I love food. And really, who doesn't?! While in Belize, one of my goals is to eat as much of the local cuisine and try as many new things as possible. I will be using this blog as a food diary to keep track of all my delicious meals while in Belize.
I've already been here a week so I need to catch you all up on everything I've had so far.
Day 1- First meal
Fresh homemade salsa with yam chips and fresh squeezed orange juice from a fruit and vegetable stand about a block down the street from Pedro's Inn.
The salsa had about 9 different ingredients and was so, so good. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro, cucumbers, and lots of spices. The yam chips were good too. They were crunchy like tortilla chips. And I'm never drinking orange juice from a carton again. Fresh squeezed is so much better. That is Annie and my roommate Kelli in the picture. Annie, Kelli, Katie, Erika and I all went in on the food together. We brought it back to Pedro's and ate by the pool.
Next Meal- Tacos from a stand in town
Lauren Lee and I went exploring through the town during our first afternoon on the island. We stopped at this tiny stand in town for tacos for dinner.
I forgot to take a picture of my taco, probably because I was starving, but this is the people making our tacos. They were $2 Bz ($1 U.S.) a piece. The tacos had ground beef, sautéed onions, fresh salsa, and a dash of Marie Sharp's habanero hot sauce. It was delicious!
On our walk back to Pedro's, I had to stop and get my first Belikin beer! Belikin is the beer of Belize. I like it, but it doesn't taste much different than Miller to me.
Day 2
After touring a few schools, our group stopped and ate brunch at a restaurant on the beach called Estel's.
I ordered an Estel's Special: Mayan Eggs. It was scrambled eggs with ham, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro served with a side of black beans and your choice of a flour tortilla or a fry jack. I got the fry jack, which is just a kind of fried bread, similar to a sopapilla. It was served with honey and a tropical jam. Everything was good and I cleaned my plate.
Some of us eating on the beach:
As I was checking out, the lady at the counter was making a smoothie. I smiled and told her that it looked good, so she poured me a cup! I think it was papaya! It was great!
Dinner- Neri's Taco Stand
Kelli and I rode our bikes to Neri's Taco Stand for dinner. Neri's is a popular, delicious, and very cheap place to get food. The night menu didn't have tacos, so I ordered two tostadas for $1.50Bz each.
They were fried flat corn tortillas topped with beans, ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, and jalepeno. Small, but delicious!
Day 3
We had all day to ourselves so a group of us rode our bikes to the palapa bar. On the way we stopped for smoothies at a fruit stand on Front Street.
Me sitting outside the coffee shop next door waiting on the rest of the group.
The Palapa Crew! We all ordered banana, pineapple, and orange smoothies. All fresh fruit, we watched her cut everything up and juice the oranges right in front of us, and no sugar added. She only added ice, vanilla, and milk.
One of the girls also got these fried plantains. They were salted and tasted like french fries! They even came with a tiny thing of ketchup.
I didn't order any food at the Palapa bar, but definitely a few drinks.
It's 5 o'clock somewhere right?
Palapa Stick Blue Lemon Drop Shots!
For dinner, we had our first group meal. We went to Caroline's. It's a restaurant that specializes in Belize cuisine. Everything is made to order by one guy and Caroline. The place was tiny and Caroline had to close it for 2 hours while we ate because we took up the whole room.
I ordered conch curry. You had to tell them how spicy you wanted it. I got it mild because I was scared it would be too hot. It came with cilantro rice and a side salad. The conch was kind of rubbery but the spices in the curry sauce were delicious!
Kelsey, Taylor, and Lauren ordered an appetizer of shrimp cocktail that they let me try. It was good, but I thought the sauce was too tomatoey and not spicy enough. And that's Caroline in the picture with them.
Day 4
After scuba diving, Sam, Kelli, and I went to Warugma's papusa restaurant in town. We ordered a chicken burrito to split and 2 papusas each. A papusa is a disc made of thick, homemade corn tortilla stuffed with various meats, beans, and cheeses. We each got one chicken and cheese and one pork, bean, and cheese.
Kelli with the burrito. It was kind of like an inside out burrito. The tortilla was stuffed with rice and beans but the chicken and onions and peppers were put on top.
My portion of the burrito with my papusa on the side.
Inside of the pork, bean, and cheese papusa.
Everything was good, but I was still pretty seasick from the boat so I didn't eat a lot. I got a box and ended up eating the rest of it for dinner.
