Rating: 
Summary: Read it on Island Time
Review: This is a well-written and interesting story about a Vermont couple throwing caution to the trade winds, selling their business and opening a restaurant on the remote Caribbean island, Anguilla. They chose the island for its beauty and its pace and because they had fond memories of past vacations there. The Blanchards soon learned, of course, that operating a restaurant in a place where everything-building materials, equipment, food-must be imported (with a 25 percent duty on top of it), was no vacation. Everything but the staff had to be imported from either neighboring St. Martin or Puerto Rico or Miami.Written in first person in the voice of Melinda Blanchard, she describes charming island characters and does a good job with "island patois." She gives a worthwhile account of the efforts to build (and then rebuild after a category 4 hurricane destroys their establishment) and run this exclusive restaurant-the choice of Hollywoods stars and VIPs. She even peppers the pages with recipes. The pace slows down to island time in the middle with perhaps too much detail about boat building and racing and local carnival celebrations, but overall it was a good read and very inspirational. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard.
Rating: 
Summary: A Trip to the Beach
Review: Refreshing! Take a break from all the Provence and Tuscany stories! Well written, very witty and great recipes included. One of the few books about foreigners moving to the Caribbean.
I am packing my bags, next vacation is in Anguilla! With Dinner at Blanchard's restaurant!
Rating:
Summary: Fun & food!!
Review: An easy reader that is lots of fun both for the story and relationships as well as the food and some recipes (few, but interesting). It is a great book to read during the gloomy winter weather!
Rating:
Summary: An Adventurous Trip to the Beach
Review: I am a small business owner (although my business has nothing at all to do with restaurants or food) and I enjoyed the adventurism of the Blanchards' escape to the Caribbean. It is at once inspiring and humbling to read their tale of hard work and rewards. Of course, they encounter their share of challenges along the way, but the way they describe them as well as their recovery makes the book a worthwhile read. I recommend it!
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Summary: What a little salad dressing will do...
Review: The Blanchards' book transported me back to this unique island in the Carribeean that I happen to have grown to love over the years. For an "arm chair" traveler this is a first class ticket. First, the description of the culture, people and scenic charm of the island is true and told with with humor and irony.
What a surprise to find it...really thinks it beats Frances Meyer and Tuscany at that game. They did a great job making salad dressing...which I always bought...and I am sure they don't need to be modest about their struggle to establish a "world class" resturant as well as assimilate into this very tight community that is a former British colony. Whenever we are on Anquilla it is the people that top the list, next come the best beaches in the world. A great read with a recipe or two that aren't too complicated to try. Great for that rainy afternoon this summer.
Rating:
Summary: live through the Blanchards
Review: I loved the book so much, I read it slowly so it would last longer. I wish that I had the capital the Blanchards had in order to do what they did. This book will really appeal to those who love to cook or are involved in the restaurant business. I bought it because I love the Caribbean and it satified me.
Rating:
Summary: unanswered questions....
Review: I just finished reading A trip to the Beach. It was awesome but I coulda done without their constant references to having lots of money. I mean they spent thousands on the supplies to build a beach restaurant that's not all that big. And they built it mostly themselves or so they say. (I have my doubts here...) And when a hurricane destroys it all a year later they go back to Anquilla (rhymes with Vanilla) to rebuild it all. No mention of insurance or where the money came from. Whatever. It's a beautiful dream, but something got lost in the translation of this true story. I think humbleness got lost. But it was like taking a little trip to somewhere new and I never left my own Jacuzzi bathtub. And that's a [inexpensive] trip!
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Summary: Rum punch anyone?
Review: Talk about carpe diem... that's what the Blanchards did: They uprooted themselves from cozy Vermont and settled their new home in their own form of paradise. Their courage is admirable and exciting to read about. The Blanchards are people I'd love to hang out with on a Carribean island. It's definitely a great book to read in the winter months to keep you warm!
Rating: 
Summary: Dreamy, overall an okay read
Review: There was a lot of fluff writing in this book. The idea of the book is very solid and, at the same time, whimsical. They have an awesome life story to tell, but the writing itself doesn't do the story justice.
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Summary: If you don't live in paradise, read this and weep !
Review: having moved to the Abaco islands in the Bahamas only 7 months ago, after spending 28 years in England, and the last year working for a US investment bank in the heart of London, this book really made me think how similar Anguilla was to the northern Bahamas. The way the locals talked in their broken English, the no-rush mentality, the awesome beaches and scenery, the power outages, the expense of imported goods etc made me feel like I'd written the book myself - I could identify with so many issues the Blanchard's come across. To "outsiders" this book seems like a fairy tale, and unless you visit for longer than a touristy week or two, you'll probably never experience this tranquil side of life as the Blanchards did. I'm going to write my own book of the Bahamas right now...
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