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Archives for January 2015

Eat Like a Tico – Costa Rican Food

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You might’ve stumbled across my post on what to drink in Costa Rica. It seems to be one of my most often visited posts…go figure that one…

But, hey, we gotta eat too…right?

So this post will focus on 10 common Costa Rican food varieties that will have you eating like a tico on your Costa Rica vacation…

1. Gallo Pinto – this is the signature Costa Rican dish. While it exists in other countries (Nicaragua, for instance), it is ubiquitous at the tico breakfast table. It basically consists of rice, beans (usually black), with onions, cilantro and lots of salsa lizano. It is usually eaten with eggs, either scrambled (revueltos) or fried (fritos) and a big dollop of sweet sour cream (natilla) is recommended. Ask for a slice of queso frito (fried cheese) on the side and maybe chorrizo (spiced pork sausage), to bring the whole concoction to its peak of artery blocking power.

2. Chicharrones – these are fried pork medallions. They are delicious, but deadly. Great with an ice cold Imperial (or Silver).

3. Chifrijo – a variation of chicharrones, but the dish also adds (in layers) rice, red beans, pork rinds, freshly chopped tomato and/or pico de gallo (fresh vegetables with a dash of hot sauce), and served with a fried tortilla chip.

4. Casado – in Spanish the word means marriage and that is exactly what a casado is…a marriage of food. Because in sickness or in health, till death do them part, the casado will feature a meat (chicken, beef or fish), beans (usually black), rice, usually some type of vegetable casserole (like potato or yucca) and a small salad. It is the signature dish of the countless mom and pop restaurants known as “sodas” that can be found any and everywhere in Costa Rica. A great option for good and cheap comida tipica Costarricense.

5. Ensalada de Palmito – palmito, or heart of palm, is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees, notably the coconut palm. Costa Rica happens to be one of the primary exporters of this delicacy. A salad featuring heart of palm, or ensalada palmito, is one of the more healthy Costa Rican treats on my list.

6. Olla de Carne – this is a tipico beef stew that consists of lean beef, short ribs, potatoes, cassava, carrots, corn, green plantain and perhaps sweet potato. Pretty good…in Colombia they do something similar called sancocho, but there it is always cooked over an open fire.

7. Gallos Tipicos – these are bocas, or small dishes (like appetizers) that are often served in bars. They consist of a corn tortilla topped with an infinite variety of choices. You can have a gallo with chicharron, or frijolito molido (re-fried black beans), aguacate (avocado), a “picadillo” with potato or arracache, as well as many other things.

8. Patacones – these are flattened and fried green plantains. Served very salty and often with re-fried black beans (frijolito molido). Great with beer.

9. Empanadas – these are corn dough pastries filled with seasoned meats (pork, beef, or chicken), or cheese, beans, or cubed potato stew, and then folded and fried.

10. Arroz con Leche – finally a dessert! This is a very sweet sort of rice pudding made with, of course rice, condensed, evaporated and whole milk, lots of sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Delicious, especially if you can catch it recently prepared (and warm).

Honorable Mentions:

 – Tres Leches – my favorite dessert in Costa Rica, but it also exists in many other Latin countries, so not exactly 100% tico. It is basically a vanilla sponge cake soaked in a three-milk mixture (whole, evaporated and condensed) and topped with a delicious meringue icing. It has about a gazillion calories per single bite, but man is it good!

– Pescado Entero (Pargo Rojo) – this is a whole fried fish (head to tail). Usually will be of the pargo rojo (red snapper) variety. Great choice at the beach, or anywhere, for that matter. That’s me in the photo above partaking.

– Salsa Lizano – Costa Rica’s signature sauce. Very worcestershire-like, but perhaps a bit more “mustardy.” Very good on almost anything.

I know I am missing a bunch of other things that you can eat in Costa Rica (oops, forget to mention my favorite cooling off beach treat…the “granizado” – Google it)…

If you make it a point to try each of the above, you’ll have had a good sampling of the kinds of Costa Rican food that ticos actually eat.

Pura Vida,

Post by CRG

Guide to Costa Rica Booze

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Now here’s a topic that I know pretty darn well!

