Chillin' Grillin' an 'Nuff Finga Lickin'

What a great title for a posting. I just couldn't resist it. I freely admit I 'borrowed' it from Smokey's BBQ, which is part of the new Club Tropicali, located where the 'old' La Louisianne was at on Seventh Avenue, here in Corozal. I'm not sure that La Louisianne ever actually opened for business. Maybe a few days, but that was about it. They were the first business in this building in more than a year or two of sitting vacant. They apparently used the ever popular 'two-week business plan,' that seems to be followed by a lot of businesses here in Belize

Man, there is just a lot going on here. Apparently Smokey's BBQ is going to be a take-away barbecue joint, and it should be tasty, if their logo is any indication. They also serve as the ticket office for Club Tropicalli, located just next door in the same building.

BBQ, Tickets, and More...

Club Tropicali looks like, judging from their poster that I saw around town, a place featuring live acts (or at least, DJ's), charging a rather substantial cover charge ($10.00 BZD per person or $15.00 per couple, if I remember right). Seems kinda steep to me, but what do I know?

Now It's Club Tropicali

Any way, I wish both places good luck. We'll see how well they do, as I walk past them just about every day.

A Sunday Morning Grab Bag - On a Sunday No Less

Hoo, boy! Talk about being on the ball. It's been quite a while since I've done one of these Grab Bag postings, and the fact that it'll actually be posted on a Sunday morning, just gets one all a-quiver, y'know?

We're going to do it a tad different today. Starting with the most recent item and work our way back and we'll see just how far we get.

Right out of the bag is one of the new restaurants here in Corozal. La Louisianne, on  Seventh Avenue (Northern Highway), where Club Malibu used to be. Well, what can I say? I had written earlier with some hopes of Cajun cuisine. Near as I can tell, that'd be one dish on the menu, which is on the wall right outside their front door. We haven't eaten there as yet. Might give breakfast a try.

La Louisianne's Menu

I took both of these shots yesterday morning during 'walkies'. I was struck by the near silhouette presented by the guys here hauling wet concrete up a home-made ladder, two straight flights up to the roof. Keep in mind that a five gallon bucket of wet concrete weighs on the order of 100 or more pounds. And this is a fairly large building, making for a big pour. A lot of hours going up and down, up and down.

Two Flights Straight Up

This next one looks rather strange. Believe it or not, it's the newest boat launching ramp in Corozal. I'll take some more detailed photos of it when I pass by after the sun has come up. For now, I was quite taken with the jumbled look in the pre-dawn earliness. Looks like something got bombed to smithereens.

The New Boat Ramp

This long stretch of mauve, violet, aubergine, purple, or whatever you want to call it, is Dianna's pride and joy - at least when it's in bloom. It's garlic vine. The leaves and the flowers do have a definite garlic smell, but it doesn't produce any garlic. Dang it, and we love garlic too. Sure is gorgeous when you walk by. Unfortunately, now the flowers are going away, but for the month or so that they are here it's a great sight to see.

Garlic Vine Blooming

Now, this little devil, looks like he's under water, right? Well, he is! This is Huey, our automatic pool vacuum. He's named after the little 'droids' in the movie 'Silent Running' with Bruce Dern. Thanks to Vivien (our across the street neighbor) for bringing down the great eyes and foam material for the eyebrows.

I glued them on with silicone adhesive. Don't they just look terrifying? Huey loves to attack toes whenever they're on the pool bottom.

Huey's New Look

This shot is taken in the vicinity of the Hokol Kin Guesthouse. I thought the Visitor Center clock tower (which is being rehabbed) and the sunrise made a nice shot. the bright lights are the huge spots that light up the basketball court on the far side, right next to the Thunderbolt pier.

Pre-Dawn Down Town

This mural is on one of the little traffic islands at the intersection formerly known as 'Cannon Corners'. Basically, at the intersection where White Saphire Gifts and Technicell Cell Phone Repair are located. I'd like to get a better shot of it one of these days. I'll just have to take time to do that.

