Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [30]
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VEGETARIANS & VEGANS
If you don’t mind rice and beans, Costa Rica is a relatively comfortable place for vegetarians to travel.
Most restaurants will make veggie casados on request and many are now including them on the menu. They usually include rice and beans, cabbage salad and one or two selections of variously prepared vegetables or legumes.
Cocinando con Tía Florita is a popular Tico cooking show. Check out the recipes and meet Tía Florita herself at www.cocinandocontiaflorita.tv.
With the high influx of tourism, there are also many specialty vegetarian restaurants or restaurants with a veggie menu in San José and tourist towns. Lodges in remote areas that offer all-inclusive meal plans can accommodate vegetarian diets with advance notice.
Vegans, macrobiotic and raw food–only travelers will have a tougher time as there are fewer outlets accommodating those diets. If you intend to keep to your diet, it’s best to choose a lodging where you can prepare food yourself. Many towns have health-food stores (macrobióticas), but selection varies. Fresh vegetables can also be hard to come by in isolated areas, and will often be quite expensive.
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EATING WITH KIDS
If you’re traveling with the tots, you’ll find that ‘kids’ meals’ (small portions at small prices) are not normally offered in restaurants, though some fancy lodges do them. However, most local eateries will accommodate two children splitting a meal or can produce child-size portions on request. You can ask for restaurant staff to bring you simple food, rice with chicken or steak cooked a la plancha (on the grill).
If you are traveling with an infant, stock up on milk formula and baby food before heading to remote areas. Avocados are safe, easy to eat, nutritious and they can be served to children as young as six months old. Young children should avoid water and ice in drinks as they are more susceptible to stomach illnesses.
Always carry snacks for long drives in remote areas – sometimes there are no places to stop for a bite.
For other tips on traveling with the kids, Click here.
Coffee was thought to energize workers, so in 1840 the government decreed that all laborers building roads should be provided with one cup of coffee every day.
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HABITS & CUSTOMS
Costa Ricans are open and informal, and treat their guests well. If you have the good fortune to be invited into a Tico home, you can expect to be served first, receive the biggest portion and perhaps even receive a parting gift. On your part, flowers or wine are both fine gifts to bring, though the best gift you can offer is extending a future dinner invitation to your hosts.
TOP EATS IN COSTA RICA
Try Peruvian specialties at Machu Picchu in San José (Click here).
Savor spicy, delicious fish tacos from El Loco Natural in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca.
Pan-Asian meets Latin Fusion at Kapi Kapi Restaurant in Manuel Antonio.
Experience innovative Mediterranean cuisine at Seasons by Shlomy in Tamarindo.
Try anything off the menu at Restaurante Exótica in Ojochal.
Remember that when you sit down to eat in a restaurant, it is polite to say buenos días (good morning) or buenas tardes (good afternoon) to the waitstaff and/or any people you might be sharing a table with. It is also polite to say buen provecho, which is the equivalent of bon appetit, at the start of the meal.
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EAT YOUR WORDS
Don’t know your pipas from your patacones? A batido from a bolita? Get beneath the surface of Costa Rica’s plentiful cuisine by learning the lingo. For pronunciation guidelines, Click here.
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Food Glossary
ON THE MENU
almojabanos al·mo·kha·ba·nos similar to tortilla de maíz, but hand-rolled into small sausage-sized pieces
batido ba·tee·do milkshake