Main Page Airlines Car Rentals Cruises Hotels Extras Travel Tips myroadtotravel.com
Add myroadtotravel to your RSS Feed reader.
News: CNN CNBC MSNBC Bloomberg TV Weather CBS Sports Social: Facebook Myspace Search: Yahoo Bing Wikipedia Video: You Tube Hulu
Book your next vacation at www.myroadtotravel.com
For 2009, my wife and I have decided to donate 25% of our earnings from myroadtotravel.com to the following charities
American Heart Association
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Please spread the word
Click to find out more at myroadtotravel.com
Dining in Costa Rica: Ticos and Tipico
When you vacation in Costa Rica, you’ll be immersed in a warm, welcoming culture and surrounded by the natural beauty of one of the world’s still largely undiscovered Paradises. You’ll be charmed by the friendliness of the locals, usually referred to as Ticos. And when it comes to dining, you’ll find the Costa Rican cuisine, or tipico, your most affordable option although you certainly won’t suffer from a lack of culinary choices.
Especially in San Jose, your dining choices will range from classic Costa Rican to European to, at Tin Jo’s, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and even Indian. As the Costa Rican tourism industry develops, the number of dining alternatives will increase as well. You, however, may be a traveler who loves authentic dining experiences, and if you intend to eat Costa Rican, here’s some of what you can expect:
Expect lots and lots of rice and beans. Rice and beans are the Costa Rican equivalent of American French fries or British chips, except that they show up at breakfast (where they’re referred to as galla pinto) as well as at lunch and dinner. When they show up on the breakfast menu, they may be accompanied by eggs, some sort of meat, or even seafood. At lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day for Costa Ricans, expect to see them with fried or mashed plantains, a salad (cabbage, carrot, and tomato salads are popular) and beef, pork or chicken.
Costa Rica has become a significant beef producer, you won’t have any trouble finding steaks, but don’t expect them to be the tender, melt-in-your mouth variety of corn-fed beef you may be accustomed to. The cattle in Costa Rica are raised on pastures carved out of the rain forests.
If you order a beef dish, expect it to be somewhat chewy. You can avoid the extra effort involved in chewing by having your beef in stew form as olla de carne combined with plantains, yuca (a root vegetable, not the cactus), potatoes, and carrots.
The sot of Costa Rican cuisine you’ll have a available will vary depending on which part of the country you’re visiting. Along the Caribbean coast, for example, you’ll be served dishes made with wonderful fresh tropical fruits, like papayas, bananas, pineapples, and mangoes, flavored with coconut milk and curry or ginger. One characteristic breakfast is made of boiled akee, a yellow fruit which when cooked looks like scrambled eggs, and is served with salted cod. Make sure you don’t leave Costa Rica without treating yourself to a hearts of palm salad!
Costa Rica, with its two coasts, is a seafood lover’s delight, and a visit to San Jose will provide you with plenty of opportunities to dine on an appetizer of cheviche (fresh raw fish marinated in a mixture of cilantro, onions, and fresh lemon juice. San Jose restaurants specialize in sea bass and swordfish, but the closer to you get to either Costa Rican cost, the greater your seafood options will be. Both lobster and shrimp are readily available throughout Costa Rica.
You’ll never have food any fresher than that served at the small family-run restaurants throughout the country, because much of the produce is grown on the premises. Vegetarians in particular will appreciate their choice of vegan restaurants, or the wonderful refrescos, blended fresh fruit drinks, sold at most restaurants and sodas, Costa Riva’s version of diners.
While the Ticos like their coffee weak and sugary, you can get a stronger blend at your hotel, the ground of which may either be, or have been, an authentic coffee plantation. Most Costa Rican water is perfectly safe to drink, but if you’re concerned, you’ll have no difficulty finding bottled water.
When it comes to dining through out Costa Rico, putting it simply, the typical Tico tipico is sure to delight you!
Sphere: Related Content
Click to find out more about Atlantic City
Atlantic City Day Trip
My wife needed to attend a Lia Sophia seminar in the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino this past Sunday. We made our way down the Garden State Parkway from Red Bank around 10:45 am, and were pulling into Atlantic City around 12:15 pm.
After dropping my wife off at one of the large meeting rooms, I decided to grab a bite to eat. After a walk through the many hotel eateries, I decided to enjoy a burger and fries at “Burger.” For a quick bite, Burger offered a fast and easy way to enjoy a nice burger and fries (sweet potato this time).
After a short walk down the boardwalk, it was time to hit the tables… As with many casinos on the weekend, a cheap table ($15 or less per hand) is not easy to come by. After a few laps around the casino floor, I pulled a chair up to a semi crowded $15 table and played for about an hour. The financial results were mixed, but the others at the table made the experience quite enjoyable – I try to avoid tables with over rowdy crowds.
My in-laws met up with us later in the afternoon. I took a break from the tables to enjoy a few beers with my father in-law watching the Eagles-Cardinals game on a huge projection TV. It was a great time as the room was filled with many fans cheering their favorite team. A false fire alarm caused a little distraction, but soon ended with no need to evacuate.
Dinner reservations were at 5:30 at Il Mulino. We were seated by a very gracious maître d’ and soon greeted by our waiter Sammy. Within minutes, the table was adorned with so many delicious appetizers that were provided by the restaurant (bruschetta, zucchini, different types of breads and a wedge of parmigiano reggiano for each guest). After hearing the specials and ordering a bottle of wine, we ordered what would be one of the finest meals we have had in a long time. The table was quiet, as each member of my family enjoyed their meal. After a few minutes, we all realized that no one was going to finish and would end up enjoying their re-heated meal the next day. Having said that, it didn’t preclude us from ordering the restaurants chocolate cake for dessert – which actually melted in my mouth.
The service was quick and attentive, the food was incredible and the prices were reasonable. We look forward to returning to Il Mulino real soon.
After a few more hands of Blackjack, we decided to call it a night. As we drove out of the parking garage, my wife and I both agreed that this first staycation of 2009 was definitely worth a return trip.
To book your Atlantic City Day Trip or any of your travel needs, visit www.myroadtotravel.com
Sphere: Related Content
Aloha Podcast Network CNBC News The Contrarian Take MastrelliTravel weather.comPowered by WordPress
