Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Batido (fruit shake)
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How to Eat & Drink
Places to Eat
The most popular eating establishment in Costa Rica is the
soda
. These are small, informal
lunch counters dishing up a few daily
casados
. Other popular cheapies include the omni-
present fried- and rotisserie-chicken stands.
A regular
restaurante
is usually higher on the price scale and has slightly more atmo-
sphere. Many
restaurantes
serve
casados,
while the fancier places refer to the set lunch as
the
almuerzo ejecutivo
(literally 'executive lunch').
For something smaller,
pastelerías
and
panaderías
are shops that sell pastries and bread,
while many bars serve
bocas,
which are snack-sized portions of main meals.
Lunch is usually the day's main meal and is typically served around noon. Dinner tends
to be a lighter version of lunch and is eaten around 7pm.
Vegetarians & Vegans
If you don't mind rice and beans, Costa Rica is a relatively comfortable place for vegetari-
ans 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 se-
lections of variously prepared vegetables or legumes.
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, although this is slowly changing. If you intend
to keep to your diet, it's best to choose a lodging where you can prepare food yourself.
Many towns have
macrobióticas
(health-food stores) but selection varies. Fresh vegetables
can be hard to come by in isolated areas and will often be quite expensive, although farm-
ers markets are cropping up throughout the country.
