Rumfish y vino

'Tis the Season!

2011-12-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here it is...the holidays! Rumfish took a long break to recooperate from the last season. We traveled, shopped, SLEPT!, enjoyed family and friends...visiting two US coasts over six weeks with our toddler in tow! A break, not so much...a fury of activity that brought us back exhausted, yet invigorated! And, low and behold, we had a new veranda sticking off the front of our little spot. Igniting the fires in us...we completed the gesture and painted, reupolstered, revamped the menu...and now, Dear Friends, we are ready to sail into 2012!
So we got a little Sh**t from our local friends for being gone this summer/fall...I hope someday they will understand that working 7 days a week for 300 days takes a toll. Especially for our little Babe! But after 6 weeks straight with Mommy and Daddy I believe I heard her say...GO BACK TO WORK MOMMY AND DADDY...YOU ARE EXHAUSTING ME!
So now we face...The Babe's 2nd Bday next week, then the Christmas Jumble "you-know-what"...then New Years...then Mommy's 40th...then hopefully smooth sailing for the rest of 2012!
Now, after all of the niceties and bull shit...the brass tacks. Owning and operating a restaurant is tough. Owning and operating a restaurant in Belize (all my local comrades will agree) is fricking crazy! Then , too boot, you have this dog-eat-dog competition. Not built of the natural progression of basic development, but created by and exascerbated by...Trip Advisor! Seems lately there have been some shinangins about town, some covert operations and accusations...that people may be attempting to sabatoge restaurants with falsified Trip Advisor reviews. Hey, you know what...play nice...play fair...it will come back to you if you keep you eye on the ball of improvement and keep growing, changing, evolving to meet the needs to each and every existing and emerging market. It's a difficult challenge down here as our resources are incredibly limited and our market is mostly seasonal and tourist based. But at the end of the day, I would hope our fellow restauranteurs are keeping a clean nose. Karma is real...enough said!
Ok, yicky stuff aside, we are so excited to get into the thick of the season. We have promising projections from our fabulous resort & local friends and a wonderful staff that has been with us for years to guide us through!
We anticipate a year of excitement, making lot's of new friends-short term or long- that will keep our spirits alive and kicking in 2012!
We want to give thanks to everyone who supports us and those to come. We work hard to create the best possible dining experience for our customers. We hope that we succeed in that effort and enhance anyones day, vacation, honeymoon, travels, or what have you...and PLEASE feel completely free to share any joys, insights, suggestions you have in your experience at Rumfish with us at anytime. It is our pleasure to serve you...we hope it is your pleasure too!

From Mommy to Maitre 'd...

2011-02-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

We have made it through...our first 2 years! Now we face our third season head on and with vigor! Placencia is booming and Rumfish is feeling the beautiful burden of being busy! The holidays reminded us that we have only until now been in our infancy. As "grown ups" and "on the map" we will be sleeping little and serving MORE! As it goes with the restaurant business...be careful what you wish for! But alas, we love it! Our biggest hurdle...finding a good and reliable babysitter so that The Momma can be at work! Our second biggest challenge...finding good labor! Ouch! It is beyond difficult to train and expect a level of service from those who have never dined in a "first world" restaurant, especially when that is a large percentage of our client base during the "season". Currently we have an amazing staff...but you never know what tomorrow will bring (one of our waitresses is preggo!). Our Chef is outstanding and we have outdone ourselves (personal opinion and shared by many guests!) this season in terms of our menu, specials, and...'special menus'. Braised Short Ribs (Valentine's)...one of the best meals I've had in my life! Deep fried Turkey...Cajun rub...Chipotle gravy for Thanksgiving...how about that Spicy Plantain Chowder?! This weeks Chunky Lobster Bisque in a Creole Bread Bowl rounded out Lobster season brilliantly. So sad to say goodbye to Lobster until June...but sweet and succulent Jumbo Shrimp have come in to save the day! We re-fashioned the Bisque with those little buggers and WOW...I will NOT tell Lobster what a fine stand-in job our prawn friends provided!
And, yes, "Mommy" and "Maitre 'd" is an odd and complexing duality I endure, and how lucky am I for it? Mommy by day, and serving my guests by night. Chatting it up, meeting fantastic people from all over the world...opening fabulous bottles of wine...drinking some of them...I cannot complain (although I am known to anyway!!). Did I mention accountant? Yes, a large part of my day is spent adding and subtracting (whilst my 14 month old tugs at my pant leg incessantly!) But, you are talking about someone who added simple addition equations backwards in an interview for a cocktail waitressing job in NYC during college. My excuse was that I was in the Arts School which did not require any mathematics. It was indeed embarrassing, but HEY...I could've quoted a Sonnet verbatim on the spot!
And so, today we dotted the last 'i' and crossed the last 't' on our Belize residency paperwork...it took a nice road trip to Belmopan and and a prick in the arm (needed HIV tests) to do it. But now (and I say this in a quiet voice so as not to jinx) I think we are finally through with the "application" and will hopefully receive our permanent residency soon. Our child being born here in Belize is of "little use" to us in regards to our actual legitimacy here in the eyes of the Belizean Government sadly...but hey, she carries two passports and that is just cool anyway.
What else can I say except the Gods have smiled on us and we love our little joint, our baby, and our life (and all of it's many challenges) here in Belize!

