Riverside Tavern, Belize City

I experienced a delicious lunch yesterday at Riverside Tavern. I was with my delightful friend Jeannie, owner of Hotel Mopan. She had told me this is her favorite restaurant in Belize City. While I looked over the menu she ordered fillet mignon.

It sounded like a good idea after having had a conversation about meat and fish in her country. I also ordered the fillet mingon.

I ordered a side of garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. It didn’t just come with bread and so I also ordered freshly baked rolls. Yes, I ordered Billiken beer too.

I thought the meal came out perfect. The meat was tender and exactly how I ordered it. The garlic mashed potatoes were smooth and silky while the spinach still retained a little texture. Very nice meal indeed.

Riverside Taver is located at 42 Mapp Street.

For fabulo imported Italian olive oil and balsamic vinegar:

www.saporedellavita.com

 

 

Bird’s Isle Restaurant and Bar, Belize City

I’ve used the same taxi drive a couple of times. He told me about a restaurant called Island. He showed me where it was and since it was only a short walk from my hotel to day was the day I decided to check it out.  As I walked up to the restaurant I saw a lady leaving and following her was a tall man.

I was surprised by the couple. It was the man and wife that I chatted and sat next to the other day in Placencia’s RumFish restaurant. We never exchanged names. This was the couple that has truly traveled the world making me feel jealous. Ha. It was the wife that had explained that some cultures serve both rice AND potatoes for their dish because that way everyone would get what they want. I personally don’t think I will practice that.

So, I shook hands with the man and he said, “You’ll love it today. It’s completely empty.”

I replied, “Fabulo. I love it empty. It’s the best service.”  And, they got into their taxi and drove off. I went inside.

BAM. I laughed because the place was jammed packed full. The gentleman from Canada got me and he knew it. Ha.

The Island is situated right on the ocean. It’s a wonderful place to sit for a meal and a few Billiken beers.  I ordered a snapper fillet – grilled. The waitress and I talked and yes, they served real mashed potatoes not fake ones from a box.

It was pretty good. The fish was topped with sautéed onions and green peppers. It came with three small scoops of mashed potatoes and a salad all on the same plate. I looked around and the restaurant is a comfort food kind of restaurant. There is chicken and chops and steaks on the menu. It’s a nice varied menu with an assortment of cocktails and beer.

The Island is located on Bird’s Isle at the end of Albert Street. You can’t miss it. If you do, you’d have to be in the ocean water.

For exceptional imported Italian olive oil and balsamic vinegar:

www.saporedellavitta.com

 

 

 

Celebrity Restaurant & Bar, Belize City

More than one person had told me this restaurant might be the best one in Belize City. I had decided to do a walk about and unexpectedly I saw it while walking along the ocean on Marine Parade Street.

It is a concrete stand alone building covered with ivy and is protected by a tall fence. I don’t know who they want to keep out but I had no problem getting in. It is an interesting place with art on the walls and the wonderful air conditioning.

I ordered a Billiken beer and a whole snapper, grilled. I turned down mashed potatoes because I asked, “are they real potatoes or from a box?”

“Box,” he said.  I can’t imagine how or why any restaurant serves flakes from a box. I just can’t. But, the waiter offered, “I can give you real potato wedges.”  And, that’s what I ordered.

I drank a couple of beers as I watched rugby on the flat screen TV on a wall on the other side of the room. Geez. Rugby. This sport makes the NFL look like ballet. And, then my snapper arrived at the table.

Man o Man. This might be the best grilled fish I’ve ever had. Well, “ever” is a long time but it was super duper, y’all. The texture and the flavor of the fish were amazing. The potato wedges were pretty good too. They were really fat fries that came as wedges. The salad on the same plate was fresh and tasty as well. I splashed olive oil and balsamic vinegar on it and the meal was a winner.

It’s my idea that this particular meal might end up being my absolute favorite while in Belize City. However, I’ve got a few days left.

Celebrity is in the Volta Building, next to Central Bank, Belize City.

