Food!

I have quickly decided, hopefully not too quickly, that Costa Rican food is OK but nothing to write home about.  And yet, here I am writing about it.

I previously wrote about eating out being expensive.  Groceries can be expensive, too.  The places where I’m shopping are targeting above-average income and so you pay a bit more to get more selection and better quality, but this gives you an idea:

-Loaf of bread: $2-3/loaf

-Activa yogurt: $6 for 4x4oz cups

-Gallon of milk: $4.20

-Apple: $1

-Pear: $1

A lot of the solution, of course, is to cook like the locals (who likely are not using lots of apples).  I just need to figure out what that looks like besides rice and beans.

Japanese food and Peruvian food are both quite popular here.  I’ve had Peruvian food that I think is quite good, but I limited Peruvian food experience as a benchmark.  The Japanese food here is pretty good, but I haven’t found anything really great yet.

I have now been to Applebee’s there times in as many weeks in CR, I hate to admit.  The first time I went by myself because after eating varieties of rice + beans + protein I needed something green, and I at least knew Applebee’s would have a fish and veggies.  After that, for two consecutive Fridays my colleagues went out to celebrate a birthday, and went to Applebee’s.  I am not going again even if I’m the only holdout.  The first time service was slow, and then everyone else’s food came except mine.  They said they were working on it, but my food came just as everyone else had finished theirs – 1.5 hours after we ordered.  (They offered a free dessert as a consolation.  When the whole problem is that everything is taking longer than it should, why do you offer someone an extra food item that will take more time to prepare and eat?)  The second time everyone’s food was slow, and it took us 2.5 hours to get in and out.  People here like their lunch breaks, but even the Ticos weren’t happy.  And, lest you think it is the mid-priced work lunch it is in the U.S., a burger costs $13 and an Oriental chicken salad costs $15.

I have also eaten some McDonald’s, because McDonald’s is one of those great global measuring sticks.  The McDonald’s near me is wildly popular; I counted 15 cards in a traffic jam of a drive-through line one night.  (The drive through is called an Auto-Mac here, in keeping with everything being –Mac.)  

Behold the McPinto.  Best thing on the plate: the two slug-looking fried plantains.  They are like candy for breakfast.

The only real oddity on the menu is the McPinto, which I tried.  It is their version of the local breakfast specialty, gallo pinto (spiced rice and beans) with friend plantains, eggs, tiny tortillas, and sausage.  Verdict: leave local food to the locals.  The other notable thing is that here, you can get a side salad instead of fries with a burger meal.  Maybe they do that in the U.S., too, but I hadn’t noticed.

Switching to drinks, fresh fruit juices are very common (and good) here.  I don’t know if they add sugar, but I think usually not at a restaurant.  There are juices I have never heard of (jugo de cas).  Beer here is on the light side, but not all bad.  I was listening to the radio when I heard “[Spanish blah blah] Milwaukee’s Best [Spanish blah blah].”  Yes, friends, Milwaukee’s Best, which may be extinct even in Milwaukee, is alive and kicking here.  There is one microbrewery that I know of but have not visited.

They must like their beer or other drinks, though, because I drove by an Alcoholics Anonymous the other day.