(Photos: RLW)
“Lolos” are what St. Maarten locals call informal outdoor barbecue restaurants. They are found all across St. Maarten. Two of the most famous lolos are located in Grand Case, on the French half of the island. Grand Case is St. Maartin’s restaurant nexus along a narrow street running parallel to the ocean, filled on each side with restaurants ranging from fancy to very simple. The lolos are basic delicious home cooking, a laid-back attitude and cheap. The local owners of these open-air restaurants usually offer “1 dollar to 1 euro” currency conversions, which these days is a pretty good deal for Americans.
The menus at Talk of the Town and Sky’s the Limit (among others) are displayed on wooden easels right on the sidewalk, and the delicious smell of shrimp, lobster, chicken and ribs on the grills drew us in. The lolos are composed of picnic tables protected under canopies, adjacent to an open grill and a wooden bar. For less than ten dollars you can choose a main dish with a plate load of sides, cooked to order.
We ordered Creole shrimp, BBQ Ribs and chicken. Our plates came with heaping helpings of sides, each of which can be ordered for a couple of bucks. Sides include green salad, corn-on-the-cob, fried Plantains, coleslaw, French Fries, mac and cheese, red beans and rice, dirty rice, and spaghetti in Creole sauce. Everything is made that morning and meats are barbequed while you dine. They offer a pungent local barbeque sauce, Kalina, bottled and sold on the island.
While we dined the grill smoke wafted through the tables while a local steel drum band played. The lolos fill up fast for good reason, so get there before Noon. Take-out works.
Richard Wottrich, Blog Editor
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