The news in mid-March 2024 remains disheartening for U.S. lobster aficionados as the media continues to buzz about "lobsterflation." Soaring lobster prices imposed by Maine lobstermen have driven the cost sky-high, with reports indicating that a 2-pound lobster now sells for upwards of $100. In response, some upscale restaurants are being forced to adapt, substituting lobster rolls and bisque with shrimp and clam rolls to cope with the steep price increase.
Given this epicurean crisis, you’ll be happy to know that Lobsterfest 2024 will be staged in Belize on the Placencia Peninsula, the first week of July! We can check for availability at our sister property, Laru Beya Resort, located on the Placencia Peninsula. Until then, these items are guaranteed to delight your taste buds. Each is packed with the flavor, healthy ingredients, and spices that make Belize cuisine unique.
- Belizean Rice and Beans: Forget everything you ever thought about rice and beans being a boring dish! An enticing combo of red kidney beans, white rice, and stew chicken plus spices that separate this recipe from every other version makes this a tasty go-to dish appropriate for lunch or dinner – especially when topped with onion sauce or potato salad.
- Fry Jacks: They resemble potstickers or deep-fried won ton, but this breakfast menu item is much too tasty to be compared to either. Deep-fried pieces of flour dough come in all shapes and never met a breakfast food they couldn’t cozy up to. Slightly salty and wonderfully crisp, change up the toppings to suit your taste: cheese, refried beans, jam, honey, or sugar, and serve with eggs, bacon, and breakfast meat.
- Ceviche: Like rice and beans, chefs in Belize add their own twists to the recipe that rely upon freshly caught seafood for character (shrimp, conch, lobster, or all of them). Once spices, herbs, chopped veggies, and lime juice weigh in, ceviche, Belize style, morphs into an appetizer for the gods. Serve ceviche in a tall martini glass to show off this chilled work of culinary art.
- Fish Sere: If your idea of the perfect meal includes chowder, you’re going to love this creamy, tasty bowl of goodness. Popular among Belize’s Garifuna people, this dish is best served with sides of coconut milk-infused rice and tasty plantain strips. While fish sere recipes vary from cook to cook, a mix of snapper, plantain, coconut milk, carrots, onion, garlic, and spices go into this authentic dish. One bite will hook you. Ordering seconds may be necessary.
Where to have your fill of Belize cuisine?
Make a reservation at The Woven Palms Restaurant situated on the grounds of the Belizean Dreams Resort, located in Hopkins. Whether you’ve made a reservation to stay at the resort or you’re touring Hopkins, the authentic cooking served up by chefs specializing in artfully blending Caribbean and Meso-American flavors and the beachfront setting is heavenly.