The Worst Blogger Ever!

2010-06-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

I am truly the worst ever. I mean HELLO! What's the point then?? Well, it just so happened that we were very busy this year...and had a baby. YES. Rumfish had a baby this December and her name is Libby. Quite an interesting experience having a baby in Belize. I think thankfully I have nothing to compare it to.
But she is THE best. A perfect baby really and truly...she comes to work at Rumfish about every other day. Her strengths are getting along with others, interpersonal working relationships, communication, guest relations, and very detail oriented. Her weaknesses, really only stemming from lack of experience are, table maintenance, mixology, food & wine knowledge, and occasional tardiness. But we love her anyway!

Placencia Breeze Article!

2010-06-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Check it out!
http://www.placenciabreeze.com/0610/0610RumFish.html

Our sign!

2009-03-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is our new RUMFISH sign...

Another day in paradise!

2009-03-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

Another Sunday morning. Just returned from a long walk on the beach with husband and dogs. Breakfast at Cozy Corner. Coffee and the Caribbean. Perfect start to the day.

The housekeeper just left, now all is quiet. Puppies are beat and resting, and I am on my way to the hammock with about six issues of Coastal Living I borrowed from Z-Touch Salon! There is something working so hard that makes even 1/2 day of rest the most rewarding. We will go back to the beach in an hour and soak up some sun and play with the dogs in the water. Swim, read...yes, another day in paradise I guess.

Last week was a doozy though! 125 cases of wine arrived in Belize City and John had the lucky fortune of having to pick it all up. He road with Norman the Baker. 4:30 am departure, clearly Norman did not have time to tame his afro. So, they hit the road and arrived back at Rumfish about 20 hours later- seeing one new battery, about 15 stops to shop for restaurant stuff, and 2 breakdowns on the Hummingbird Highway along the way. By 2 am Norman (who's fro was now about a foot in circumference and had collected some particles along the way), and John lugged all 125 cases into the house.

The next day, Friday the 13th, was John's birthday! He was given a schedule in the morning that included a hair appointment (desperately wanted by John) a massage, some nap time, little cozy time with the wife...etc. Dinner at French Connection was wonderful- pork chop and duck- and at 9 pm a DJ and bday party at Rumfish. We sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cake among throngs of friends- it was a good one.

Saturday we had our second LARGE order for Peckish Provisioning. Scurrying around picking up last minute things- we loaded onto the boat around 5pm, just as we finished the guests arrived. Happy, and a job well done.

Got the wines loaded into the restaurant, inventoried, updated the wine list, and now we can actually take a minute to breathe today and enjoy our life in the Caribbean.

GQ Mag features Rumfish y vino March 2009 issue!!