For fabulo Italian imported olive oil and balsamic vinegar:

www.saporedellavitta.com

 

Chon Saan Palace Restaurant, Belize City

I flew into Belize City two days ago. I asked the taxi driver where I can go for a “whole” fish dinner. He suggested a Chinese restaurant. It was an easy suggestion since most all of the restaurants close on Sundays. The Chinese are generally hard working people and here in Belize City it’s no exception.

I walked in and asked about what I wanted. The man took me to a tank with a bunch of live fish swimming around. I picked the smallest and it was plenty for me. The girl took a net and pulled it out of the tank.

I had a choice of grilled, pan fried or steamed. There was a little communication problem with accents and my own inability to understand what they asked. So, I told them I want the fish pan fried. I had no idea what I would get. I ordered a Billiken beer and waited. They brought me what kind of looked like a monster on a plate. Not pretty. But, maaaan, it was delicious. Very, very good. The fish had a terrific texture and the onion, jalapeno sauce was sensational. .

I asked the owner what was in the sauce. He didn’t know the translation but he wrote down the secret ingredient here. If you know what this is please let me know. I plan to take this paper to one of a couple Asian markets I frequent and see if they have it. Wow!

Chon Saan has a large and varied menu. And, they deliver. Prior to going there right after my arrival at my hotel I was parched. And, what might solve that dilemma? Yeah, beer. But, it was Sunday and everything is closed.  The clerk at the hotel told me Chon Saan would deliver beer if I ordered food.

I ordered three egg rolls and it came with a simple salad. But, they delivered and I got 6 Biliken beers. Saved!

Chon Saan Palace is located at: 1 Kelly Street, Belize City.

For fabulo Italian olive oil and balsamic vinegar:

www.sapredellavita.com

 

The Shak, Placencia, Belize. Central America

Placencia has grown dramatically since my last visit 100 years ago. Well, it was 1979. Back then there were maybe 50 – 100 residents and three restaurants. The isolation was great for lovers and people hiding from somebody from another area on the planet.

Even then people have the same problems. Where is dinner or breakfast? Will one shop at a market or go to a restaurant. These days this issue isn’t such a problem. The markets have shelves that are stocked and there are plenty of restaurants.

I found a very good breakfast restaurant near my Tradewinds cabana. I’d like to take this moment for a shout out to Miss Janice. Thank you Miss Janice for the nice accommodations and the conversations too.

Next to the Ice Factory and Fish Coop is a simple restaurant called The Shak. It was easy for me since it was the closest restaurant to where my cabana was located. The nice thing about this place is the ambiance. One sits down on an outside deck table and there is a wonderful view of the water and boats swaying. This ambiance makes this restaurant a find. The truly wonderful thing though is they prepare a knock out breakfast too.

I ate there three times. I had huevos rancheros with a pint of fresh orange juice and coffee.

 

I also tried a local dish called Jacks. It’s a breakfast inside of rolled up dough. The jack contains eggs, cheese, refried beans, sausage and bacon. It’s very filling too. Mmmmm.

I want to shout out and say Hello to the owner of The Shak, Magda. I also appreciate the smiles and friendly service from Marvella. Good job. Keep up the good work.

The Shak is located at the end of The Sidewalk, near the Fish Coop.

For fabulo Italian olive oil and balsamic vinegar:

www.saporedellavita.com

 

Pho Cali, Vietnamese Noodle House

The other day in Sarasota I had the pleasure of visiting with a very good old friend from my high school days. We had both been to Vietnam during the USA involvement there. And, I had traveled there for the month of September 2011.

I’ve known for a long time that pho is the national meal in Vietnam the way cheeseburgers are a kind of national American dish. Since my time in Vietnam back last September I’ve tried two different Vietnamese restaurants.  These two, one in Sugar Land, Texas and the other – well,  it’s really a Thai restaurant in Carbondale, Illinois were major disappointments.  The Texas restaurant served their seafood pho with items that were chewy and like rubber and certainly not fabulo.  Maybe one day they’ll wake up and figure out that seafood, shrimp needs only a few minutes to be delicious not hours or whatever they did.