Updated Sign

Every now and then, we get RV's (recreational vehicles, for those who don't know) who come to town, stop along the waterfront for a day or two and then move on. Most seem to be doing rather extensive journeys, like Tierra del Fuego, Argentina to Barrow, Alaska or something equally strenuous. This one, looked like it had a lot of DIY modifications to it. I don't have a clue where they were from/bound. At the time of day I pass by most of the time, I'm sure the occupants wouldn't be inclined to engage me in conversation. I mean, they haven't even started their coffee pots yet.

Staying Along The Waterfront

Ok. Well, I guess that's about it for this session. If I find more of interest, I'll see about getting it up here on the Intertubes.

Till then, Cheers

New Eateries In Town

Something I haven't talked about in some time is places to eat here in Corozal. It's about time that I do, as we've got several new places for you to tie on the feed bag.

There's Corozo Blues, located in one of the coolest locations in town. On the Northern Highway here Haley's used to be, it's tucked in the corner as you round the bend coming north into Corozal, just in front of Tony's Inn and Beach Resort and across the road from Menzie's Caribbean Village RV Park and Campground.

Corozo Blue's Street Sign

We ate there last evening with Denis and Vivien, neighbors of ours from across the street. We all had pizza, cooked in Corozo Blue's wood-fired brick pizza oven. Without doubt, the best pizza we've had in Belize.

Corozo Blue's

They've done an amazing job with the remodeling. The place is gorgeous. Blue's has a varied international menu at reasonable and higher-end prices for Corozal, superbly appointed furnishings, good service and atmosphere. We ate on their patio, simply the best location going. It's not a place I'd eat at every day, but now and then and for special occasions, it'd be hard to beat.

Another nice eatery is the Copper Horse Inn, comprising a restaurant and hotel. Located at 4th Street and 2nd Avenue, in the former Marc Anthony Hotel and Butchie's Restaurant, it's set along the sea front on the northern end of Corozal, just north of the Sea Breeze Hotel. The lady who owns it is remodeling the hotel rooms and has done a very nice job re-doing the restaurant. Very pleasant atmosphere, and the menu is very good. Portions are large and reasonably priced as well.

Copper Horse Inn

Eating on the Copper Horse's porch is still as much fun as it used to be with Butchie's. The menu features north American-style dishes and is very well presented. The chocolate cake desert looks scrumptious and is very popular.

Next, is the Wood House Bistro, a Chinese restaurant. I know what you're thinking, 'Great. All we need is another Chinese restaurant here in Corozal.' Well, apparently we do, because I've not heard a negative word about the food. Very well prepared and presented in a wood structure - an almost mirror image to Primo's Casita a couple doors north.

Wood House Bistro

Their specialty is Szechuan food, so when the menu says 'hot' or 'spicy', be ready. They mean it. I'm looking forward to getting my taste buds activated there.

At long last, we have another Indian restaurant in Corozal - well, actually in Ranchito (a village on the south edge of Corozal). According to Craig (a friend of ours who is seeing if they really do freeze off of a brass monkey. He spent Christmas up in South Dakota) "D Jackson's is not really a restaurant, it used to be two brothers on bikes selling samosas. About a month ago the papa stopped by the house, he was selling butter chicken and curry chicken out of his car. He dropped off a menu that had 20 items on it that you can order (their phone number is 664-2686) and he will deliver. The food is pretty good.". In fact, we've bought several things (samosa's and roti's) from the young boys on their bikes. They carry everything in plastic coolers and use squeeze-horns to announce their presence. I can vouch for Craig's statement - the food is pretty good.

I heard about D. Jackson's from Bruce (who's bringing me a copy of their menu). He heard about it from Craig. How Craig found it I have no idea. Maybe I'll email him and ask. They deliver all over Ranchito and Corozal at no additional charge either. It seems pretty reasonably priced and with a pretty comprehensive menu - curry dishes, masalas, rotis, tandooris, etc. I know it sounds kind of confusing. It was to us as well till we figured that we were each talking about the same place.

