I am on a forced break. What is commonly referred to as garden leave. What that means is that I have resigned from my job. My old employer puts me out in the garden so to speak where I can’t do any damage before I can join my new firm. I can’t do any work for my new employer and I can’t do any work for my old firm. So for the next several months I am on paid unemployment. It’s a marvelous thing.
The downside of all this time off is that none of my family or friends can take a few months off to hang out and travel with me. I am in the position of having to focus on what I want to do for the next several months. I am starting by spending an extended period at one of my favorite places in the world - St Barthelemy. Commonly referred to as St Barts or St-Barth, but please don’t call it St Barths.
I arrived late yesterday afternoon. I headed to one of my favored beaches to put my toes in the sand and get my feet wet.
The peak on the right is where you will find the ruins of Autour du Rocher. If any of you are parrot heads, a legendary place in the life of Jimmy Buffet.
I was hungry and it was time for a bite as I had not eaten anything since breakfast so I walked here from the beach.
It’s located across from a cemetery where Johnny Halliday is buried. The Elvis of France. I don’t get the French taste in music. But the French way with hamburgers I can get behind.
The Jojo special which is au cheval. Fried egg and bacon on top of a well seasoned patty cooked to medium rare with cheese on a bed of sautéed shallots. A pile of the best frites you will find by a cemetery for a guy who eats frites.
Then what is becoming an increasingly rare thing, a complimentary shot of rhum vanille to end the meal.
Who knew a burger with a fried egg on top is horse-style.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
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I had to Google that, as it didnt make sense. The expression is more “on horseback”, which does make sense, I suppose. Certainly more poetic than “loaded”.
What an interesting and fun predicament to be in - I will enjoy your forced vacation vicariously with you! Funny, I thought those non-compete clauses were just empty threats.
(For a minute, I thought you might be @BKeats [I sent out a bat signal for him not too long ago because he just dropped off the board] - St. Barts is one of his favorite places, too.)
There are these superhuman beings that fly around above the water powered with nothing more than a giant wing shaped ballon. Every time I see them in action I long to be back in my 20s where the fear of injury didn’t keep me from doing things I shouldn’t.
These days, in order to eat well for a reasonable price you need to usually avoid waterfront places. An exception to that rule is Ti Corail which means something like a little bit of coral. It’s located on the bay of Grand Cul du Sac which often gets translated by google to big butt bag.
It doesn’t look like much. Just a shack on the beach with some picnic tables and a few counter seats.
For those who complain about how their kitchen could be larger and better equipped, this place operates with a two burner cooktop, toaster oven, broiler and two portable fryers.
For dessert, a slice of lime cheesecake which wasn’t heavy at all like the NY version topped with a compote of pineapple and passion fruit. Outstanding.
We see these guys at our RI beach, most recently over July 4 weekend. Some of them are definitely not in their 20s and they did it. Looked like so much fun but I’m not a daredevil.
Yeah, there was a group of 3 that showed up and got their gear together and I saw one that was closer to my age. Just don’t know if my back would deal well with holding the kite. But on a more positive note I plan to get out this weekend for plain old fashion long board surfing.
And I wouldn’t know that meant a fried egg on top, either. In all my riding days, the lack of fried eggs is glaring, and now I feel like I’ve been cheated.
