Ah, eating! One of my favorite subjects! And meals in Costa Rica – another thing about which I can wax poetic!

[custom_script adID=149]

As you can imagine, fruits and vegetables here are excellent. Most things are available year-round, and they come fresh from the finca. Have you tasted a field-ripened tomato lately? Wow! As good as chocolate cake!

There is a wide variety of fruits in the markets, many of which I had never heard – or tasted – before. I still don’t know the names of some of the more exotic fruits I see.

I buy enough fruits and vegetables each week to stuff myself and still have plenty left over to spoil. Last Saturday, I went to the farmer’s market (feria de agricultor), where local growers display their goods in stands along the streets in one section of town. The choices were immense!

I bought three tomatoes, three cucumbers, a pineapple (so good!), two pears, four bananas (small ones, just the right size for a single person), a bowl full of blackberries, another of strawberries, seven stalks of broccoli, a huge carrot, a bunch of coriander (cilantro), two repollos chinos (Chinese cabbages, or bok choy), repollo americano (regular head of cabbage), cauliflower, and a bunch of large raddishes.

Total cost? Less than US$5!

In addition to the “feria de agricultor” each Saturday, we have two good supermarkets in my town – and also a regular “mercado comercial“, which is full of food stalls selling everything from baked goods to fish to meats to fruits and vegetables to pots and pans. There are even a few fast-food stands in the market – not the United States kind, however. These are called “sodas” – mom-and-pop-type places that provide simple and cheap meals. You can get anything from a hamburguesa to a plate of chicken with rice for a couple of bucks.

There are quite a few restaurants in my town as well (population around 10,000) – I would estimate 15 or so. Most are simple places serving tipico meals. “Tipico” means “typical” standard fare, such as “gallo pinto” (“spotted rooster”, which is rice and beans mixed together); fried plantains; cabbage-based salads; some sort of meat (usually chicken) – sort of like what in the States used to be called “blue-plate specials”.

There are lots of places serving fried chicken, which is very good. There are even Kentucky Fried Chicken joints in the major cities (this isn’t one of them), and lots of copy-cat local franchises. We don’t have any US-franchised places here in Grecia, although many of them – McDonalds, Burger King, etc. – have opened in the larger cities. Our hamburger joints are locally-owned – and just as good!

[custom_script adID=150]

In the major cities there is a wide variety of restaurants, in all price ranges. There are even a few special restaurants in this area. A group of expat friends and I like to go to La Casa de Miguel, a new fancy place here in Grecia. The food is spectacular, with a good wine selection. Almost all entrees cost under US$5.

Food purchased in the supermarket can cost as much as in the US if you cannot live without US brands. Most are available here. However, if you can adjust to local brands of peanut butter, etc., then food costs are quite a bit lower.

One of the great benefits of being retired is that now I have time to polish up my cooking skills, which had become quite rusty. I haven’t totally given up going out to eat, however, and have identified my favorite places. Some are bars that also serve meals. There are quite a few bar-restaurant combinations in the area.

The truth is I have not eaten so well in years! I am making better food choices than ever before. I am well stuffed and yet – guess what? – I’ve lost weight since moving to Costa Rica!

Must be all those luscious fruits and vegetables.