There's also a new take-away chicken wing joint, Crabby E's. We've gotten their wings once so far. Nice and spicy. You can get it mild as well, or even get the sauce on the side for even more control. Portions are nice and big. They leave off the wing tips, so there's no wasted bit included that you can't eat.

Crabby E's Take Out

The way it works at Crabby E's is you drive up (or call, once they get to know you) and place your order. Then go shopping somewhere in Corozal for a half-hour, then come back and pick up your order. Simple, eh? Good, simple eats!

And last on the list is one I've written about before - La Louisianne, located in the former Club Malibu on 7th Avenue.

La Louisianne Restaurant

Still no idea about the menu or anything other than we've heard through the grape vine that they're opening on New Years.

Doing all this has made me hungry. I'm going out to the kitchen and fix myself a peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich.

A New Eatery On the Horizon?

Well, well, well. What have we here? For the past few months, we've been watching every day (during our early morning dog walkies) as glimpses of remodeling and such appear to have taken place at the former Club Malibu on 7th Avenue (Northern Highway) here in Corozal.

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filet gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio.
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gayo,
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

- Hank Williams

The building had lain vacant and in a sad state of repair for at least a couple of years. The first we noticed that there was perhaps something going on was one morning part of the old thatch roof was gone. It seemed strange to us that someone would only patch part of the roof when it was in such disrepair, but what do we know, having come from the land of hot tar, asphalt shingle, and cedar shake roofs?

It seemed to be fine (to the casual observer) until we entered the rainy (read hurricane) season, when all of a sudden, gray tarps appeared on the roof of the place after one of our relatively heavy downpours. I thought they were just temporary until whoever had patched the roof could be called in to effect proper repairs.

The tarps have been up there for some months now and appear to have become a permanent fixture of the roof. I thought it kind of odd that someone would pay to have a roof repaired and then cover, what ostensibly was a new roof, with tarps. I mean, I have a thatch roof on my parking palapa. It doesn't leak. Eventually, when it does require repair or replacement, if it leaks such that tarps are necessary to keep the wet stuff out, you can bet I'll be harping at someone to come back and fix the roof job so that the tarps can be put to other uses. Anyway, be that as it may, that's not the focus of this posting.

What is the focus is, in part, the newly painted sign over the doorway that we noticed on this morning's walkies.

The New La Louisianne Restaurant

In bright red letters over the doorway, it reads 'La Louisianne Restaurant' - complete with little gold fleurs-de-lis giving that French-Cajun feel. Wow! That immediately conjurs up visions of filet gumbo, catfish stew, crawfish, boudin, Zydeco music, alligator, boiled crab, crawfish etouffee... The list goes on and on.

However, with this being Belize, and the fact that we haven't heard nary a rumor, hint or anything about a new restaurant, what it might conjur up is Cajun rice and beans, Cajun fry-jacks, that sort of thing. One can only hope that that vision is entirely wrong. Some good, spicy Cajun fair would really be a nice addition to the gastronomy of Corozal. We'll just have to let you know what we find out.

I'd mentioned the tarp roofing, the shot below shows a bit of the tarp work on the roof of the place.

La Louisianne Showing The Tarpped Roof

Even with the absence of rumors or anything like that (after all, this is a small town and secrets should be hard to keep closely held) we were excited about the possibilities the name brings to mind.

Stay tuned. There could be some dining adventures ahead... And without seeming too snide, the money they've saved on the roof work, could translate into affordable prices at the dinner table. We'll see.

FLASH! Update... Corozal - the following morning:

No real news, just an update on the signage.

The Rest of the Sign

Still no rumorology on what kind of fare the place is going to offer. What the sign does tell us is there'll be a restaurant, a bar, some karaoke, and gaming. And that's all I know.