The Place is THE PLACE

Gorgeous and nearly-empty Rendezvous Bay

I'm a sucker for a beach bar that has lots of shade, nice breezes, comfortable chairs, good food and great service.  Well, really, who wouldn't be? Up until this trip to Anguilla, I always had to sacrifice at least one, usually two, items on my list.  Elodia's, my favorite place on Shoal Bay East, has uncomfortable chairs and food that I'm not exactly going to write home about. Same thing for Gwen's. Smokey's lacks sufficient shade, as do most other beach bars on the island But with The Place, I have found my beach bar Nirvana.

There is a covered pavilion with chairs and daybeds, and the dining area is fully shaded, too.  The fact that Dave and Mo from Smokey's also work at The Place? Well, that's just pure gravy as far as I'm concerned.  They're both sweethearts.

DH and Mo

We spent two consecutive days there last week, and we plan to spend our last day on the island there, too, for a total of four days spent there during our vacation.  (As of this writing, The Place is only open Thur-Sun).  One day we had The Place practically to ourselves and the second afternoon we were lucky enough to run into our new friends, Adria & JP, there.  They're the couple from Texas who were in residence at Las Esquinas during our brief stay there, and we really hit it off with them. 

The food is solid, the water there is perfect for swimming, and that end of Rendezvous Bay is constantly blessed with breezes. One day DH and I shared the local version of a surf & turf platter: grilled ribs & shrimp, served with fries, slaw, and salad. The second day I had the fish sandwich with rice & peas and DH opted for the hamburger with fries. Both came with slaw, and all three dishes were fresh and tasty.

Ribs & chicken

DH's hamburger

My fish sandwich with fresh-mango daiquiri

Mo and Dave also won me over because of their willingness to mix drinks with fresh fruit instead of with the Island Oasis mixes that are ubiquitous on the island. Mo made sure I always had a cold beverage in front of me, bringing extra ice as needed and even the occasional drink sample to see if I liked it.  On the second day, Dave brought mangos to work from his home because he'd run out of fruit the day before and I told him that I'd be there.

It's a pity the man cannot relax!

Sampling a Singapore Sling from Mo

We stayed until late in the afternoon.  They settled up the tabs around 4:00 each day, but they were fine with our staying there as long as we wanted. Late in the afternoon is when I prefer to swim, as the sun is slightly less intense then and I'm less likely to develop that raccoon-like look that I get when wearing my sunglasses all the time. 

Corner Bar

Because we'd been so long at the beach and feeling like we'd rather eat in, we stopped at The Corner Bar in North Hill to grab a pizza to go.  We met some interesting folks there while we waited for our hand-tossed pizza, and the large was ample enough to feed us for two dinners, plus have a couple of slices left over. We ordered the Supreme, which has your usual blend of meat & veggies, but the flavor was really terrific.  We set the pizza aside at home while we went for a walk and swim at Barnes Bay, but by the time we sat down to eat it, the crust had become soggy.  Still, I don't know what herbs and spices Corner Bar puts into their seasoning, but it tasted great. 

So basically, The Place + The Corner Bar = 2 Great Days! I can't wait to go back there on Thursday for my last day on the island.