The Search for Cheap Food on Back Street and a Hidden Gem Found: Briana’s Deli

More on these eggs later…here is the post.

Back Street (more properly known as Angel Coral Drive) is a road of small, local food shops, tiny grocery and produce stores, old school houses, used clothing stores like this one My Clothes Shopping in San Pedro and more.  It’s a very eclectic local mix.  Yesterday, trying to recreate the yummy local taco dining experience of Mexico, we set out to find…well…cheap yummy, local tacos.

We headed to town at about noon and let me tell you…it was HOT.  The summer is definitely here.  The temperature forecast was 90 degrees for the day (we haven’t seen that in a while.)  By the time, we got there, we were positively wilting.  Taco time.

And here is what we found out quickly.  Taco time is the morning.  All of the carts are pretty much cleared out by 10am.   Even this shop selling my favorite, Tacos Al Pastor was closed for business.  Sigh…no tacos today.

Here are some other shops on Back Street.

Mini’s Market (across the street from Caye Supplies) has now opened a Christian Book Store.  The gentlemen of Mini’s are fishermen and sell their fresh catch in the morning by the old soccer field at around 7am.  Any leftovers (and there hasn’t been much recently) are sold during the day at Mini’s Store.

Sew What! is there to help with your sewing needs.  There is also a smaller local fabric and sewing store across the street.

I haven’t been in Domingo’s Tortilla factory in ages!  They’ve actually upgraded their machinery.  They make fresh corn and flour tortillas to die for all morning long.  Corn are $2bzd a pound.

If you need the tortillas in the afternoon, just stop in the little market across the street.  They’ve got them.  Yesterday they also have queso fresco, shrimp and pig tails.  Yum.

There are a few…how can I say it…shady bars on Back Street.  They are both “gaming centers”.  I’ve been into them in the past.  They are very interesting places.

We finally found Briana’s Deli and the place was PACKED.  A very good sign.

The server had to head into the back to see what was left.  We ordered the chicken curry with rice and beans and two orders of fried whole fish with cilantro rice.

The portions were massive, the coleslaw some of the best I’ve ever had and the fish?  It was like fried fish candy.  So much crispy deliciousness.  AND somehow, this little unairconditioned deli stays amazingly cool and breezy.  Plus, they serve cold beers (most small local food shops don’t.)  Each dish was $10bzd, the beers $4bzd and we had plenty left to-go.  I definitely recommend a trip away from the main strip to Briana’s to eat this food.

It’s right across the street from Super Buy.

Here is another local shop…a great spot for cheap plastic containers as well as bar glasses/shot glasses.  They have always been the cheapest I could find in town.

One quick Rum and Limeade (only $3.50bzd!) at BC’s on the way home to cool off.

Carlos was busy BBQing for a pretty good sized crowd.  The cheese burgers seemed particularly popular.

After arriving home and taking a bit of time to digest the HUGE lunch, it was time to get crafty.  And who knew that my friend Dani (who is visiting with her husband for a week) was a regular Martha Stewart?  I stuck to the dying and she got busy with a matchstick and some candle wax.

Here are the results.

Not the pastel pinks and robin’s egg blues you get with white eggs…but hey, you need to work with what’s available.  I’m kinda digging the earthy Crayola colors.  New logo perhaps?

And look where the Easter bunny left them this morning…

They were sweating a bit in the already incredibly hot morning sun…

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