Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
OK. I need to respond on several levels here. First, I owe David some slack and gratitude for indulging an old yuppie post of mine in which I bitched about the lack of cornmeal here for pizza peels. Thanks David for being so helpful. Second and to the point, the issue of health care for yourself or loved ones here is dear to all of us.
As a kid, I was a U.S. Coast Guard brat so I used the
U.S. Navy or U.S.P.H.S. Marine Hospital System for free and good medical care for the first 23 years of my life. I lived. Centralized government-based medical care works.
In Costa Rica, there are many competing goals and possibilities. The father of my Costa Rican wife had a terrible motor cycle accident about 8 years ago. He was reduced to the media comfortable characterization of being in a vegetative state. Hospital Calderon took care of him with great professionalism and dignity until he died last year.
When I visited him with my spouse, it reminded me of the conditions at the Marine Hospital in San Francisco California. Good but not elegant.
With respect to health care generally in Costa Rica, my impression is that more Costa Ricans get good health care that is probably better than anywhere else in Central America if not North America if you count the numbers.
Even more to the point about my own care here. I have my body under the care of the 16th most highly rated hospital in the United States (University of Washington Hospital in Seattle, Washington). What I want from hospitals in Costa Rica is to help me get through the at least 6 months a year I live here with some health quality as well as any emergency services that me may be necessary.
Right now I am tilting toward Clinica Biblica although I live in Escazu. Thanks 2BNCR for your candor and responsiveness. I hear you.[quote=”DavidCMurray”]2BNCR, you wrote, “This cultures lies and steals more than any other culture . . .”.
Ever been to the United States? It’s due north of here.[/quote]
I was surprised to see the international rating for Clinica Biblica to be higher than CIMA. Most of the publicity for foreigners in CR seems to tilt heavily toward CIMA. This is the first time that I have heard much about Clinica Biblica. I have Costa Rican friends who use Clinica Biblica and who seem very pleased. For reasons I don´t fully understand, there also seems to be a negative attitude toward CIMA by these same Costa Ricans. I have seen Clinica Biblica from the outside (it is not far from Iglesia de Soledad and Tin Jo downtown), and it looks as modern (and stylish!) as CIMA. My question to readers is what experiences they have had with Clinica Biblica. CIMA has a reputation for being like a U.S. hospital including some degree of comfort for English speakers. Does the Clinica Biblica experience compare favorably with that of CIMA for U.S. expats? Thanks for the help. Bob
[quote=”juliab”]Just to give you some numbers. A night will cost you around $300 in Biblica or CIMA; slightly cheaper in Catolica. Add to that meds and your doctor’s fees, and it becomes $350-$400 per night. If you stay longer the room rate is slightly cheaper.
The hospitals above are rated: #1-Biblica, #2 -CIMA, #3 – Catolica. All 3 hospitals are excellent. We liked Catolica most.Do call them to get the quote.
FYI: in CIMA you get 5-8% discount if you have the PriceSmart card; in Catolica you get 10% discount if you use BCR for the payment (discount applies to the room only, not for meds or doctor’s fees).[/quote]
Here is an interesting link that might give you some ideas:
Good luck. Bob in Bello Horizonte
[quote=”sueandchris”]I am just wondering if anyone has built (or had built) a true outdoor, wood-burning pizza and bread oven. I would lo-o-o-o-ove to have one!!! I have seen them at a couple of restaurants (one near Atenas) and would love to have one at our new house. Thx![/quote]
Thanks everyone for the cautionary note about granite slab cooking. I appreciate the concern. At my house in the U.S. I have a Mario Batali granite piestre that I use on the Weber grill for pizza as well as Italian/Korean BBQ stone recipes. It is marketed by the U.S. kitchen chain Sur La Table:
http://www.surlatable.com/product/596262.do
I have used ceramic tiles and commercial pizza cooking stones (ceramic). The ceramic tiles tend to crack and even the commercial pizza stones don´t seem to store enough heat even if there is a extended period of preheating (outdoor grill or kitchen oven) for an hour or more to get the pizza underside the right crispness. The Batali granite slab seems to store and conduct heat better to get the right pizza bottom.
