Typical
Costa Rican food is referred to as Tipica comida. Gallo Pinto
is a very common Tipico food consisting of rice and beans and
is generally served for breakfast. Most tours that leave in
the early morning will take you for a Tipico breakfast, consisting
of scrambled eggs, gallo pinto, fruit and bread. A Tipico lunch
is the “casada” which consists of rice, beans, fried
plantains, salad and some type of meat like fish, red meat,
pork or chicken. Arroz con Pollo (rice and chicken) is another
popular Tipico dish.
Typical Costa Rican food is not spicy hot (picante). And, the
majority of Costa Ricans have a low tolerance for spicy foods.
If you like your food spicy, ask your host family if they have
a bottle of hot sauce (salsa picante), so you can add your own
spice.
Coffee is a part of Costa
Rican culture. Most Ticos have a morning and an afternoon coffee
break. At this time, people drink a cup of coffee and, usually,
eat some form of bread. The afternoon coffee break may include
crackers or cookies with their coffee instead of bread. These
two breaks are integrated into the culture. Costa Rican coffee
is VERY good and inexpensive. If you’re a coffee drinker,
you may want to plan to bring some home. Coffee is perhaps the
best bargain in Costa Rica. The best deal is to buy whole beans
roasted before your eyes. Stores throughout the city sell per
packaged premium coffees. When buying these, make sure the package
is marked puro. Otherwise the coffee will already be laced with
sugar-enough to make even the most ardent sugar-lover turn green.
Cafe Gourmet specializes
in all things coffee-related.
There are innumerable number
of hawkers and small shops selling all kinds of tropical fruits
and vegetables. Between April and June, you can sample more
varieties of mangoes than you ever knew existed. Be sure to
try a green mango with salt and chile peppers that are guaranteed
to wake up your taste buds. Another common street food is called
pejibaye, a bright orange palm nut about the size of a plum.
They're boiled in big pots on carts, you eat them in much the
same way you eat an avocado, and they taste a bit like squash.
Much
of the information on our site as it relates to Costa Rica is:
Courtesy
of Christopher P. Baker and Avalon Travel Publishing.
© 2004 Christopher P. Baker. All Rights Reserved.
Spanish Abroad, Inc. highly
recommends Christopher P. Baker's book: Moon
Handbooks Costa Rica. Click on the image to
visit his website where you can purchase this book or find out
more about the author.
