Here are our Top 10 Local Dishes. When we’re craving local soul food, we go to Ko-Ox Han-Nah (Let’s Go Eat), formerly Hannah’s.

1.) Rice-And-Beans, Stewed Chicken With Fried Plantain And Coleslaw/Potato Salad (Creole) – Chicken rubbed in recado (Red Achiote Paste), slow-cooked in broth and served with beans mixed with coconut-flavored white rice.

2.) Split-Pea Soup And White Rice (Creole) – Split-pea soup served with coconut-flavored white rice and baked or fried plantains.

3.) Journey (Johnny) Cake (Garifuna) – This is the Belizean version of a crepe: flat, fluffy round biscuits – Cut in half and cover with melted butter or smother it in Marie Sharp’s Pineapple Jelly like we do!

4.) Tamalitos (Ducunu – Maya) – A roasted corn and coconut milk tamale, served with or without stewed meats and wrapped in corn husks.

5.) Bollos/Chicken Tamales (Maya) – Boiled pockets of corn dough (Or “Masa” as locals call it.), stuffed with chicken and wrapped in banana leaves.

6.) Escabeche (Mestizo) – An incredibly flavorful chicken and onion soup, with an acidic/vinegar base and local spices.

7.) Sere Soup (Garifuna) – Made with shrimp, fresh fish, coconut milk and half-ripened plantain rondelles.

8.) Relleno (Mestizo) – (Or “Black Dinner” as locals call it.) Slow-cooked chicken and ground pork in a black-colored (Black Achiote Paste) broth, served with warm hand-made corn tortillas.

9.) Boil Up (Creole) – Boiled eggs, fish, pig’s tail, and ground staples: cassava (yuca), plantains, sweet potatoes and yam – all dowsed in a tomato sauce made with green peppers and onions sautéed in coconut oil.

10.) Pibil (Maya) – Tender chunks of flavorful pork just begging to be bathed in salsa, topped with Pickled Red Onions, and wrapped in warm hand-made corn tortillas.