Unbelizeable

Today I had some yummy Belizean food for the first time, courtesy of my new fabulous friend Bush Gyal, who has the mouth of a sailor and a heart of gold. She was our guide during our fantastic journey through plates and plates and plates of Belizean goodies. Here's Bush Gyal's trademark beauty queen pose!
Nel & John Belizean-American Restaurant is at 3567 S. Western Avenue and is worth the trek to the quasi-hood. We started with an array of appetizers.
Conch fritters. As I explained to Wan, conch is what lives in those shells you blow that go "boooooooooooooooooo." Then someone brought up Lord of the Flies. This was funny in real life, I swear.
Garnaches. Flat fried corn circles with beans, cheese, salsa, and onions.
Meat pies. Self-explanatory. Unless you're an idiot.
Panades. Fried cornmeal pockets filled with fish or beans.
Trish and Wan both opted for stew chicken. Well, actually Wan wanted fish balls, but the restaurant ran out. Bush Gyal and I had fried red snapper. Bush Gyal was adamant about one aspect of her fish.
Here's my meal. My fish came with a big bowl of beans (not pictured), plantains, and dukunu (corn tamales). I didn't mind my fish head, but I did turn my plate around, so it didn't stare at Trish the whole time. Trish didn't like my fish head.
It was all muy delicioso. Yes, this was a HUGE diet cheat! One great thing was that we had plenty of leftovers, so Mr. Monkey also got to try Belizean food. He liked it, too, although he remarked afterward, "Now I feel like a big pool of oil."

Conclusion: Belizean food is great, but it's not suitable for everyday eating and is not in the least diet-friendly. It's pretty damn good for your tastebuds, though.

Thanks again, Bush Gyal! It was so fun!