Coronavirus, Gallo Pinto and Costa Rica

We are now under new driving restrictions, curfew hours and so on - a relaxation of the stricter requirements imposed during Semana Santa (Easter Week). This Tico Times article explains the latest requirements to help the country deal with COVID-19.

Another Tico Times article from today has the current information on the coronavirus stats in this country. 

We cannot drive on Fridays and Sundays but this is no real hardship (our licence plates end in 9). We can attend dental and doctor appointments, go to drug stores, the hospital/clinics and grocery stores. Yesterday I had a dental appointment in the late afternoon. Lance was waiting for me in our car - he brings a book to read. If the appointment is going to be a long one, he drops me off and I take a taxi home. As we pulled away from the curb after my appointment, we realized we had a flat front tire. Curses.

I went off to the parada de taxi (taxi stand) not far from us to see if one of the drivers would change the tire for us. They do this all the time. One driver agreed to help after he checked with his dispatcher. Meanwhile, Lance was doing just fine as two young men had already volunteered to change the tire. This is Costa Rica - somebody is always ready with a helping hand. I’ve had a flat tire when on my own and experienced the same thing.

They observed that the spare was a bit soft and needed air and to drive to a gas station right away to get that done. One of them advised us to buy a stronger jack. We were ready to go in ten minutes! Nobody would take any payment and when we persisted, were told to give it to the taxi driver as he may have missed a fare helping us out.

We decided to buy two new tires and went to our local tire shop today. We had bought two tires from them a year and a half ago and the two that needed replacing came with the car when we bought it. We considered this an essential trip. The shop was practicing the recommended precautions - hand gel, face coverings, keep your distance. They had fresh, strong, hot coffee too!

Back home, I decided to make gallo pinto - Costa Rica’s famed rice and beans - a national dish. It is called gallo pinto (spotted rooster) because the black beans and white rice resemble the speckled appearance of a rooster. I turned to my trusty Costa Rican cookbook:

I see that I bought it in August, 2011 - a couple of months after we moved here.

Here’s part of  the recipe:

I used ghee (clarified butter) and achiote when sautéing the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. I bought the achiote from a vendor at our Grecia feria (farmers’ market) and the ghee is a Costa Rican product.

I cooked the rice in our rice cooker. For the black beans, I cheated a bit and bought canned:

The brand name Goya is an interesting one. I see their products here in Costa Rica and have no hesitation in purchasing them.

Here is my final version of gallo pinto. I love cilantro so used lots of it. Lance was my taste tester and pronounced my pinto “very good”. That’s high praise because he is a fan of gallo and rates every restaurant that serves it. So now we have a delicious addition to our morning eggs.

Asparagus, the Feria and the Soda

I’ve been on the hunt for fresh asparagus. Some expats have said they have found it at their ferias so we decided to see if anyone at our Grecia feria was carrying it today.

First order of the day - breakfast. We went to El Restaurante Griego, a soda run by a father, a mother and their son. It’s 100 m. north of the Peri Mercado and right on a corner. It is very popular with Costa Ricans, so one gets a taste of daily Costa Rican life. Another plus is that it opens early in the morning. The food is very good, typical soda food, and the prices so reasonable. While we were there, a lot of take out orders were being called in.

But I think what really makes this restaurant are the owners. They are so friendly and personable and you will be greeted with a handshake on arrival and  the usual pleasantries are exchanged - how are you? Fine, thank you. And you? All is good. But it is in Spanish: ¿Como estas? Bien, gracias. ¿y usted? Todo bien. The owner has some English. It’s our favourite soda.

Here’s the menu (photo by Brian Cordoba on Google Maps):

I had the omelette and gallo pinto, but I asked for just a small portion of the pinto. Lance had two eggs and gallo pinto but his serving was huge, took up half the plate. Impossible to finish in one go so we asked for take away (para llevar) and you can see below how much was left. It will feed the both of us tomorrow morning, with bacon and eggs. Our tradition is to have bacon, eggs and waffles on Sundays. We’ll skip the waffles this time.

