| A wide variety of delicious tropical fruits and vegetables
grow in Costa Rica. It is amazing that every fruit and vegetable
you can think of in addition to exotic native varieties flourish
here. More common tropical fruits such as pineapples, mangoes
and papayas cost about a third what they do in the
United States. Bananas can be purchased at any local fruit
stand or street market for about five cents each.
Once you live in Costa Rica, you can do as many Costa Ricans
do and eat a few slices of mouth-watering fruit for breakfast
at one of the many sidewalk fruterías or fruit
stands all over the country. For people living on a tight
budget, this healthy, fresh fruit breakfast will cost about
$0.50 to $0,60. There are also many sodas, or small
cafes, where you can eat a more typical Costa Rican breakfast
for about $1.
Besides fruits and vegetables, many other bargain foods are
available in Costa Rica. Bakeries sell fresh homemade breads
and pastries. Other foods such as eggs, chicken, meat and
honey are available at most small neighborhood grocery stores,
pulperías, as well as large supermarkets. These
supermarkets are much like markets in the United States; everything
is under one roof, but the selection of products is smaller.
There are even 24-hour mini-markets in gas stations like the
7-Eleven, Circle-K types found in the United States.
Some imported packaged products found in Costa Rican supermarkets
can be expensive. It is usual to pay more for your favorite
breakfast cereal, certain canned foods or liquor. Do not worry
because there are local products to substitute for your favorite
U.S. brand. However, if you absolutely cannot live without
your foods from the States, you can usually find them at the
AutoMercado supermarkets and Hipermás stores. You can
stock-up on these items on shopping trips to the States and
bring them back with you by plane.
Since most foods are so affordable in Costa Rica, you will
be better off changing your eating habits and buying more
local products so you can keep your food bill low. You can
save more money by shopping at the Central Market or Mercado
Central in Heredia or in San José, as many cost-conscious
Costa Ricans do. The latter covers a whole city block in the
heart of downtown San José, near the banking district.
Under one roof are hundreds of shops where you can buy fresh
fruits, vegetables, grains and much more. You can also go
to an open-air street market found in most every large town,
called feria del agricultor, on any Saturday or Sunday
morning. Farmers bring their fresh produce to these street
markets each week, so you can find a variety of produce, meats
and eggs at low prices. There is a weekly list that appears
in La Nación newspaper listing the suggested
prices of all fruits and vegetables sold at the various ferias.
Fruits and vegetables in a Feria
A few words about Costa Rica's excellent seafood.
With oceans on both sides, Costa Rica has a huge variety of
fresh seafood. Tuna, maahi-mahi and corvina, abound as do
lobster, shrimp of all sizes and some crab. All of these can
be purchased at any pescadería (fish market)
in the country at low prices. If you haven't done so, try
a heaping plate of ceviche (fish cocktail) at one of
the many fish restaurants called marisquerías.
Typical Costa Rican food is similar to that of Mexico and
other Central American countries. Tortillas often,
but not always, are eaten with a meal of rice, beans, fruit,
eggs, vegetables and a little meat. The most common dish,
gallo pinto, is made with rice and black beans as a
base and fried with red bell peppers and cilantro.
Some other popular Costa Rican foods include casado,
the blueplate special (fish, chicken or meat with beans and
chopped cabbage), empanadas (a type of stuffed bread
turnover), arreglados (a kind of sandwich) and palmito
(heart of palm), which is usually eaten in salads.
The major supermarkets in the Central Valley are Perimercados
(several locations in the San José area), Más
x Menos (a large chain also with home delivery at 800-MASYMAS),
Auto Mercado (upscale, also with home delivery service), and
Palí Supermercados (discount warehouses). Megasuper
is the newest chain with huge stores all over the Central
Valley.
Modern U.S Style Supermarkets Abound in Costa Rica
For food prices on-line, see:
http://www.hipermas.co.cr/ofertas1.htm, http://www.masxmenos.co.cr/folleto.htm
and
http://www.maxibodega.co.cr/ ofertas.htm.
For home delivery of groceries:
http://www.amidomicilio.com/ servlet/catalogo and http://www.expressmart.net/version3/index.php.
For home delivered organic and natural foods see http://www.NaturaStyle.com
tel: 235-7654 or 386-0092.
Where to Eat - Religion
- Costa Rica´s Holidays
- Bringing your Pets to Costa
Rica - Services for the
Disabled - For Our Canadian
Readers - Understanding the
Metric System
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