by Dorian Nunez, privileged judge at Lobsterfest
Someone on Facebook said that he was going to get lobster wasted for Lobsterfest in San Pedro. That is exactly what happened to me and I bet to most of those who attended the fantastic block party that culminated the week-long celebration for the opening of the lobster season.
The Lobsterfest block party in San Pedro took place on Saturday, June 25, 2011, at Central Park. The place was loaded, to say the least. There were people from all over, Belize City, Corozal, Caye Caulker, San Ignacio and of course the tourists from all over the world.
“I saw so many tourists early in the evening and now I only see locals partying on late at night; this is amazing. It’s my first time at the fest and I am having so much fun,” commented Mariam Roberson of the San Ignacio Hotel to Ambergris Today.
Indeed, I pictured tourists passed out in their hotel rooms in a lobster coma. Let’s see, who was at the festival cooking up a storm: Caliente/Red Ginger/Blue Water Grill, KawKaw Chocolate, Mojito Bar & Grill, Pedro’s/Pirate Pizza, Captain’s Casino, Elvi’s Kitchen, Caribbean Colors, Heavenly Cupcakes & Treats, Banana Beach (El Divino), Pinapples (Ramon’s Village), Rico’s Bar & Grill, Fido’s Restaurant/Nautica, Fools and Saga.
Lobsterfest Winners
Best Dish:
First Place- Elvi’s Kitchen Lobster Burger
Second Place – Pineapples Restaurant Lobster on a Stick
Best Drink: Lobster Chocolate (Blue Water Grill/Caliente/Red Ginger)
Best Booth: Dazzling Divas
Each and everyone of them was serving THE BEST lobster food – ever; no lie! The mega house of restaurant chains of Caliente, Red Ginger and Blue Water Grill did not fail to impress with Enrique Luna’s Lobster Chocolate which was to die for. Listen to Ricky’s creation – he marinated small lobster chunks in syrup overnight, grilled them and then dipped them into chocolate. Upon serving he poured a sweet banana chocolate rum colada on top of the chocolate covered lobster. One word – Amazing! Along with Elvi’s Kitchen, the long lines at their booths spoke wonders of their food.
Elvi’s Kitchen hit multiple home runs with their lobster lineup of lobster everything: burger, hotdogs, empanadas, tamales, stuffed jalapeños, a fantastic desert crepe and even a lobster shot! The burger and hotdogs were superb and juicy with the dessert crepe being sweet with coconut delight.
I was happy to see a Caye Caulker booth in the mix of all the San Pedro restaurants. Lee Vanderwalker and Sherilee Wade of Caribbean Colors had a fantastic lobster sushi roll with a spicy cream cheese, cilantro, cucumbers, and a gingered carrot salad. And their sweet homemade jamaica infused Hurricane Lee cocktail was perfect.
The gang at Pineapples Restaurant was infused with life as their staff was uber-friendly with its customers. It was a pleasure to have visited the booth and they served up a mean lobster on a stick with sweet and spicy sauce. Plus the bacon wrapped lobster and lobster stuffed jalapeño definitely hit the spot; thumbs up to their watermelon mojitos and the signature Purple Parrot frozen drink.
Banana Beach Resort’s El Divino Restaurant had a great BBQ Chipotle Lobster Kebab, Rico’s Bar and Grill served a mean lobster taco, Fido’s/Nautica had a great lobster sushi with papaya and a spicy mayo and their teriyaki kebabs were delicious, Kakaw Chocolate had a super good chocolate shot and a six pound lobster chocolate mold which they raffled, Captain’s Casino was grilling the night away, FOOLS sold out on their Lionfish dishes, Pedro’s/Pirate Pizza had lobster pizza and wraps, the Dazzling Divas had a fantastic booth with a great ginger inspired drink, and Saga was there with great cupcakes, Jell-O shots and cherry bombs to liven the evening. Wow! I think that’s all…that I had, of course there was more!
With great entertainment from local dance groups and bands, fire dancing and special guest entertainer Supa G who kept the crowd going late into the evening, San Pedro Lobsterfest proved to be a powerhouse party drawing tourists to the island, engaging locals to showcase their culinary talent and bringing out the lobSTAR in everybody. Central Park was alive with so much people that it can definitely be said that Lobsterfest was a huge success once again this year.