I realize many of you wonder what to drink on your Costa Rica vacation.

Well, here’s my Costa Rica booze post with your main choices in terms of Costa Rican national brands, as well as a few of my favorite imports from nearby Latin American neighbors…

Beers…

Imperial – hands down the king of Costa Rican beers. You’ll want to buy a t-shirt too. Oh and I should mention, it is traditional down here to drink your beer with ice.

Imperial Silver – this is my favorite beer. It is basically a slightly lighter version of the regular Imperial (loses the after taste that tends to get in the way of my thorough enjoyment of regular Imperial).

Imperial Light – too light (definitely for wimps).

Pilsen – this is a heavier beer than Imperial, both in terms of taste and alcohol content. Some say that real men drink Pilsen, but I don’t know about all that.

Pilsen Frost – Frost is to Pilsen as Silver is to Imperial…slightly lighter version.

Bavaria – I don’t really drink this. It appears to be a darker beer, but usually you see girls drinking it. I believe there is a light and a dark version, but like I said, never touch the stuff.

Rock Ice – a favorite with the females.

Toña – an import from Nicaragua…very good and ranks second on my list to Silver. I only wish they would start importing Victoria, which is my favorite Central American beer (out of all the ones I have tried), but so far still not available outside of Nicaragua.

Hard Stuff…

Centenario – Costa Rica’s national rum. Pretty good, but not nearly as good as the next one on the list.

Flor de Caña – this import from Nicaragua has to be one of the best rums on the planet. I love either the 7 or 12 year versions.

Havana Club – actually this Cuban import also ranks high on the list, but more expensive and really no better than Flor de Caña, so why pay the extra?

Zacapa – I have only tried this once. It is a Guatemalan rum and that one time was delicious. Quite expensive compared to those above, however.

Aquardiente Antioqueño – Colombian firewater from Medellin. If you’re partying with Colombians, your going to be drinking some of this. Better stick with the “tapa azul” (blue cap) as it is lower in sugar content, which means you get drunk a little less quick and the hangover is a lot less severe.  This stuff will creep on you, so be careful (and I do speak from experience!).

Cacique – Costa Rica’s sugar cane distilled white liquor that is guaranteed to make your brain, as well as you liver, hallucinate. Not recommended in more than minuscule quantities.

Cafe Rica – this is a Costa Rican coffee liqueur that is very good with coffee.

Wines…

All of the Casillero del Diablo varieties – I love this Chilean import that comes in reds and whites of all flavors. Really excellent wine and not too expensive.

Chicha – a homemade wine generally made with either fruit or corn (I think)…very popular with indigenous cultures, but go easy, this stuff is stronger than it tastes and the hangover is epic!

There you have it…Costa Rica Guy’s guide to imbibing on your Costa Rica vacation.

And remember to drink responsibly!

Post by CRG

Currency Exchange in Costa Rica – 10 Tips

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I thought I’d take a risk and post something sort of boring, yet insanely useful to readers.

Since 99.99% of our Costa Rica vacation customers ask about currency exchange, I figured a post on that topic might fill the bill for usefulness.

So, here are my 10 tips on currency exchange in Costa Rica.

1. Currency Math – Since I am no math genius, I have simplified the issue by assuming a currency exchange of 500 (colones – by the way that is what Costa Rica currency is called) to $1.00 (good old U.S. greenback). Since most tourism related transactions do not involve large quantities of dinero (money for a Spanish-speaking person), it really doesn’t matter a whole heap if the rate is 500 to 1, or 545 to 1. Using 500, a nice round number, keeps it simple enough for even me to do the math in my head.

Costa Rica bills come in the following denominations…

– 1,000 divided by 500 = $2.00
– 2,000 divided by 500 = $4.00
– 5,000 divided by 500 = $10.00
– 10,000 divided by 500 = $20.00
– 20,000 divided by 500 = $40.00

Simple enough?

We actually have a 50,000 bill now (I’ll let you guess what that translates to in dollars), but it is as rare as the resplendent quetzal…I have yet to actually see one in circulation.

