Costa Rica Food Guide

The cuisine in Costa Rica is simple but wholesome.  Although it may lack the spiciness often associated with Latin America, you can still find a fair amount of hot peppers if you know where to look.  Make your way to the best flavors of the country in a Costa Rica rental car.

Gallo Pinto

No matter where you stay in the country you will most likely have this for breakfast.  This is a mixture of rice and beans cooked with cilantro, onion, and often regional additions such as ginger and sweet pepper.

Casado

While this actually means married, this is the typical name for a lunch combination in Costa Rica.  The most common is rice with beans and a meat, such as chicken or fish, and a small salad and few slices of fried sliced plantain.  They say this is "the perfect marriage of foods".

Delicious fresh fruit is abundantly available in Costa Rica.  Try to visit a local ferria during your stay, where the local farmers bring their fresh fruit and veggies once a week, there is at least one ferria per week in every town.  Some of the common fruits in Costa Rica that are definitely worth trying during your stay are the guanabana, papaya, and mamon-chinos.

Costa Rica's national drink is guaro, which is made from fermented sugar cane.  It is similar to vodka, and is usually taken with water and lemon.  There are about 8 different national beers available in bottles and cans, with the two most popular and most common being Pilsen and Imperial.  Get around to the best watering holes in Costa Rica by car hire.