Tickie's Belizean Cuisine

Hey..been lurking for a few months and finally decided to post.

Tickie's - half a block north of Howard on Paulina. First time eating there. I have lived in NYC and appreciate Caribbean food in all of its forms. Unfortunately I haven't found much variety here in the Chi (not disparaging our wonderful city - our Arabic and Mexican food beats NYC any day!). So...I was excited to find out about this little Belizean place.

Owners were very welcoming...definitely a family run place. Tons of child-drawn pictures on the wall celebrating "grandpa Tickie." I like the neighborhood...Howard is buzzing at all times of the day. A nice contrast to the rest of RP.

The food - I had a chicken empanada. Huge and sopping with chicken broth, it was wonderful. The chicken was bone-in and had some skin on it. The masa (cornmeal) was creamy and delicate, almost like a corn pudding. Altogether a success and a nice alternative to the empanadas I am used to.

Oxtail dinner - I remember now why I don't enjoy oxtails so much. Lots of fat, not much meat, hard to eat around the bones. Still, as far as oxtails go they were well done - braised until falling of the bone and relatively abundant. The best part was the rice and beans - some of the best I have ever had and quite substantial, topped with a whole fried plantain. The curious part - a huge scoop of potato salad!? Not sure if this is a Belizean thing or just a Tickie's thang. I would have preferred something lighter.

Oh and the hot sauce - house made, vinegary, tinged an eerie neon orange and absolutely redolent of garlic and scotch bonnet. I could have drank a glass of the stuff....

Altogether a good meal capable of greatness. Next time I will go for something that isn't oxtail. Oh, and the menu contains a number of curiosities whose names I can't recall, but I definitely haven't seen them anywhere else. Heartily recommend others to drop by.

Anyone have a good/bad/interesting experiences to share?

Now I just need to find a Trini place that has doubles, pholouries and aloo pie and I am set.............

Welcome to LTH, Habibi!

The Evanston Lunch Group recently lunched at Tickie's. You can find some photos and comments here.

This is on our "have to try" list. Your review moves it up quite a bit.

If you know the brand, is the hot sauce like Marie Sharp's? Made in Belize. Gotta get the Extra Hot!

Do they serve liquor? Is it BYO?

Tickie's doesn't serve liquor. They probably wouldn't mind BYOB, but I'd call first to confirm.

Tickie's Belizean Cuisine
7605 N. Paulina Ave. (1/2 block north of Howard)
Chicago
(773) 973-3919

Never tried that sauce...but I will keep an eye out for it next time I am at RP Market on Clark and Rogers.

As far as BYO goes I am not sure. I don't believe they sold beer, but I did see a rather conspicuous empty 6-pack of an obscure Belizean beer hanging out above the drink cooler.

Habibi wrote:Never tried that sauce...but I will keep an eye out for it next time I am at RP Market on Clark and Rogers.

As far as BYO goes I am not sure. I don't believe they sold beer, but I did see a rather conspicuous empty 6-pack of an obscure Belizean beer hanging out above the drink cooler.

That would be Belekin beer probably. I think you can only get it in the states in California. Great beer when you are sitting en palapa at a beach bar in Belize.

Thanks for the report! The food sounds and looks great. The scoop of potato salad (or other mayo-based salad) is a common enough Central American touch based on my experience with Guatemalan in-laws. Consider also such salads' place in Hawaiian and Korean cuisines. At first it doesn't seem to make sense. But then you eat it, and it does.

The "tamales" look exactly like the Gautemalan version of tamales in the Evanston group post. Habibi, are you sure what you had (which sound like tamales, not empanadas) were described as empanadas?

Caldo de pata (cow hoof stew shown in the linked report) is brilliant. I wouldn't write it off as a curiosity. But then, I love oxtails for the (similar) reasons that others hate them.

Looks like most of what the posters have tried leans more to the "Central American" side of Belizian food and less to the "Caribbean" side -- of course, there is significant overlap all around, but certainly some things like conch fritters and curries are more associated with the non-Spanish speaking, largely Afro-Caribbean island nations and others (eg, tamales) with the Spanish speaking, indigenous and criollo mainland places. I assume there is a good mix of all that stuff on the menu?

Conch fritters mask the rubbery reality of conch, beacuse the vulcanized meat is ground up.

The beans and rice look like a very fine example. Beans and rice at a place like this are akin to a cup of coffee or eggs at a diner. Pedestrian, maybe, but if they are not good, the place is not good. Tickie's rice looks good.

JeffB you are correct...they were tamales. I meant one thing and wrote another.

I didn't mean to be dismissive by labeling things 'curiosities' - I am a pretty adventurous eater (ask any street vendor in Cairo). Wrong word perhaps - I meant to convey a sense of intrigue.

Cow foot next time it is!

I had a very impressive lunch at Tickie's today. The restaurant is now quite lovely with a fresh coat of bright blue paint, funny and welcoming staff, Belizean radio in the background, and some excellent food. In fact, I can't think of a "Caribbean" restaurant in Chicagoland that I prefer. I don't believe that we have a Caribbean GNR, but Tickie's would fit the bill. Most of the food was as expertly prepared as the dishes served at the LTH Evanston lunch, but I want to make special note of the Whole Snapper topped with mixed vegetables and a lovely coconut-based sauce (the oxtail was nice as well). Since the fish was the weak point of the meal last time, this snapper was a winner. Tickie's is a colorful storefront that aims to please. Like many Caribbean restaurants there was a steady flow of customers ordering takeout.

Is this perhaps in the space once occupied by the late lamented La Choza? I miss that place.

trpt2345 wrote:Is this perhaps in the space once occupied by the late lamented La Choza? I miss that place.

Close. La Choza was at 7630 N Paulina. Tickie's address is 7605.