2009-03-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Rumfish y vino is featured in GQ magazine this month
March 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Turn to page 110 and see a picture of our ceviche (although they misspell and call it Seviche! We have 2 nice mentions, one is the photo caption, the other is in the article itself- "for a more upscale evening...try Rumfish y vino where the special is usually what was caught that morning..."

2009-02-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

Kind of hard to start from the beginning...it goes back some distance to get us to this point. So I figure since I am way behind on this blogging thing, I will use today as a starting point. As the past- LA, NYC, The Wedding, The Dog, our journey to Belize comes up- I will reflect on it. But for today, I can only see ahead!

Today...ah, but today. Today I had a cucumber in the foot of a pair of nylon's (who knew they even had nylon's here!) hanging between my legs attempting to push a potato forward and towards my husband.

Only in Belize, and only at a Rotary Meeting.

What day is it anyway?

I sit here at the desk at home. Rain pours on and off- "unseasonal" for this time of year I am told. And our new puppy, Milo, sits curled up on my lap. I sip a glass of Montepulciano and field calls from John, who is at Rumfish, about the development of some new menu ideas we've been working on and that are coming out of the kitchen.

Puppy and Ojai can be seen to the left.

This is my "back in time" dodododododododododododododododododo"

Remember this day?

Our departure day from NYC. Bittersweet of course, but very confusing for a dog. What the HELL???

And this was "What the hell??" from Mommy and Daddy!!!

Needless to say...he adjusted quickly.

It's been a whirlwind...the hardest thing I've even done. EVER! But worth every minute. Below is an email I sent to my F's & F's within the first couple of weeks of being here...soooooo funny for me to reread NOW!

So, it's Sunday morning and our little buddy just suffered through another tick removal massacre. About five ticks I think this morning, one eventually loses count. We have started him on Amoxicillin for it seems he may have contracted Tick fever. This is one of many possible diagnosis's, could be he licked a type frog that has hallucinogenic properties...or ate a yellow iguana (although we've heard if this were the case he would be dead by now), or perhaps a scorpion. But on 'googling' Tick Fever, that seems to have the most similar symptoms to Ojai's recent behavior. Some examples would be the 'fantom fly', in which he snaps and chases imaginary flies, or 'drunk paranoid dog' who bangs into walls, then catches his own shadow and runs into the corner whimpering. Other symptoms include chewing his skin, rashes on his legs, lethargy, dehydration...and so on. Two days on the antibiotics though have seemed to have knocked it! If you're wondering how we got Amoxicillin...we walked into a pharmacy and said, "My dog has Tick Fever" and he handed us 10 days of it for about $6 US. We decided to get ourselves antibiotics as well, just in case we contract something... we were like kids in a pharmaceutical candy store!!!

Last night after John went up to bed, and I was attempting to stay up for a little SNL comic relief, a little scorpion crawled towards me at warp speed. I screamed and leapt off the couch as it's tail curled and it shimmied closer and closer. John came down from the loft with what small measure of valiance he could muster, but mostly panic! We jumped around the room for a while not sure what to do. There is no 'sense-memory' defensive reaction for a scorpion attack. No specific behavior pops into your mind on instinct. No survivalist thought like, "Oh, right, I remember when I was 6 my Dad killed a scorpion by snapping it's head off" kind of thing is triggered. This is not stored in our "Subconscious Critter 'How to' Mental Archives" like spiders, moths, roaches, even bats are. So we jumped and danced and sprayed an entire can of bug spray which was NO match for our formidable friend. Under the couch he scurried. Now what?? Not to worry, he then lunged out towards John's barefoot who then proceeded to smack the hell out of it with his flip flop. That's what you do. Smack it. Smoosh it. Flush it. And go to bed.

Another day in paradise.

I would like to mention that earlier in the evening John and I were at the beach during a beautiful sunset with the dogs. I say 'dogs' plural, because it seems that Ojai is like the Pied Piper of puppies. They follow him down to the sea where they play and swim and run. As Ojai, Ringo, and Ajax (all under a year old) played in the water, I sipped a glass of sub-par Sauv. Blanc as we watched the sky transform from one shade of pink to another, then orange, red...unbelievable. The layers and layers and layers of clouds make the sky seems twice as deep or high as usual. The sun rays trickle through each layer with brilliant colors morphing in front of your eyes. I'm not really sure how that works, but I am convinced the sky is deeper here- is that possible? Closer to the equator? Anyway, the sunsets rock.

