Today I’m hungry for reflection. I published a post a couple of weeks ago about grocery shopping and cooking in Belize. It’s one thing to vacation in a foreign country but making a home there is challenging. We were dealing with expired, expensive groceries so we had to get creative with our meals. Of course, we’d dine out at restaurants as well. I’m particular about the foods that I choose to eat and I’m known to make substitutions and alterations to my food order when dining at a restaurant. When we moved to Belize, I knew it would be a challenge for me to eat foods I wouldn’t typically choose in the convenience of the United States.
The “cheeseburger and fries” of Belize is stewed chicken served with coconut milk rice and red beans. This cost $8.00 USD for both.
There was a lady around the corner from our condo who would barbecue chicken. Always served with rice & beans. This cost $4.50 USD.
Billy was much more willing to experiment with street meat than me. In fact, I can say I never tried the street meat.
This was a tamale FAIL. We learned that this bone-in tamale wasn’t an isolated occurrence.
We rode our bikes to the north side of the island to Captain Morgan’s Retreat and ordered some poolside snacks. Billy loves nachos more than almost anything else but these were not what he had in mind. Black olives, not enough of the right cheese and a heavy sprinkling of Parmesan cheese which was confusing.
I ordered the ceviche and it was yummy.
Our favorite place to dine out was Wild Mangos.
We loved these shrimp tostadas.
We were disappointed with their ceviche trio because of the heavy sauces. But the plantain chips and cassava chips were SO GOOD.
Most everything I ordered in Belize felt heavily sauced. I was craving a perfectly crisp, cold salad with tons of leafy greens and veggies. But this does not exist there.
We went to dinner at El Divino with some friends one night. Billy was so excited to order a steak since there was hardly any beef on the island. He enjoyed his rib eye.
I ordered the blackened snapper with vegetables. It was pretty good.
One of our favorite places for a cold treat was DandE’s (D and E’s = Dan & Eileen’s). They serve fresh frozen custard and fresh fruit sorbet.
Here are some sample menus for lunch specials around town.
Don’t forget the Chees Deep!
That concludes our tour of dining out in Belize.
Do these foods look appetizing to you? Do you think your stomach would be happy in Belize?
Mine was not.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
that tamale would horrify me.
I love tamales, but my fillings generally don’t have bones…
I would have subsisted on plantains and DandE’s sorbet
a belize cleanse, in a way !
YES! That’s pretty much what I did. And I paid $15 for imported cereal & $20 for raw almonds. Thankfully, the plantain chips and the sorbet were CHEAP. The tamale almost made me cry – haha. But seriously, it was so bizarre. We thought it was a fluke but that’s just the way they made them. Ewwww.
Lol Dorry! As a person who brought 4 boxes of kashi cereal with me to vacation in to Maui, I wouldn’t do well there
this challenge makes your stay there all the more impressive.. What an amazing experience (and thank the Lord for multiple convenient Whole Foods locations!)
Seriously! The cost of imported cereal was so outrageous but I’d buy it anyway. But no almond milk
We usually know what we’re getting in the US food-wise. Eating in another country becomes an experience. I try not to think about it and just go with it – though there has been some questionable choices…. Good luck.
I am salivating over these photos! I think I would LOVE eating in Belize.
Not exactly the cheeseburger I had in mind, but when in Rome…eat like them?
At least you were adventurous, next time warn the tummy.
What an interesting post! I’m hard to please when traveling and have a hard time finding food.
Oh I want to go to Belize so bad. I love ceviche. That would be my staple there. Never seen a bone in the tamales…too funny. We’ll have to meet up the next time we’re in Dallas!
Please let me know the next time y’all come to Dallas! We are heading to Houston today then Austin for the holiday weekend!