Costa Rica – Let’s Eat!

I was mistaken when I thought I might be eating mostly Latin food but Costa Rica has a phenomenal assortment in the meals that it serves. You would be surprised to find that there are many Asian restaurants and while many European restaurants. The food is plentiful and the cost is reasonable. Naturally every fine hotel has a eating place on the premises but you will like to eat at the local restaurants.

In San Jose there are quite a few fine restaurants. Ristorante Bohemia is a fine European eating house that serves a conventional European dinner by using a fine wine list. While searching restaurants to try out, I repeatedly found Tin Jo’s on the list. This is a eating house that seems to have stood the test of time and is still running a business. The food is considered Pan Asian and you will discover Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and even a bottle of East Indian food. The deserts are delicious.

I once went to a Cuban eating place and found out the hard way that not all Latin food is like Mexican food. I embarrassed myself and asked for chips and salsa. Large oops, I got a dirty seek that one. The similar is true of Costa Rica; don’t go expecting the native food to be like Mexican food. It could be considered bland and is healthier than the Mexican food that we usually eat here in the States. Costa Rican meals are considered healthier because it is more fresh and natural. No canned peas here!

The nicest thing about eating in Costa Rica is that all fruits, vegetable, and seafood are very fresh. In a few cases the beef and pork are actually fresh as well. In all restaurants the juice served is commonly fresh. It appears as if it is cheaper to serve fresh rather than frozen. Many smaller restaurants actually grow their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs There is was well the cheese manufactured by the Quaker community from Monteverde and if you travel through Monteverde you will get a prospect to meet the Quakers..

Something that I have to have in the morning is a hot cup of coffee. I don’t care if the conditions are hot or not, I need to have a cup of hot coffee to get rolling in the morning. One nice thing is that Costa Rica makes a fine crop of coffee. You may wish to stock up and take bags of coffee home available as gifts for friends and family. Nearly all the hotels are located on either old coffee plantations or on actual functioning coffee plantations.

The local dishes is Ceviche, which is special and is made from seafood. I make mine version here at home with cooked shrimp and crab. The delicacies found in most salads is Hearts of Palm. I feel like is great, especially since I love Hearts of Palm. Here in the states they’re expensive and I haven’t had any for a long time.

As with any Central American country, Plantains are a staple it the dietary plan of Costa Ricans. When I was a kid my Puerto Rican friend was served fried Plantains for morning meal created by her mother. I was shocked to see her put ketchup on a fried banana. Well I soon learned that Plantains are in the banana family but they are used more like potatoes.

Because of all the fresh produce available, Costa Rica is a heaven for vegetarians or those with vegan diets. You will see many vegetarian restaurants obtainable for your dining pleasure.

Most of the big hotels have buffets and you can always eat at these but you will do yourself a disservice if you are one of those who does not try the local cuisine with it being as fresh and original as it is. The’re a many Americans and others that come to Costa Rica and open up businesses. Regardless where you are in Costa Rica, get out and try the produce. Visit someplace new daily.