Mark's Place: A Philipsburg St. Maarten Restaurant (also in Cul de Sac, French St. Martin)

Ok... Mark's Place is where hungry people come to eat. Other than some of the lolo's on St. Maarten Island, we could not find any other St. Maarten restaurant where we could fill up on $12 the way we did here. This is a covered (but not enclosed) restaurant that was filled with locals both times we visited.

It is located adjacent to the Grande Marche supermarket on the outskirts of Philipsburg.

Feeling pretty hungry, it was tempting to order one of the steaks - frankly, that 12 oz Ribeye was looking pretty tempting. But, again, we were on a budget since there really are so many restaurants to choose from. We needed to save for others!

So, we happened to notice a special on the "Grill and Stew" section of the menu. And also on the chalkboard. Hmmm. Baby Back Ribs for $10? Ok, we figured it would fit the bill for a quick snack. We could have gone "All You Can Eat" for $12. But, feeling cheap, we went with the $10.

This did not disappoint! The meal came with bread and rice and peas (a local side dish) as well. There is no way I could eat it all. Even John had trouble eating all his.

Some of the other items on the menu include soups and appetizers (including escargots - but I'm a little squeamish about that one...), as well as a nice selection of salads (from the basic green salad to Nicoise, to Chef, to Norwegian Smoked Salmon Platter, to Seafood).

Mark's Place offers a modest pasta selection and sandwiches, as well as some good looking fish meals: Mahi Mahi, Snapper Fillet Meuniere, Belle Meuniere, Salmon, Shirmp, and Whole Snapper - all pretty much under $20 US. There are a few chicken meals, as well as some veal and beef - but I'm guessing that the ribs are one of the most popular items on the menu. The most expensive meal we saw was a 20 ounce Prime Rib meal for $24.00. Everything else was between $10 and $20.

Judging by the crowd, I would say this is a local winner! Actually, we found ourselves back for more during our stay! So much for trying as many different restaurants as possible! :) 

So, here are a few of the other St. Maarten restaurants we have REALLY enjoyed - and of course we'll add to them as we go along. We also welcome YOUR additions!

• Lal's Curry in a Hurry (NEW location in Simpson Bay)
• Mark's Place (Philipsburg location)
• Taco Macho (Simpson Bay)
• Talk of the Town (in Grande Case, French St. Martin)