {any other ideas??}.

In the sand they looked almost coral-like. Bougainvillea grows all over the islands, so I added several little bouquets for bursts of color.

Sadly, I didn't have any candles to sink into this sandy beach scene, 

but the beautiful sunset provided a naturally warm glow to the scene.

If you're thinking you'd like to bring the beach to your table this summer, you may find some inspiration from this beach scene table scape how-to,



and these DIY beach scene invitations.



Here's a little interior shot,



I love the combination of colonial furnishings and palm fronds, don't you?

Bon fête des Meres...

I hope it is a beautiful day for all of you who are mothers. Below are some quotes in both French and English you may enjoy.

Tendresse maternelle, toujours se renouvelle.

A mother's affection is always new.

(French proverb)

À l'oreille de tous les enfants "maman" est un mot magique.

To a child's ear, "mother" is magic in any language.

-Arlene Benedict, writer

(original quote in English)

Maman tu es la plus belle du monde car tant d'amour inonde tes jolis yeux.

Mom you are the most beautiful in the world, for so much love floods your pretty eyes.

-Henri Salvador,

a French jazz singer and composer.

Une maman formidable donne toujours une grand-mere exceptionnelle.

A great mother always makes an exceptional grandmother.

-Jean Gastaldi, French writer.

Ma Maman est une Maman comme toutes les Mamans, mais voilà c'est la mienne.

My Mom is a Mom like all Moms, but she's mine.

- Mick Micheyl, French actress from the 1960's.

Dieu ne pouvait être partout, alors il a cree la mere.

God couldn't be everywhere, so He created mothers. 

(Jewish proverb)

L'avenir d'un enfant est l'oeuvre de sa mere.

The future of a child is the work of his mother. 

-Napoleon Bonaparte.

Le coeur d'une mere est un abîme au fond duquel se trouve toujours le pardon.

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.

Honore de Balzac, a 19th century French novelist and playwright.

L'amour de ma mere etait si grand que j'ai travaille dur pour le justifier.

The love of my mother was so great that I had to work hard to justify it.

Marc Chagall, Russian painter.

La main qui berce l'enfant est la main qui domine le monde.

The hand who rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

William Ross Wallace, poet (original quote in English).