Real Belizean Cusine-El Torito Norte

El Torito Norte

Yesterday we found another really great and inexpensive place to eat in San Pedro.  Heading North on Middle Street, I had past by this cute little pink building that said El Torito Norte numerous times and yesterday we decided to stop and try them out. 

They even put out some nice place mats for us.

We ordered the beans and rice with stew chicken.  We decided to order only one plate first to see if we liked it. 

This is where they wash their dishes outside.

We sat outside on picnic tables covered with umbrellas.  It was definitely too hot to sit in the sun yesterday. 

It was such a nice little eating area.

When they bought out our plate of food, it was so much food we were glad we decided to get only one order.  It was loaded down with beans and rice, fried plantain, stew chicken and slaw.  Slaw seems to be a very popular food in San Pedro because I see it on dishes often.  Our food and 4 bottles of water, we were thirsty was $14.00BZ ($7.00US).

The Lunch Menu

After lunch we decided to head to the beach.  While we were there, the guys from Banyan Bay were getting all the coconuts out of the trees so they wouldn't fall on people walking by.  One guy cut a coconut open and gave it to Bill to drink the coconut water.  Bill loves it, me not so much.

This was our view at the beach.

Bill having a coconut water.

Super Bowl Sunday

You gotta love all the quirky little signs hanging throughout Mr. Joe's.

Mr. Joe's Lone Star Grill

We started the day with lunch at Mr. Joe's Lone Star Grill which is about 3 miles south of town.  Mr. Joe who owns the place is from Texas and was a super nice guy.  So if you are looking for some great Tex-Mex food, I would highly recommend trying out Mr. Joe's,   The menu had lots of good eats.   Fried dill pickles which I happen to love, quesadillas, fresh guacamole, chicken fried steak, cold beer and margarita's. The chicken fried steak which is actually called Texas fried steak (not to confuse people that it is chicken) comes covered in gravy with a side of fries and Texas toast.  We decided to try the the quesadillas and guacamole.  They were both yummy.  I look forward to going back to Mr. Joe's again soon.

Ambergris Caye Brewing Company

After lunch we decided to go on a site seeing trip around town with some friends.  We stopped in at Ambergris Brewing company located north of town.  I had been hearing a lot about this place and wanted to check it out.  We definitely plan on going back to try out their breakfast menu and we hear they have some great coffee that Bill wants to try. 

Pedro's

Believe it or not there were many choices around town to watch the super bowl game.  We picked Pedro's because it was just down the street and we could walk there.  The crowd started building closer to kick off time.  We ordered one of Pedro's famous pizza's.

Updates from Marco Gonzalez and Mama Vilma's:

Marco Gonzalez Archaeological Reserve is requesting assistance in locating a container. Either a 20 or 40 foot unit will work for us. In order to further the studies of this important Coastal Trading Village, excavated items need to be properly stored. The current container has no room to accept items to be studied. Therefore, we respectfully request your help in the donation or modest cost of a unit. Please contact Jan Brown, janbrownbz@hotmail.com, or 662-2725, if you have information about one.

Thank you very much.
Jan Brown

Mama Vilma’s Family Home thanks the San Pedro Community for the outpouring of support for our 2nd Annual Fashion Show! Close to 200 supporters came to the San Pedro Fitness/Tennis Club for a night of food, fun and fashion. Your support added $11,000 to our account at Belize Bank. That is one more step toward our goal of opening a safe home where all services needed to help a struggling family…Food, Clothing, Shelter, Counseling, Medical Services and Education will be provided in a caring and compassionate way. Thank you to all that came out to support and enjoy this great event. You MADE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of those less fortunate.

Mama Vilma’s Committee

Lunch at Ak'bol Yoga Retreat

Today was very windy again and the colors of the water this week have just been so vivid and beautiful.  It is so amazing to be able to see this beauty every day.

It was very windy today.

We road our bikes to the north side of the island again and met our friends Emily and Barry at the bridge, then we took the beach bike path to check out where they live and see their beautiful condo.  We also got to meet their sweet little Boston terrier Paisley, who loved licking all the lotion off my legs.

The menu is on a chalk board, this is pretty common in San Pedro.

The yoga schedule.

We sat out on the beach.

Me, Barry and Emily.

Barry, Bill and Me.

Grilled fish, rice and a salad.  My fish was under all of those veggies.

The bar area.

Then we biked on over to Ak'bol Yoga Retreat for lunch.  I would love to take a few yoga classes there one day in the palapa over the water.  The food was very good and the views were breathtaking.  I had today's special which was grilled fish, rice and a salad for $22.00BZE and Bill had the chicken burrito for $14.00BZE.  We can't wait to go back and have their chocolate pancakes or coconut french toast for breakfast.

Tacklebox Bar and Grill and Biking the Beach

Pictures from riding the beach up north this afternoon.  The white you see in the background is the reef.

I found lots of shells and pieces of coral here on the beach.

Today was just another busy day in Belize.  We really thought we would have more down time once we got to Belize, but instead our days stay busy and seem to go by fast.  Most of the day was spent running errands around town with my friends Gigi and Laurie, who blogs on Tacogirl. 

Tacklebox Bar and Grill

Bill wants to try one of these next time.

Sorry no pictures of food.  I was starving by the time the food got there.  So I forgot to take photos.

Once I got home from running errands, I told Bill the sea was such beautiful colors today, I wanted to head back down to the beach.  We did a few more errands and then biked the beach north a ways.  We then turned around and headed back south and decided to stop at the Tacklebox Bar and Grill located out on the water.  We had never made it there during our previous visits to Belize and wanted to give them a try.  We lucked up and got there right when "happy hour" was about to start. 3 beers for $10BZE ($5.00US) and $1.00BZE (.50 cents US) wings, yum. 

So we just decided to sit back and enjoy the views.

The birds were circling waiting to be fed.  The fisherman had just gotten in and were cleaning their catch down at the end of the pier. 

It was starting to get dark and time to bike home.