Off to the feria. I so enjoy going to these weekly markets. Grecia’s is open on Friday from noon to 8pm and on Saturday from 4am to 1pm. Closed the rest of the week. First stop was a stand selling leather goods, purses, etc. Lance bought a new belt. Then we wandered around searching for asparagus - but nobody was carrying it. You can buy just about anything here - meats, breads, all manner of tropical fruits and vegetables, clothing, dairy products, sodas (the eating places) and so on. Plus it’s such a lively setting. We enjoy interacting with the sellers, some of whom speak English.

Here is what we purchased - red peppers, green beans, sixteen eggs and tamales. Two tamales tied together are called a piña.

Breakfast at the Feria

This morning we went to the Grecia feria to have breakfast at one of the sodas - there are a number to choose from - and to walk around looking at all the gorgeous fruits and vegetables. You can also buy dairy products, breads, meats, fish, and plants and flowers, clothing and leather goods.

Most of the sodas do not have menus, but they may post what is available on a board. In any case, you need to know what you want to eat and you need to order in Spanish. We decided on coffee, scrambled eggs and gallo pinto. Cost for two meals was 6,000 colones, about $12 USD.

The coffee was super hot and strong, the way we like it. We drink our coffee black.

Here are our breakfasts (sorry that the picture is not in focus). You can see that the portions are generous. They also came with fried plantains, which are sweet and almost caramelized. We couldn’t finish all the rice and beans.

At the end of our meal, our server gave each of us a square of cajeta - a fudge like candy. I might try making these.

After breakfast, we wandered around. Rambutans are in season now (also known as mamon chino and lychee). I also bought a few mangosteens, because this is a fruit I hadn’t tried yet.

Rambutans on the left and mangosteens on the right:

Here is what they look like cut open. I like the mangosteen - it’s a bit tart.

Our final purchase was fresh flowers - gladioli and a white flower that I can’t identify. The flowers will continue to open up along the stem so it lasts for quite a while.

Soda Anita

Yesterday morning, we decided to go into Atenas and have breakfast at Anita's. This is a soda in the centro market place of our town, right across from where the red taxis park, and it's all under cover. Here you will find several butcher shops, vegetable and fruit stands, places to buy boots, shoes, purses and bags, jewelry, get a battery for your watch or have your broken glasses welded together (Lance did this) and lots more.

I consider this market to be the heart of Atenas, along with the Catholic church and the park. It is located right beside the local bus station where the old Bluebird buses ((which were manufactured in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - of all places) travel back and forth from all the outlying towns and communities. It's also close to the other bus station where the more modern buses travel between San Jose and Alajuela.

The courtyard of this market has recently been updated, with new benches to sit on, landscaping and a big bird feeder.

A soda in Costa Rica is a small family run place serving "typico" or typical Costa Rican food. There won't be menus but there may be a chalkboard with the daily offerings. The food will be cheap, fast, tasty, filling and authentic - the best deals around in my opinion. You sit at a counter on a stool and the lovely ladies in the small cooking space will have your meal ready in no time.

At Soda Anita, we were welcomed by a really nice Tico who spoke some English (or Spanglish as he called it) and we speak some Spanish (Spanglish) so it was all quite easy to order. He told us what they had for desayuno (breakfast) and I ordered a canelone with cheese, corn tortillas and black coffee. Lance ordered a chicken canelone, corn tortillas and gallo pinto (black beans and rice), plus black coffee.

New to me is the "canelone" ... it looked like a rolled omelet but the word "canelone" threw me off because I kept thinking of the more familiar dish "cannelloni" - pasta stuffed with a filling and covered with a sauce. Well, this item is actually the same pasta stuffed with meat and rice or whatever you select and then rolled in an omelet. I think the Spanish name is canelones de carne envueltos en huevo.

Both our choices were delicious and the coffee was hot and strong. Next time I may add some potatoes or bacon. It really was nice to sit there in this open sided Tico market, watching everyone go about their morning business - waiting for buses, shopping, having something to eat before heading for work. Atenas is a small town but it's bustling. A smile at one of our cooks earned me an even bigger smile back. We have always been made to feel welcome in Costa Rica.