2. How Much to Exchange – Costa Rican merchants readily accept dollars and credit cards, so it’s really not necessary to be in a frantic rush to exchange a bunch of money. I always recommend exchanging a small amount, say $100, and once that get’s low, then do it again.

3. Where to Exchange – Don’t do it in the airport as the currency exchange kiosks in there operate at the least competitive rates imaginable. The best and most convenient place is right at your hotel front desk. But they probably won’t exchange more than the aforementioned $100 at a time.

Other places are banks and “Servimas” booths, usually located in certain grocery store chains like “Mas por Menos.” But get ready to wait in line at those places to save a couple of pennies. Like I said, just do it at the hotel front desk and you won’t waste the time that should be used enjoying your vacation.

4. Paying with U.S. Currency (and credit cards) – As was mentioned above, you can pay for most things with U.S. currency or credit cards. Change will invariably be given in local currency, which is why it helps to get jiggy with the currency math (see primer above).

So, why do I need local currency? Mainly to pay for things like the following:

– taxi cabs
– street vendors
– small grocery stores (called “pulperias”)
– small restaurants (called “sodas”)

The reason those places might not accept dollars is because they cater mainly to local people who pay in colones. So they are just not accustomed to receiving dollars the way places are that cater to tourists.

5. Large U.S. Bills – If you are in a rural place and all you have is a wad of $50 and $100 bills, consider yourself as broke as an artichoke. No one will take them, except a bank and even then after careful and excruciating examination of the bill’s molecular structure. So, make sure that your foreign currency is kept in small denominations, nothing larger than a $20 is highly recommended.

6. Bills in Bad Shape – Also make sure your U.S. dollars are at least in semi-mint condition. If they have a bit of wear and tear about them, they might be rejected…even at a bank.

7. Getting Cash from Machines – Yes we do have ATMs in Costa Rica. Usually, these days, they will dispense either local currency, or U.S. dollars. So, if you have a debit card, or a credit card with cash advance permission, then ATM machines are a very convenient way to get local currency. There will generally be a pretty hefty ATM fee or around $3,00 per transaction though. Whether or not your bank will charge some type of “foreign transaction” fee is something you will have to check with your bank…I know mine doesn’t.

8. Using Traveler’s Checks in Costa Rica – My strong advice is forget about it. The only way you’ll be able to use them is by first enduring a painful process of going to the bank to exchange them for money. And even then, there is no guarantee for success. They are just an outmoded way of dealing with money during travel and it doesn’t work well…at least not in Costa Rica.

9. That Damn 23% Charge – When you buy a meal at a restaurant or a bar in Costa Rica and use your credit card, you will notice two charges that might alarm you. One has the initials I.S. and the other I.V. The one with the I.S. is for “impuestos de servicios” and is a 10% tip that is almost always included in your bill. While that might get you hot under the collar, settle down a bit because no one expects you to leave anything over and above that required tip. The one with the I.V. is for “impuestos de ventas” and is the Costa Rican sales tax of 13%.

And yes those fees are also added if you pay with cash…colones or dollars.

10. Currency Exchange Rate Etiquette – Usually most merchants will use the 500 mentioned at the outset, since that makes the math easy for them as well. But if you want to be sure you can always ask by saying “cual es el tipo de cambio?” If you want to whip out a calculator (like the one on your Iphone) and do the math that way, that’s fine (even though a little awkward). But don’t get too anxious because most vendors are not out to “get the gringo” by making currency exchange errors in their favor.

But watch out for taxi cab drivers…which is why I recommend having some colones to pay those guys. And, of course, get fluent with your exchange rate math before you really need it.

I hope this little primer on currency exchange in Costa Rica has been helpful.

By the way, we have a document that we always send out to customers who book Costa Rica vacations with us entitled Useful Tips and Information. It is loaded with information like what was provided in this post, but a lot of other stuff too. In the spirit of connection-age benevolence I have inserted a link where you can download it.

And while you’re at it do me a flattering favor and fill out the form below to sign up on our email list and receive my 100 Cool Things to do in Costa Rica eBook.

Post by CRG

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