8. Food

Lola’s a Fabulous Beach Front Restaurant in Playa Avellanas, south of Tamarnido A Couple of Menu Items From Lola’s Kitchen.

Another shot of Lola’s at Playa Avellanas

Some of the delicious food at Lola’s, Fresh Tuna burger and fresh fish and chips

Costa Rican food is pretty simple. It isn’t like what we think of as Mexican food, which of course isn’t like real Mexican food anyway. The Costa Rican diet consists of a lot of fresh fruit which is plentiful, a lot of seafood along the coast in particular, a lot of rice and beans, and mostly chicken or pork for meat. A typical dish would be rice fried with chicken for example. You may see menu items identified as “tipico.” That refers to a typical Costa Rican rice, vegetable, and meat dish.

The food you’ll find in the restaurants however, at least those that cater to the tourists, will be all kinds of things and mostly very good. Unless a beef item specifically identifies Argentine beef, you may not be happy with it if you’re expecting a NY Strip or a Filet Mignon. The local beef has a different flavor and texture than what we’re familiar with. A hamburguesa will be just fine though. If they offer Argentine beef it is excellent. A beef item might appear on a menu as lomito. It is a cut of beef similar to a flank steak and will usually be prepared with a sauce of some kind. It can be quite good. Any seafood item was most likely caught locally a few hours before so the seafood is really good. Here are a few common types of fish that you might see on a menu. Pargo is Red Snapper. A menu item that says “Pargo Entero” is a whole Red Snapper, meaning head, tail ,the whole thing, served grilled or fried or with various sauces.

Catch of the Day – Pargo or Red Snapper to you

Langosta is lobster. Cameron is shrimp. Tuna is simply Atun. Mahi Mahi is Dorado, the same as the word for “gold.” Sea Bass is Corvino.

If you’re not familiar with Ceviche (Suh-vee-chay) you must give it a try. If you are familiar with Ceviche you must give it a try. Again the seafood is all very fresh and very delicious. You’ll find a number of varieties of Ceviche with different combinations of fish, shrimp, etc. It is an appetizer, although a portion could make a nice lunch or light dinner entrée by itself. It is made with fresh seafood marinated in lime juice and a variety of herbs, onion, etc. Mmmm, good.

The local fruit is wonderful and depending on season can include Mango, Papaya, Coconut, Pineapple, Apples, Melons, Oranges, and some that you may not recognize. For the most part, the Spanish names will look familiar. Coco is Coconut, Piña is Pineapple, Manzanilla is Apple. Naranja is Orange. Jugo de Naranja is Orange Juice. Limon is lime or lemon. You won’t find yellow lemons as we see them in the U.S. except perhaps in a high-end bar where they use them for garnish in drinks.

Santa Cruz, Guanacaste – Sabado – Mercado de los Agricultores -o en Inglese, Saturday – Farmer’s Market

There are two varieties of limes, one with the usual green pulp and one that is sweeter with an orange pulp. The fruit in the store or at a roadside stand or farmer’s market may not be as pretty as what you see in the supermarket at home but it’s far tastier. Bananas for example may not be just all perfect and yellow but they taste much better.