By Lyn and Arthur Dobrin
Our idea of a great vacation always includes food. And the best dining experience we had in Belize was on Cayo Espanto, an exclusive island off the western side of Ambergris Caye. There are five two-story beach houses, wonderfully comfortable places, where all the doors and windows face the blue sea. Every house has it own plunge pool.
When you reserve your villa, you are asked to fill out a questionnaire indicating food preferences. Chef Patrick Houghton sits down with you once you arrive and from then on you order what you want, when you want and it is brought to your house, wonderfully delicious and beautifully presented.
Our lunch started as we stepped onto the launch. We were asked what we would like to drink, expecting the boatman to withdraw something from an onboard cooler. Instead, he took out a cell phone and made a call. When we arrived five minutes later, three people waited for us at the dock with beer and a fruit drink ready.
We began our meal proper with a vine-ripened-tomato gazpacho served in a double glass bowl with ice coddling the inner bowl. More gazpacho awaited in two thin ceramic pitchers. We drained them both.
One entree consisted of mixed greens with brandied raisins and toasted pine nuts in a honey balsamic vinaigrette topped with grilled scallops. The other entrée was char-grilled prawns on cucumber and tomato salad with fresh mango salsa.
- Great food, great service, great view, and the two of us dining together to savor the joy: This joined our list of memorable meals.
You need never see anyone but your loved one while you are here. A meal can be left on a porch table for you. Later it will be removed and the house cleaned and tidied when you are otherwise occupied, perhaps on the trampoline that is some fifty yards out in the water.
The next evening in Belize we enjoyed another wonderful dinner, this time under the stars at Victoria House in San Pedro, where chef Amy Knox, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, regaled us with more extraordinary dishes.
Adventures in Dining
We don’t scuba; we don’t parasail. But we enjoy food adventures. And we found an unusual one not in a restaurant but in the jungle of Belize, where black growths clustered around trees are termite nests.
We took a twig, allowing the miniscule bug to crawl onto it and then grabbed it between our fingertips. No, it doesn’t taste like chicken: It crunches and has a lingering taste of wild carrots.
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Why Honeymoon in Belize? >Belize Attractions >
Ambergris Caye in Belize >
Adventures in Belize >