The Carbondale Thai restaurant gave a dark broth soup that seemed empty. Broth only. Huh?  I had to send my soup bowl back and told them to at least drop some noodles in there.

It was a great pleasure to experience Sarasota’s Pho Cali on Main Street. Wow, they had 33 Bier while these days in Vietnam they’ve changed the name to 333 Bier.  My friend and I both ordered the pho ga, or chicken pho.  Wow, fabulo.  I couldn’t have been happier with the dish. It looks as good as it tastes too.

If you look at previous posts I made a seafood pho. Look around and you can find a recips for it. You too can make a fabulo pho. It’s not hard. You just need a little preparation.

Pho Cali, 1578 Main St. Sarasota.

For fabulo imported olive oil and balsmic vinegar:

www.saporedellavitta.com

 

Barefoot Bar, Placencia-Belize, Central America

I had been attracted to this restaurant/bar from my Facebook connection. Having visited Placencia a hundred years ago I was delighted to see how much the village had grown. Back in the day the village had around 50 people living there and now I’m told there are 1500. I think the smaller isolated village had it’s charm. Now I feel the larger possibilities in the village make me happier. Why?

Placencia has lots of restaurants these days. There are several grocery markets and even farm stands. I walked around and found 3 banks, beauty salon, real estate offices and even an office supply store that offers laminating services. I saw a couple of hardware stores. I saw delivery trucks that brought beer, meat and bottled water to their customers.  Wow. And, one more Wow.

And, so I went over to Barefoot Bar. It is a nice breezy outdoor kind of restaurant/bar with a large cocktail menu and they also have plenty of food choices. I decided to try their Bleu Cheeseburger on a white bun.

I wasn’t disappointed with the sandwich either. It was a large burger with grilled onions and three tomato slices. Nice and gooey. I washed it down with a Belikin Beer. Belikin is made in Ladyville, Belize and has a 4.8 alcohol content.

I had visited the bar yesterday too but simply sat at the bar, drank three beers and watched the circus. I felt the staff was efficient but . . . .

Today, I ordered the cheeseburger and the young man, the waiter never came back to ask me if it met my approval. He also didn’t come back to ask if I wanted another beer. Yeah, I did want that beer but I never ordered it. Nobody asked me if I wanted another anything else and certainly not another beer. Crazy because I figure Brice the owner would like me or any customer to have another and another and another.

I don’t consider it a big deal but I left and ordered the beer at my next stop.

So, what do I think?  The food was very good and hot. The beer was cold and that’s what I thought of the service today too. It wasn’t bad enough for me to not return but at this point in time there are other choices in Placencia.

For fabulo imported olive oil and vinegar from Italy:

www.saporedellavita.com

 

RumFish Restaurant, Placencia, Belize, Central America

Last night I was attracted to this restaurant by their hand written menu outside of the place. I wasn’t disappointed either. Actually I thought it was fabulo. I had a very delicious coconut crusted red snapper with a mango salsa for the entrée. I enjoyed a chocolate habanera cannoli for dessert with a dollop of whipped cream on each side of the single cannoli.

I met a couple, a man and a woman, that had traveled all over the world right next to my table at this restaurant.  We were on the upstairs porch that set out from the building. I asked them why I got rice AND potatoes with the fish. She informed me that some cultures serve both starch items because some people like rice while others prefer potatoes. So, they simply serve both. They had been to Iran, Libya, Morocco and more. They insisted that I should avoid the Arab countries but to get my feet wet with a visit to Morocco. Hmmm, I don’t know because I’m a little leery of those places thanks to movies giving them an uncomfortable vibe.

Well, now that I know that restaurants in Belize may always serve rice AND potatoes I can talk to the waiter/waitress and make a slight change with an ala carte order and drop one of them.

For fabulo imported olive oil and vinegars.

www.saporedellavita.com