We spent two days in Belize City this week. That's a whole 'nother email in itself. But I just have to mention the 4 hour "express" busride to and fro. Now, this is the 'Amtrak' of transport to Belize City mind you. The 'NJ Transit' way is on a school bus that looks like it was handed down from some underprivileged elementary school in like West Virginia or something. These busses take about 6 hours to get to Belize City. I see them pass through town and it looks like a strange form of torture that I am not preprared to endure. So, we are told about the express bus. In order to catch it however, you have to take a boat called The Hokey Pokey- I kid you not- to the village of Independence on the mainland. So our taxi driver Roosevelt picks us up and drops us at The Hokey Pokey. We get on the boat with a dozen or so "commuters". It's a short and beautiful ride through the mangroves and across the flats. A taxi picks us up on the other side. Now, when I say taxi what I mean is- picture a minivan that has seen multiple accidents, is rusted, weather-warn, like it was dragged out of the dump, with a door that doesn't close, and about 16 scented Christmas trees hanging from the rearview still not doing the job. OH, and another important point to mention- there is not a vehicle, not one that I have seen, that does not have it's windshield smashed, notice I did not say 'cracked'. Most looked like someone threw a large boulder at the car, and they just crane their heads and adjust their seats so they can see around it.

So we get dropped off at the "bus station" in Independence. Only there is no door, no sign that reads "Bus Station", no way to buy a ticket. A 'Potlicker' (the name of the local dog breed that ironically it seems Ojai is) that looks like 'Ojai on crack' leans against the building and gives us the stink eye. When she stands her eight boobs drag on the ground. Her breasts too heavy to lug very far, she plops back down and stares at us again. Kids walk by in their school uniforms, backpacks...and barefeet. I see a dilapidated shack (everything is dilapidated mind you) and think, "Ah, maybe a Starbucks..." I proceed to walk over in search of a hot cup of coffee. I go inside where two big black ladies with no teeth look at me like I am REALLY lost as they pluck chickens or something behind a little counter. A little girl looks up, mouth agape like she has seen a ghost (or a clean well dressed white person which is really the same thing)! I ask for coffee, they point to a table with a jar of instant. I ask for a 'to go' cup. They look at me like I am crazy. Side note: Belizean's call 'take out', or food To Go, "Haul your ass take out". But you gotta say it in Creol which means you basically cut off all consonants and slur. Creol is fun and very easy to learn- just get drunk and you got it! Ok, digressing...So, I leave the ramshackled shack. There is a local bus parked (the local busses are all painted 'rasta' colors- green, red, black, and yellow). Three guys are sitting on the front fender. They ask me if I am getting the bus, I tell them that I am taking the express. They ask what I am looking for. I debate whether to mention my search for coffee, do I want to get MORE funny looks this morning? I do it. I mention the coffee. These guys point to another hut next door, but tell me it's closed. They point towards where I just came from and i explain the toothless ladies with no "(h)all-ur-ass" cups. Then they all think for a minute of where else I could possibly go for coffee. Then one of them reaches down an opens an igloo cooler and points to steamy styrofoam cups wrapped in plastic and says, "I got coffee". This is how long it takes an average Belizean on the street to tell me, a woman desperate for a cup of "Haul your ass" coffee, that he is packing it!! He sells me my coffee and a Johnny Cake with chicken and cheese when the express bus rolls up...and like in a movie, when the time period changes but there is no subtitle to inform the audience, we have seemingly stepped back in time. Remember the bus in "Walk the Line" (Johnny Cash) or any movie with bus in it that takes place in the 50's or 60's. That's the express bus. We get on and yet another adventure begins.

More to come!

2009-02-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

Here it is. Rumfish y vino!

And here our story unfolds.