Only three days after opening, a little restaurant named °El Fogon' continues to be garnering much attention from island residents along with other restaurateurs that the majority of the days they exhaust food an hour or so after mid-day. Why this sudden recognition you might ask? There's a unique little secret that i'm going to reveal.
Patty Arceo, who owns El Fogon created a vibrant and different idea to provide a menu focused on the house style cooking of Belizean Creole and Mestizo food all prepared within an open fire hearth (or °Fogon' in Spanish). What Patty has recreated at her establishment is definitely an atmosphere usual for that old San Pedro Village kitchen twenty five years ago by having an outside fogon where all your meals are cooked and eager. On El Fogon's menu you'll find any, if not completely, from the typical home-cooked Creole and Mestizo foods which are typical to Belize, particularly San Pedro take your pick, they were given it.
°What has happened within our modern, fast-paced existence is that we're so busy with work and projects that there's not time for you to prepare and make preparations our Belizean favorites,° commented Patty Arceo. °And now we have seen that other areas have modified these food types to focus on the vacationers, which isn't bad, but we're keeping everything traditional, original and old-style.°
Recption menus of El Fogon is very extensive for this type of small , quaint restaurant, what Patty has developed is really a small lunch menu that rotates every day. An absolute staple food that might be every single day may be the traditional Belizean Grain and Beans with stew chicken or beef. Included in this is going to be 3 to 4 other products around the day's menu, something that just about the lunch specials during the day. You need to simply get in touch with and put the transaction of cooking.
Which other specials originate from a lengthy listing of traditional home-cooked meals. Where will i start? Around the menu there's the Mestizo specials like Escabeche, Mechado, Chirmole, Relleno, Chechak (Fish soup), Pork Pibil, Tamales and Creole specials like Cow Feet Soup, Pig Tail, Boil Up and Beef Soup, these among other favorites like Split Peas and Dumplings. And you may wash these lower with home-made Horchata or Tamarind Juice.
Food isn't the only factor around the menu. During °Happy Hour' from 3p.m. to 6p.m. El Fogon delivers all of your local favorite appetizers or snacks (bocas) like Chicken, Conch, Horse Conch (Maimula), Lobster Dip, Bean Dip, Shrimp Cocktail, Pizza and Conch Fritters. Enjoy all of them with a chilly beer or drink.
I had been also impressed with the range of sweet deserts and treats that Patty has for purchase. Many of them you are able to hardly find on the market and may ask them to once in a while °blue moon'. Possess a longing for Maja Blanca (grain pudding), Fudge, Wangla, Jojoli, Tableta, Pi°on, Crema de Coco, Cocoyol, Orange Cake, Casava (Elastic) Cake, Yams Pudding, Key Lime Cake and Coconut Cake. El Fogon has them on purchase constantly. And when a few of these treats seem unfamiliar for you, then it is best to try them because they are old treats our grandmothers and great grandmothers accustomed to create.
Also on purchase is a number of local breads for example Creole Bread, Powder Bun, Capricho along with other sweet breads. Patty also earns local wines like Cashew and Blackberry wine, jams, jellies and sweet stewed cashew completely from Barrel Boom.
And you'll think about, how was Patty in a position to bring such quite a number of products together? Well she's an incredible number of cooks on hands including Susana Eiley, Shelly Prevett and Mercie Trejo, the best cooks around the island. They've learned the ability of cooking in the school of existence recipes forwarded to them from generations back. Quite impressive!
Patty Arceo is managing a family business which she'd been envisioning for nearly 3 years. Now a real possibility, she's keeping alive a unique area of the island's wealthy culture, what includes the scrumptious dishes, savory desserts and beautiful creations in our ancestors.
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El Fogon
San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize
Phone: +501-206-2121