It was St. Patrick's Day so there was a huge party at Pedro's. At the end of the night, I was on my way back up to my room when I ran into Walter who was on his way into town to get food. I hopped on his golf cart and went with him. He took me to a stand that was nothing but a lady with a grill under an umbrella. He ordered two cheeseburgers with everyTING on top. The burger was topped with american cheese, bacon, a hot dog, lettuce, tomato, and a white sauce that was like a sweeter mayonnaise. And it was on a big, fluffy delicious bun that the lady toasted on the grill. It was so good!
Day 5
My first day at Isla Bonita. I didn't eat anything but a granola bar for breakfast, so I was starving by lunch. Savanna and I rode our bikes all around the area looking for a cheap stand to eat at, but nothing was open. A lot of the stands have weird hours. Like they are only open early in the morning and late at night. Finally we stopped at a sandwich place that Dr. C had recommended to me. It was a meat market, bar, and cafe. And it was air-conditioned!
I ordered a roast beef panini. I was bangin! We watched the guys behind the bar slice the meat by hand and make everything. The panini had sweet and hot peppers that were really, really good. I definitely would go back.
I only ate half of it there for lunch and saved the rest for dinner.
Day 6
I was done at the high school around 10:30 and hadn't eaten anything for breakfast so I stopped at 2 different taco stands for an early lunch. I first stopped at a little shack that doesn't even have a name and got 3 chicken tacos. Then I went to Neri's and got 3 more. (The tacos are tiny and I wanted to compare them.)
The first stand with no name.
Neri's
Both of the tacos from each place were corn tortillas with a spicy chicken mixture inside. I liked the no name place the best because they were a little spicier and had tiny chopped sweet onions in there too.
For dinner I got a chicken gyro from Ali Baba's. It was just okay. I've definitely had better ones back home. I also got an order of hummus, which was good, but again I've had better.
Day 7
For lunch I rode my bike around town looking for a new place to eat. I stumbled upon this church that was having a fundraiser selling plates of barbeque chicken. It smelled too good not to stop. For $10Bz I got a BBQ chicken breast, wing, black beans, 2 flour tortillas, and cole slaw. Everything was delicious! The chicken was cooked perfectly, moist and full of flavor. It had a little kick to it. I think it was kind of a jerk seasoning. The coleslaw was also soooo good! It had some cilantro in it which made it taste like no coleslaw I've ever had before.
They were making tons of plates! The whole big cooler on the ground was full of chicken.
SOOOO GOOD!!!
For dinner, Will took some of us girls to another papusa place called The Papusaria. I liked these papusas even better than the other place. I got one chicken and cheese, and two mixed (beans, pork, and cheese) papusas.
And no meal in Belize is complete with out a Panty Ripper! A Panty Ripper is pineapple juice and rum but I think this one also had some other juice to make it red.
Later at the chicken drop, I ran into a high school student who was selling coconut tarts that she made herself. I bought one and it was delicious! Sweet and spicy. Lots of cinnamon. I almost forgot to take a picture before I finished it!
Day 8
Since there was no high school today, the high school teachers and I went to breakfast at Estel's again with Dr. K. I ordered huevos rancheros with eggs sunny side up. It came with a fry jack and black beans. Once again it was delicious! The black beans are really, really good at Estel's.
In the afternoon, Lisa and I went exploring through town. We stopped and got some food at Celi's Deli and then went back to the fruit stand and got smoothies.
At Celi's Deli I got 2 meat pies and a limeade.
The meat pies were delicious! I have no idea what meat was in there but it was good. The filling was a lot more liquidy than I expected. Kind of spicy too.
Lisa and I got banana, pineapple, and orange smoothies again. This time the lady added vanilla, honey, and milk. YUM!
For dinner, Sam, Kelli, Katie, and I went to the Road Kill Bar for Gringo burgers. Gringo burgers are their version of McDonald's burgers. I ordered the Big Mac. It was so good! Better than McDonald's for sure! I also got french fries and a Belikin of course! The fries were also really good. Tasted like home!
Day 9- Today!
This afternoon Kelli, Katie, Erika, Lauren, Lisa and I went to Mr. Deli's for lunch. I got a grilled chicken sandwich. It was topped with cheese, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes. It wasn't that great. I liked the bread though.
So now you're all caught up and man am I hungry! I'll try and keep this up but I'm pretty busy so I can't promise anything. Worst case scenario I post everything when I get back to the states!
On the boat ride over to Caye Caulker, our crew had fresh salsa and conch ceviche for us to eat. It was soooo good. And the orange drink we are drinking is rum punch! 