Also on Anita's menu board are casados. "Casado" means "marriage" and this dish is a marriage of rice, beans, salad (cabbage based), a meat of your choice, plantains, cheese, potatoes and whatever the chefs decide should be included. This choice will keep you going from morning to night.

Final cost for both of our breakfasts: 4,500 colones (about $11.00 CAD or $10.00 USD). So not only did we have a filling breakfast, we also mingled with the locals, practiced our Spanish, and immersed ourselves even more in this culture. Soda Anita opens quite early in the morning and serves breakfast and lunch.

Afterwards, we wandered down to the park and sat for a while on the benches around the new well facilities. Then we walked over to El Canario, a Tico grocery store I frequent. This is where I have learned a lot of Spanish words for different meat selections and I always get a big smile from the butchers and they don't mind correcting my Spanish. Picked up what we wanted to get and then Rodrigo drove us home in his taxi. He has his annual Christmas display set up on the back shelf of his taxi, complete with lights. We always know when Rodrigo is in the taxi lineup because he plays Latin music nice and loud in his taxi.

 

Breakfast and Dia de las Madres

We decided to go out for breakfast this morning and headed to La Garita, Alajuela - a nice area where many of the viveros (garden shops) are located and not too far away from Atenas.

There are lots of restaurants along this stretch of highway three and we stopped at Restaurante La Casona del Mais, a typical Tico restaurant. We chose to sit at the back where we could look out onto the tropical hillside. The restaurant is open sided for the most part. Tables are wooden with benches. It's a busy place with lively music.

Today is Mother's Day (Dia de las Madres) in Costa Rica and the restaurant was busy - perhaps lots of mums were being taken out for breakfast.

For our desayuno (breakfast) we both ordered the same thing - pinto con huevos y jamon (gallo pinto with an egg and slices of ham, plus corn tortillas). Gallo pinto (spotted rooster) is a traditional Costa Rican dish - black beans and rice with seasonings and cilantro. It's so filling and I can never finish what's on my plate. There is no rooster in this dish! We also each ordered a bebida (fresh fruit drink with milk). I had zanahoria con naranja (carrot with orange) and Lance ordered a mora (berry).

Driving back to Atenas is always interesting. The road is very twisty and goes up and down. Lots of shift work with the vehicle. Stopped at Coopeatenas in Atenas to pick up a few groceries. We normally shop here or at El Canario for our groceries.

A sweet young lady at the entrance to Coopeatenas was handing out red roses for Mother's Day and she gave me one and said Happy Mother's Day in Spanish. I shamelessly took it (even though we have no children). It was wrapped with fern and tiny daisies.

Here is a short video I made of our day:

Breakfast and Dia de las Madres Costa Rica August 15 2015 from Diana Miskell Turlock on Vimeo.

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Breakfast at El Balcón

We have had breakfast many times at El Balcón del Café y Bistro and it is always good. They also have lunch specials - check out the posted chalk board. You can also buy truly delicious cakes, pastries, sausages, bacon .....

El Balcón is owned by the very personable Melani and her staff is always friendly and helpful. They are located upstairs at Romacentro in Atenas Centro. Telephone 2446-8592.

Their omlette is really good ... loaded with all kinds of goodies. Sometimes we order an omlette and the French toast and then share. Lately, we've been having the cold mocha coffee drinks. Their hot coffee is excellent, very strong the way we like it.

Last Saturday, we went once more to El Balcón for breakfast. This time Lance ordered the Americano breakfast and I asked for the Tico breakfast. The Americano comes with a big plate of fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, and toast and the Tico with gallo pinto, plantano, cheese and eggs. All this for 6,500 colones ($13.00), not counting the tip we always leave.

It's nice sitting up on the second floor, looking down on Atenas, enjoying the tropical breezes and watching the world go by.

Cold mocha coffee drink.

Foreground: Tico breakfast, background Americano breakfast.

The view from El Balcón

 

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