Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
you want a little milk, ask for
leche al lado
(milk on the side). Many trendier places serve
espresso drinks.
For a refresher, nothing beats
batidos
- fresh fruit shakes made either
al agua
(with wa-
ter) or
con leche
(with milk). The array of available tropical fruit can be intoxicating and
includes mango, papaya,
piña
(pineapple),
sandía
(watermelon),
melón
(cantaloupe),
mora
(blackberry),
carambola
(starfruit),
cas
(a type of tart guava),
guanabana
(soursop or cher-
imoya) or
tamarindo
(fruit of the tamarind tree). If you are wary about the condition of the
drinking water, ask that your
batido
be made with
agua enbotellada
(bottled water) and
sin
hielo
(without ice), though water is generally safe to drink throughout the country.
Pipas
are green coconuts that have had their tops hacked off with a machete and been
spiked with a straw for drinking the coconut water inside - super refreshing when you're
wilting in the tropical heat. If you're lucky enough to find it,
agua dulce
is sugarcane wa-
ter, a slightly grassy, sweet juice that's been pressed through a heavy-duty, hand-cranked
mill. On the Caribbean coast, look for
agua de sapo
(literally 'toad water'), a beautiful lem-
onade laced with fresh ginger juice and
tapa de dulce
(brown sugar; also known as
tapa
dulce
).
Resbaladera,
found mostly in the Guanacaste countryside, is a sweet milk - much
like
horchata
(Mexican rice drink) - made from rice, barley, milk and cinnamon. Other
local drinks you may encounter include
linaza,
a flaxseed drink said to aid digestion, and
chan,
a drink made from chia seed and lemon - this can be an acquired taste due to its
slimy (yum!) texture.
The most popular alcoholic drink is
cerveza
(beer; aka
birra
locally), and there are sev-
eral national brands. Imperial is the most popular - either for its smooth flavor or for the
ubiquitous merchandise emblazoned with the eagle-crest logo. Pilsen, which has a higher
alcohol content, is known for its saucy calendars featuring
las chicas Pilsen
(the Pilsen
girls). Both are tasty pilsners. Bavaria produces a lager and Bavaria Negro, a delicious,
full-bodied dark beer; this brand is harder to find. A most welcome burgeoning craft-beer
scene (
Click here
)
is broadening the variety of Costa Rican beers and deepening the tastes
of local palates.
After beer, the poison of choice is
guaro,
which is a colorless alcohol distilled from sug-
arcane and usually consumed by the shot, though you can order it as a sour. It goes down
mighty easily but leaves one hell of a hangover.
As in most of Central America, the local rums are inexpensive and worthwhile, espe-
cially the Ron Centenario, which recently shot to international fame. And at the risk of ali-
enating the most patriotic of Ticos, we would be remiss not to mention the arguably tastier
