Lunch - El Ancla Restaurante y Marisquería

Yesterday our restaurant of choice was El Ancla Restaurante y Marisquería in Grecia. "El Ancla" translates as "the anchor" and the restaurant is maritime themed, with the emphasis on seafood.

The ambience here is very nice, with lots of covered outdoor seating and an airy interior. There is parking in front of the restaurant. The staff is very friendly and service was quick. 

First order of business - drinks. We asked for margaritas and they arrived frosty cold and rimmed with blue salt:

On the menu, a half pineapple filled with shrimp caught my eye. I ordered it with a side of fries. Lance decided on corvina with a Mediterranean salad and fries. While waiting for our lunches, we were served a small bowl of lentil and pork soup. It was delicious and just the right size as an appetizer. The soup is on the house.

Lance watched one of the cooks quickly cleaver a pineapple in half and here is what my dish looked like:

The baked shrimp, chopped pineapple and red sauce inside the pineapple shell was topped with melted cheese. Aioli dip on the side for the fries - Costa Rican fries are always good. I really liked this dish and would order it again.

Here is Lance's fish dish:

His bowl of red sauce included shrimp and was garlic flavoured. The corvina was fresh and lightly breaded. I tried both his fish and the salad. The salad was special ... tomatoes, black grapes, strawberries, peanuts and some other kind of nut with a crunchy coating.

We would return to this restaurant any time. They feature live music on the weekends.

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Lunch - Restaurante La Finca, Sarchi

Last week we drove to Sarchi to have lunch at Restaurante La Finca. Sarchi is only 13km from our house but the drive takes about 25 or so minutes because the road - Ruta 118 - is very twisty and hilly most of the way.

Watch for the huge traditionally painted oxcart wheel and the restaurant’s sign. You make a right turn down a narrow laneway and to a parking area. There was a fellow there directing traffic - remember to tip him when you leave. We usually give them 500 colones. There is a butterfly farm close to La Finca but it is apparently temporarily closed.

You will be greeted at the entrance and shown to a table that you select. Staff are friendly and there is a nice view. The restaurant is open air so there is always a breeze.

Lance ordered a beer and I had a margarita. My lunch choice was camarón mediano al gusto (medium shrimp to taste - garlic for me). It came with a salad, roasted vegetables, a garlic dip for the shrimp and pureed potatoes. It was very good.

I wasn't able to get a good photo of Lance's choice - corvina en salsa de hongos (corvina with mushroom sauce) - but I had a taste and it too was very good.

You can never fault the portion sizes here - they are always generous and we never have room for dessert. So if you are in Sarchi, stop here for lunch or dinner. During the tourist season, tour buses bring visitors here for a stop at the souvenir shop next to the oxcart wheel and then to the restaurant for lunch.

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Lunch - Botijas, Grecia, Costa Rica

 Last Sunday, our choice of restaurant for lunch was Botijas in Grecia. They have a cool logo:

I can’t find a clear translation of the name. But no matter - it’s the food and service that counts. And they are a ten on both counts!

Again, as per usual in Costa Rica, the entrance to the restaurant is unassuming. They have a Covid-19 hand washing station and all staff were wearing masks, as - of course - were we. 

We were greeted by the chef (I think), who introduced himself and showed us around the eating areas. The restaurant stretches quite a way to the back, with lots of seating. We chose a table at the rear. The decor is funky - lots of colour, mismatched chairs and tables, interesting photographs on the walls. We spied Anthony Bourdain featured in a couple of pictures.

After being seated, we were given our menus and glasses of ice water with lime slices. I already knew what I wanted to order because I had perused the menu online beforehand. First order of business - red wine sangria!

The portions were generous as you can see.

They grow their own herbs and greens in flats and several times I saw cooks coming out to snip off pieces for a meal they were preparing.

Lance ordered the pechuga de pollo al curry New Delhi style:

I had a taste of Lance’s curry and it was very tasty. It came with an additional separate sauce surrounded by sesame seeds.

And for me it was the Seis Dos, Hong Kong style:

Presentations were beautiful. Both meals were delicious. Look at the kumquats with basil leaves inserted in them! My protein was pork. At the bottom of the stack were flat rice noodles, then bok choy and other greens, the pork and then crispy rice noodles. 

This is our new favourite restaurant. Highly recommend that you give it a try. 

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Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - October 2021 / Covid-19 Update

During October, visits to this blog were received from the following 16 countries:

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 133. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.

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The following is a summary of weather for the month in the area where we live:

The total rainfall in October was marginally lower than that in October 2018 and 2019, and roughly only half of that in October 2020.

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on October 10, 2021:

Since my last post, the death rates in Costa Rica and the United States have risen (by 0.06 and 0.2 percentage points respectively). Conversely, that in Canada has dropped by 0.02 percentage points.

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to those listed, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

If you want more comprehensive and up-to-date information and statistics on the situation in Costa Rica, including various locales in Costa Rica, then the La Nacion newspaper is a good source. If you do not understand Spanish, then you will need a web browser (Google Chrome, Safari, etc.) which is set to translate to your language of choice from Spanish.

 

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Lunch - Vuelta al Mundo

It was Lance’s turn to select a place to eat lunch this weekend and he chose Vuelta al Mundo (Around the World). We stumbled by chance on this hostel/restaurant several months ago. We were walking across from the Grecia park and saw a menu sign displayed on the street. It was impressive. We had no idea there was a hostel with a restaurant at this location.

As is usual in Costa Rica, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Upon entering, we walked through a large area and then out into a garden area with lots of tables for seating. Service is very attentive. Since we had already looked at their menu online, we knew what we wanted to order.

Here is the menu:

Drinks: Lance ordered a Belgium beer and I asked for a mojito. He said the beer was really good, especially since it has a 6.6% alcohol content, which is more than a Canadian (5%) or an American beer (4%)! My mojito was refreshing, with fresh mint and lime.

Lance’s beer glass matched his beer bottle:

We ordered a selection of four Argentinian empanadas - two chorizo and two ham, cheese and mushroom - to go (para llevar):

For our lunch, Lance selected the tempura with shrimp and vegetables and I ordered the green curry with fish. Both orders came with jasmine rice. My curry was excellent - loaded with vegetables and fish in a coconut sauce. As is usual in Costa Rica, restaurant food portions are large and we asked to have quite a bit of the tempura wrapped up to go.

As an added bonus, there is a resident cat! He/She came over to us for a pat several times. This cat has the most beautiful coloration:

There were some Octoberfest food and drink offerings which we didn’t know about beforehand and the choices looked yummy also:

The outdoor (but covered) eating area was decorated for Halloween:

Some photos of the hostel/restaurant:

If you check out the menu, you will see they offer dishes from “around the world”, including Canadian Quebec poutine! 

We highly recommend this restaurant and will be going back to try out more of their menu selections. 

Click on images to enlarge.