Costa Rica Food Sellout

[Danybear]

I cant believe the changes in Costa Rica in the five years I have been coming here (toJaco Beach). Originally it was a poor third world country, where you could get a decent "local" meal for two bucks, and the grocery stores were just small huts with only the basics.
In the interim things have changed drastically and NOT for the the better. America has come to Costa Rica. I understand the influx is mostly Florida visiors who gave up on Florida due to high prices and hurricane. Too bad they brought the high prices with them to Costa Rica!WALMART bought out all the mom and pop grocery stores and stopped!. The selections in the grocery stores is appalling, all the stores are the same in price and selection. Prices have risen so dramatically, its not just the locals who can't afford to shop there, but us visiting gringos as well. Food is priced MUCH higher here than back home in Canada, even for local goods. A pineapple which is grown here is almost the same price as in downtown Toronto, identical pineapples from CR!

Everybody is on the bandwagon to get ready for he influx of rich americanos, from the grceries, to the local sodas. Its so expensive now rich americanos are findng other places to visit. Shooting the country in the foot.

Some of the local restaurants are stepping up in quality, but so ar the prices. Christma buffet at the Colonial was 48 dollars a head! And beause th esuckling roast pig wa undercooke, the buffet was pretty skimpy. Altho they did serve "Christmas Wood" (Yule Log to us northerners)

Its amazing to be salivating for a MacDonalds, in this eco friendly country. But Only KFC is here in Jaco, or PIzza Hut, which is described by a six year old American as "sh*t!"

[dblevitan]

I visited Costa Rica in July 06 and the one day we spend in Jaco was probably the worst day of our trip. Overpriced food and hotels. Everywhere else though was much nicer.

[TrueINK]

Hey Danybear,

I'm heading to Costa Rica for the 1st time in February....Jaco for 1 week and then Dominical for the 2nd. Any recommendations on places to eat in Jaco and Dominical? From your post it looks like you've had pretty good exposure to what's good and not good?

Thanks for the help

TrueINK

[nycbikecop]

Hey I ate at Los Amigos last night..... in Jaco beach..... Food is excellent and nice drinks as well...... price was nice also.... I dont mind paying for good food.... order the steak.... was very very good.... enjoy and tell them
Joey from Brooklyn said Hello

[Danybear]

Second th eLos Amigos place, but ate there 3 times this year, two were outstanding, but on the third time, the shrimp in the surf and turf sickened both of us! Just bad pantry skills I guess. Ther eis a new resto called LEMON ZEST, run by a great family from Florida. They havent dumbed down dining for Costa Rica. They start with an amuse, which no other CR resto does, and the food is excellently prepared and served. They are new and will take a few months to get their feet into it, but they really deserve a lot of support. The only thing they didnt do well was advertise. We got to them 2 nites before we left, otherwise we would have been multi times.

[toyonic]

After reading two recent rave reviews of Lemon Zest in Jaco, Costa Rica, we decided to give it a try. I was particularly eager after reading the the chef
attended the celebrated Culinary Institute of of America. I was hoping for even a watered down version of the two memorable meals we had at the Institute.

Well. The bread from the Musmani chain was about the worst bread I've ever had in a restaurant. the chef explained he didn't have time to make bread. How about getting one of the local in town to do it, or drop the course. The main course was ok, but not oo-la-la.

The espresso had to be sent back, because it was not hot.

Recently I ate in a new Italian restaurant in up-scale Santa Ana near San Jose. The lite minestrone was $9.00. I might have had the rib eye steak; but not for $50. I can get a wonderful aged steak at the Capitol Grille in Ft. Lauderdale for half the price.

So much for some recent fine dining in Costa Rica.

[Fond of Food]

Sorry to post this after your trip, but for others heading for Dominical, Uvita, Ojochal, here goes... Dominical: Domilocos, Italian, owned by a Michael and Vivian (tica) fun, lots of locals, near the beach in town. Tortilla Flats: surfer bar and locals hangout, on the beach, great breakfast and lunch. Roca Verde: further down the beach about 1 km south of town, mix of tico and gringo food. La Macha: on the highway, cerviche and arroz con pollo, true tico!
La Parsala: Look for signs south of town, great ocean views for breakfast and lunch, very nice for dinner.
Ojochal: Two of the best restaurants in the southern zone, both owned by French-Canadians: Exotica: Simply fantastic. Lucy is the owner with her chef husband. Pate is excellant and so is pork and chicken Exotica, and desserts. Citrus: again French-Canadians, they used to own "The Boat" , pork with hungos, fish, desserts. Enjoy!!

[Sam Fujisaka]

The food is the same as it has always been in remote rural areas.

[Veggo]

And San Jose, as well. Jaco and most of the Nicoya peninsula have clearly been influenced by "extranjeros", (foreigners), but blaming Floridians is a stretch.
Also, the advent of international air service into Liberia is a contributing factor, providing easier and more proximate access. I remember when the Liberia airport was 2300 feet of dried out asphalt wilth hardly a bano.
Jaco has had an "iffy" reputation for many years as a magnet for surfers, druggies, and drifters, in part because it was cheap living. That, in turn, was because the beach, in my opinion, is marginal, at least from a divers' perspective, because the sediment and runoff from the lowlands there reduces visibility to 5 feet. In contrast, the rocky coast of Nicoya offers high elevation vistas, some black sand beaches, and 55 feet visibility. This comes, of course, for a higher price than what the poster complains of.

[digitalhighs]

I just came back from Costa Rica. It was my first vacation there. From San Jose where my friend lives, we took a trip out to Jaco Beach. I hated it... There was nowhere to eat at night serving good local food I experienced in San Jose. I ended up eating at this chicken shack across the street from beatle bar. It was pretty damn good since it was fresh out the fryer. The next day for lunch I decided to go back and it was pretty dissapointing.

I will never go back to Jaco. That one day and night was enough. I wanted to throw up just from the sight and experience of the place.

Now the East Coast is where its at. Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo have awesome restaurants with modest prices. I ate at Rockin J's in Puerto Viejo and Maxi's at Manzanillo. Maxi's is my favorite restaurant by far. We had the red snapper, ribs, pork chops and shrimp.

Can't wait to go back!