Aero: Kasey Wesley – Costa Rica 2013 – Food and Dining
Aero: Kasey Wesley – Costa Rica 2013 – Food and Dining
Aero: Kasey Wesley – Costa Rica 2013 – Food and Dining
Within my host family we had breakfast around 7:30 and had dinner around 6:30-7 each night. Some nights we had rice, beans and tortilla and other nights we had steak and mashed potatoes. For breakfast we would have apple or orange juice, fresh fruit and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Each meal was great. My host mom most often prepared dinner and each morning and lady would come to clean up the house and prepare and clean up breakfast. We were sent off with a bottle of water and a piece of fruit each day.
As far as dining out each place was a little different than the last. Almost all the menus had English and Spanish on them, which of course was a great help. The menus at all of the restaurants displayed the price of the dish. A few things I noticed were that the silverware came in little plastic bags, any soft drink ordered came in a bottle and milk shakes and fruity drinks were most often ordered.
See The Flickr Gallery!
They do not have laws against soliciting. After ordering food and beverage at the same time, you receive them at the same time as well. Also, there is no tipping and wages are low. After stopping for a frozen banana one afternoon I tried to leave a tip and the owner would not accept it. After you finish eating you stop to see a cashier on the way out to pay for your meal.
On more than one occasion while eating lunch inside a restaurant we were approached by someone selling a product. Each was greeted by the restaurant owners. It seems as though competition wasn’t an issue. Portion sizes in restaurants were very large and nothing was served alone.
As far as chain restaurants Alajuela had a McDonalds as well as Burger King and Papa John’s Pizzeria. Of course it is always a relief to see something familiar so far from home. Even though we were traveling in a group of 10 we never really had to wait for a table. Some places seemed to be busy but timing is everything.
– Kasey Wesley
The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