Like Toyota, Sur La Table may be recalling Batali granite slabs for health/safety reasons at some point in time in the future. I understand that there may be some radon risk from granite, but at this point I tend to be willing to accept that risk in favor of a good pie. In a similar vein, I have known for a long time that high temperature wood fire grilling of beef and pork to get the desired charring and crust (and grill master Reichlin´s “killer” grill marks) can create carcinogenic risks that are not negligible. Like being a pedestrian in downtown San Jose, some risks seem worth taking for the pleasure in return. Living in the fast lane Bob
[quote=”costaricafinca”]I, too, recommend the ceramic tiles for pizza and pitas.
A neighbor/friend just built a wood burning oven, and it takes ‘ages’ to heat up enough to bake anything…[/quote]Sue and Chris: Yes there is quite an industry for backyard wood burning pizza oven kits and preconstructed models ready for use. My friend from near Seattle just bought a fully constructed pizza oven for his patio. It is about 3 feet square at the base and almost 3 feet tall at the top of the dome. He gets about 800 degrees F and does a great job of theright bubbling and charing of the crust. It came on a pallet and weighed about a ton! You can google ” wood fired pizza oven kit” and find suppliers from California to Italy. One fun site is Frank´s pizza
[quote=”sueandchris”]I am just wondering if anyone has built (or had built) a true outdoor, wood-burning pizza and bread oven. I would lo-o-o-o-ove to have one!!! I have seen them at a couple of restaurants (one near Atenas) and would love to have one at our new house. Thx![/quote]
[quote=”alexander69″][quote=”alexander69″][quote=”bstckmn”]I am trying to perfect my technique for preparing authentic quality pizza at home here in CR. I am almost there in terms of the right taste and feel except I can´t seem to find one essential ingredient here in CR (at least so far). The simple stone ground corn meal that lubricates the pizza peel so the dough will slide smoothly to the cooking stone is nowhere to be found. I tried buying some whole corn kernels from Hipermas and Sarreto and blasted them in the blender for a long time. What can out was like coarse gravel that you would find in a bad parking lot. The texture on the bottom of the pizza was not so much a problem as the threat to my fillings and dental work. Does anyone know where to get regular corn meal here? The corn masa is too fine. I am a little embarassed to order corn meal from the U.S. through my Aerocasillas account.[/quote] I was told recently that one can not buy good ole corn meal in CR. I am bringing some for a friend next trip. May want to go ahead and order some. Good luck.[/quote] We live in Puriscal. If you don’t live too far away from Puriscal or San Jose I will bring you some also. “Do unto others”.:lol:[/quote]
Thanks, Alexander. Thanks to a tip from Scott, I did find maiz de polenta at Automercado. It works pretty well on the
pizza peel at 540 colones for a half kilo. It is coarser than masa harina but a little less coarse than the Quaker brand corn meal in the familiar cardboard canister package or the more boutique stone ground organic brands in the U.S. All things considered, now my pizza life in CR is just what I want it to be!
P.S. For those pizza fanatics out there in CR, EPA has a slab of countertop granite cut about the size of a large cutting board that fits on my small gas grill. It makes a dandy pizza/bread baking stone that delivers a firm pizza bottom after about a half hour of preheating. I estimate that I may be getting almost 600 degrees F with the grill hood down. To suit my adopted Tico lifestyle, I am using Jim Lahey´s no knead pizza dough recipe for great crust with an economy of effort (google for recipe).[quote=”costaricafinca”]I use Biolands ‘German de trigo’ or their Afreho ‘Fibra natural’…and it works fine for my pizzas 8)
I have problems sometimes finding Semolina flour for pasta, but that can also be found at an Auto mercado…if you’re lucky.[/quote]Thanks. I am not familair with Biolands products. Can they be found at Automercado too? Are there health food strores around San Jose?
Thanks to everyone for the insights and experiences. I am at least a year away from residency in CR and any CAJA benfits for health care or otherwise ( I am still puzzled by the implementation of the so-called 13% tax for CAJA for resident status people–how much is it really in practice?). I am also a retired U.S. federal employee with a good health benefit plan, so I will continue to try to sandwich/splice together my health care in CR with that in the U.S. ( I have a residence near Seattle Washington now and plan to spend a few months a year there. The University of Washington Physicians practice is really outstanding there). My next step is to try to link up with CIMA to see what can be done about generic meds. My U.S. health plan is supposed to work there. I will report my experience.
Hotel Colonial near Iglesias Soledad and wonderful restaurants nearby like Esquinas and Tin Jo are really good.
Thanks Scott. I am not sure how to use this link you sent. When I click I get the forum homepage. If this is message 888 you are referring to, I can’t seem to be able to get to it.
